Mac CLI PHP ini file location

I am using OSX Catalina and am trying to increase the memory limit for PHP – no matter where I look I cannot find the right PHP ini file to change this.

php -v
PHP 7.3.11 (cli) (built: Apr 17 2020 19:14:14) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) 1997-2018 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v3.3.11, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies

php --ini
Configuration File (php.ini) Path: /etc
Loaded Configuration File:         (none)
Scan for additional .ini files in: (none)
Additional .ini files parsed:      (none)

When I go to /etc I see:

-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel   5331 14 Dec  2019 /etc/php-fpm.conf.default
-r--r--r--  1 root  wheel  71890 14 Dec  2019 /etc/php.ini.default
-r--r--r--  1 root  wheel  71055  1 Apr  2018 /etc/php.ini.default-previous
-r--r--r--  1 root  wheel  71055  1 Apr  2018 /etc/php.ini.default-previous~orig

so it looks like there is no php.ini file to be able to change the memory limit but I assume there has to be so how do I find it?

Answer

You should find it in /private/etc if it exists, otherwise you have to make one of the defaults the file you wish to use:

sudo cp /private/etc/php.ini.default /private/etc/php.ini