# Run Artisan and other commands on a site

> Run a one-off command such as php artisan migrate in a site's live directory, as the site's user and with its PHP version, and keep the output in a history.

The **Commands** page of a site runs a single command once in the site's live directory, such as `php artisan migrate --force`, `php artisan cache:clear` or `composer dump-autoload`. You don't need a terminal or SSH: you type the command, click **Run**, and read the output when it is done.

Every command you run stays in a **History** with its output and status, so you can see what was run, by whom, and run it again.

![The Commands page of a site with a command field and the history of earlier commands with their status](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs-media/en/site-commands.webp?v=161e760d "Running commands on a site")

## Run a command

1. Open the site and click **Commands** in its sidebar.
2. Under **Run a command**, type the command. For Laravel and Statamic sites the field starts with `php artisan `.
3. Click **Run**.

The command runs as a background task, and its entry opens in the **History** below with the output as it comes in. You can leave the page: the command keeps running on the server, and you can follow it on the [activity](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/organization/activity) page as well.

## Where and how does a command run?

- **In the live directory**: the release that is live now, `current/` in the site's directory, or the monorepo root directory inside it, for example `/home/vimonto/shop.example.com/current`. The page shows the exact path under the field. A site that has never been deployed has no live directory yet, so the command fails with a message saying so.
- **As the site's user**: the server's system user, or the site's own user for an [isolated site](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/site-settings#website-isolation). The page's description names the user.
- **With the site's PHP version**: for PHP sites, `php` and `composer` use the PHP version set on the site's **Settings** (the page shows which), so `php artisan` uses the same PHP as the site itself.
- **One line**: a command is one line of up to 2,000 characters. To run several, chain them with `&&`, for example `php artisan down && php artisan migrate --force && php artisan up`.

A command that exits with an error marks its entry as failed, with the error above the output.

Commands are not interactive: nothing can be typed while they run. A command that asks a question, such as `php artisan migrate` in production without `--force`, stops there. Add the flag that answers it, or use the [terminal](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/terminal) for anything interactive.

## Read the output and run a command again

The **History** lists the latest 50 commands of the site, newest first, with who ran them, when, and their status (**Queued**, running, finished or failed). Older commands and their output are removed.

- Click a command to show or hide its output.
- Click **Use again** to put the command back in the field. Check or change it, and click **Run**.

## Who can run commands?

Every member can see the history and the output. Running a command, and **Use again**, need the permission to manage sites (owner, administrator, manager and developer), and the site and its server must be active. See [members and roles](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/organization/members-and-roles).

Every command that is run is recorded in the [audit log](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/organization/audit-log), with who ran it.

A site on a [load balancer](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/load-balancing) has no **Commands** page: it has no code of its own. Run commands on the sites of its app servers.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I run migrations after a deploy?

For every deploy, put `$VIMONTO_PHP artisan migrate --force` in the [deploy script](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/deployments#edit-the-deploy-script). For a one-off migration, run `php artisan migrate --force` here.

### Can I run a command as root?

No. Commands run as the site's user. For work as root, use the [terminal](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/servers/terminal) or a [recipe](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/more/recipes).

### Can I run something that keeps running, like a queue worker?

Not here: a command is meant to finish. Long-running processes belong under [queues and scheduler](https://ops.vimonto.com/docs/sites/queues-and-scheduler), where they are kept running and restarted.