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Getting Started with PHP Tools#

Welcome to full PHP support in Visual Studio! This guide will help you get started with PHP development using the PHP Tools extension. Follow these steps to set up your project, configure PHP, and start running and debugging your applications.

Create a PHP Project#

Visual Studio works with project files to organize and configure your PHP workspace. To create a new PHP project, follow these steps:

  1. Open Visual Studio.
  2. Create a new project by selecting Create a new project at startup srceen or navigating to File → New Project.

  3. Filter project types to show only PHP projects.

    new project

  4. Choose from the available options:

  5. PHP Project From Existing Code (recommended if you already have PHP files).
  6. PHP Web Project (for starting from scratch).
  7. Follow the setup wizard to configure your project.
  8. Once complete, your new project solution will be ready for further development.

If you encounter issues when opening a project, ensure that:

  • Your Visual Studio is up to date.
  • There are no conflicts with the .NET SDK component.

Choose the PHP Version#

To ensure proper code analysis, execution with the built-in PHP server, and debugging capabilities, you need to select the correct PHP version for your project.

  1. Open the Project menu and select Properties.
  2. Navigate to the Server tab.
  3. Choose the appropriate PHP version.
  4. PHP Tools will automatically install the selected PHP version along with debugging support.

Read more at Installing PHP.

Run & Debug Your Application#

Note: Debugging features require a valid PHP Tools license.

To start your application in debug mode:

  1. Press F5 or go to Debug → Start.
  2. The built-in PHP server will launch with debugging enabled.
  3. If there are configuration issues or missing PHP components, PHP Tools will attempt to resolve them automatically.
  4. You can place breakpoints anywhere in your code; execution will pause at these points to allow debugging.
  5. In case of an exception, warning, or fatal error, execution will stop at the error location, providing details about the issue.

Read more at Debugging.

Activate Premium#

PHP Tools offers a range of advanced features to enhance your development experience.

Read more at Product Trial and Activation.

By purchasing a license, you support ongoing development and gain access to premium tools, including:

Activate your premium license to unlock the full potential of PHP Tools in Visual Studio.

Discover More#