PHP MySQLi mysqli_get_server_info()

mysqli_get_server_info()

The mysqli_get_server_info() function returns the MySQL server version as a text string. This tells us which database version is actually running on the server, which is crucial when using specific SQL functions.

EXAMPLE

<?php
$server = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$password = "";
$database = "mysqli_database";

$connection = mysqli_connect($server, $username, $password, $database);

if (mysqli_connect_errno()) {
    printf("Connection failed: %s<br>", mysqli_connect_error());
    exit();
}

// Display the MySQL server version
// NOTE: Unlike get_client_info, this function returns the actual version 
// of the database (MySQL server) itself that is running on the server.
echo mysqli_get_server_info($connection);

mysqli_close($connection);
?>

RESULT

The result will be displayed here...

Practical use: Different versions of MySQL (or MariaDB) support different commands (e.g., JSON fields or Window functions). Use this function to quickly check what your server is capable of. Look at the output:

It returns a string that often includes information about the operating system or the MariaDB version.

It requires an active database connection.

Useful when migrating a website to another server to check compatibility.