FAQ

Does it slow down my site?

The always-on summary layer (plus the normal/full/alert traces) hooks request-level events only; in our WooCommerce benchmark it stays within the measurement noise of the baseline — see Overhead for what has been measured and what still awaits certification. To be clear about the rest: per-function profiling is sampled (default 3% of requests, and only for profiled requests) — the remaining 97% run without a single function-level sample. You can also run with phpray.profile_mode=off for the minimum footprint (the observer is then never registered for a request).

Do I need root access?

On a VPS/container, yes (to install the extension and the collector). On shared hosting the host installs the extension; as a customer you can use the WordPress plugin with no root at all.

Does it work with opcache / REND / lsphp / CageFS?

Yes. It is a standard PHP extension and works under lsphp, mod_php, FPM and REND; opcache is unaffected (PHPRay reads no files at request time). CageFS: the shm path must be in the CageFS allow list.

What does it store? Where?

JSONL trace records (one line per request, a few KB each; trace format) in shared memory or a local directory, then into a local SQLite file with a hard size cap (default 4 GB) and retention windows. Nothing leaves the box unless you configure PHPRay Cloud.

Does it send any of my data anywhere?

Not by default — collector and dashboard are local and bound to 127.0.0.1. With PHPRay Cloud, only aggregates and sampled traces go out, and with privacy defaults applied: SQL as fingerprints, URIs without query values, no bodies, no cookies, no visitor IPs (ingest protocol §5).

Is my SQL data / secrets safe?

SQL is stored as a fingerprint — numbers and quoted strings are replaced before storage. Request/response bodies, cookies and headers are never captured. Error messages are truncated and paths abbreviated.

It works for PHP — what about the PHP that runs my cron jobs?

phpray.trace_cli=1 (SYSTEM scope) includes CLI workers. Cron and queue workers are traced like web requests; set it only if you want it.

Multiple PHP versions on one box?

Install one .so per version (the installer script does this for you) and the collector reads them all; traces carry the PHP version.

Can I exclude a site / a URI pattern?

Yes: phpray.enabled=0 or phpray.ignore_uris=/assets/*,/wp-cron.php in that site's .user.ini (PERDIR scope, closest file wins).

What is the difference between the extension and the WordPress plugin?

The extension sees the whole request (core, C extensions, memory, every query). The plugin sees the application layer (WP core, plugins, themes, $wpdb, WP HTTP) and needs no extension at all — so it is the option for shared hosting. Both emit the same trace record.