When working with Symfony applications on Ubuntu, you'll frequently need to run console commands like:

php bin/console cache:clear
php bin/console assets:install public

The issue arises when these commands are executed as root - the generated files inherit root permissions, causing Apache (running as www-data) to fail when accessing them.

Apache typically runs under the www-data user, while CLI commands often run as your current user (or root). This creates a mismatch where:

• Cache files created by root can't be modified by www-data
• Asset files may become inaccessible to the web server
• Log files can't be written by both users

The simplest approach is to run commands directly as www-data:

sudo -u www-data php bin/console cache:clear

For Symfony 4+ applications, use:

sudo -u www-data php bin/console cache:clear --env=prod

Create a permanent alias in your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

alias symfony='sudo -u www-data php bin/console'

Then you can simply run:

symfony cache:clear

For automated tasks via cron or systemd, create a service file:

[Unit]
Description=Symfony Command Runner
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/your_project
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php bin/console your:command

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

If you're using PHP-FPM, configure the pool to match CLI:

[www]
user = www-data
group = www-data
listen.owner = www-data
listen.group = www-data
listen.mode = 0660

For directories that need write access:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data var/
sudo chmod -R 775 var/

For cache and logs in Symfony 4+:

sudo setfacl -R -m u:www-data:rwX -m u:whoami:rwX var
sudo setfacl -dR -m u:www-data:rwX -m u:whoami:rwX var

Create a bash script to handle both clearing cache and fixing permissions:

#!/bin/bash
sudo -u www-data php bin/console cache:clear --env=prod
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data var/cache/ var/log/
sudo chmod -R 775 var/cache/ var/log/

---

When working with Symfony applications on Ubuntu servers, developers frequently encounter permission issues with console commands. The core problem manifests when executing commands like:

php bin/console cache:clear
php bin/console assets:install

Running these as root creates files with root:root ownership, while Apache/Nginx operates under www-data:www-data. This mismatch causes web server access issues to generated files.

Here are three robust approaches to solve this permission problem:

The most straightforward method is to execute commands directly as www-data user:

sudo -u www-data php bin/console cache:clear
sudo -u www-data php bin/console assets:install

For frequent use, create an alias in your ~/.bashrc:

alias symfony='sudo -u www-data php bin/console'

For system-wide configuration, modify PHP CLI to always run as www-data:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/php-cli.service

Add this configuration:

[Service]
User=www-data
Group=www-data
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php -n -c /etc/php/%i/cli/php.ini

Then enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable php-cli
sudo systemctl start php-cli

For more complex scenarios, create an executable wrapper:

#!/bin/bash
sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php "$@"

Save as /usr/local/bin/php-www and make it executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/php-www

Now use it for Symfony commands:

php-www bin/console cache:clear

For existing misconfigured files, use this one-time fix:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data var/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data public/

Set correct directory permissions:

sudo find var/ -type d -exec chmod 775 {} \;
sudo find var/ -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;

For production environments, create a dedicated systemd service:

[Unit]
Description=Symfony Console
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/symfony
ExecStart=/usr/bin/php bin/console your:command
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target