How to run PHP files as another user with Apache and FastCGI?

itemprop="text">

As per older questions,
such as href="https://serverfault.com/questions/215261/using-mod-fcgid-instead-of-mod-php">using
mod_fcgid instead of mod_php and href="https://serverfault.com/questions/36867/php-as-cgi-or-apache-module">PHP as CGI
or Apache Module? (and tangentially some href="https://serverfault.com/questions/22156/what-could-cause-apache2-to-not-run-index-php-files-through-php-fastcgi-handler">other
href="https://serverfault.com/questions/110490/local-htaccess-strangely-allowed-running-php-in-cgi-fastcgi-mode-in-apache-under">questions)
I came to an understanding that running PHP as CGI or FastCGI would make my .php files
be ran as the owner instead of the apache user
(user that runs the Apache).

The
phpinfo(); function states that Server API =
CGI/FastCGI

However, when I test
the running user it is still apache ie. exec('whoami'); ?> returns
apache.

I've also tried
what href="https://serverfault.com/questions/215261/using-mod-fcgid-instead-of-mod-php/215647#215647">Jeremy
Bouse suggested in a question I've mentioned, but the PHP
whoami still returns
apache.

/>

Should the fact that
phpinfo's "Server API" equals "CGI/FastCGI" be adequate for regular users to run the
php-files as the owner?

(Does it
even indicate that PHP is not running with
mod_php?)

Or are there some admin tasks still to
be done or something that is probably misconfigured?

Answer

IMHO the (more recent and) best way to run PHP FastCGI is using href="http://php-fpm.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PHP-FPM, which among
the many options also permits to use different users for different
websites.

From the href="http://php-fpm.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">official website:

Ability to start workers with
different
uid/gid/chroot/environment
and different php.ini (replaces

safe_mode)

But
using FastCGI by itself is not enough to use the owner of the file (and there's no such
thing as "automatically using the owner of the file": you have to actually
configure it virtual host by virtual host (or as you
wish).