php-project-guide

PHP Project Guide

Foundational knowledge for working effectively on any PHP project in PhpStorm. Provides project detection, coding standards, testing patterns, framework guidance, and MCP tool usage.

Quick Start: First Interaction with a PHP Project

Run these steps when encountering a new PHP project for the first time.

1. Detect PHP environment

get_php_project_config()

Returns the configured PHP language level, interpreter details (name, path, local/remote), and runtime information (exact PHP version, loaded extensions, php.ini path, debuggers). Use this to understand the PHP environment before generating code.

2. Identify dependencies and framework

get_composer_dependencies()

This returns all installed packages with exact versions from composer.lock. Use it to determine:

• Framework: laravel/framework, symfony/framework-bundle, or neither
• Test framework: phpunit/phpunit, pestphp/pest, codeception/codeception
• Static analysis: phpstan/phpstan, vimeo/psalm
• Code style: friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer, squizlabs/php_codesniffer

Use the optional nameFilter glob parameter to search for specific packages (e.g., nameFilter: "laravel/*").

3. Route to framework-specific guidance

Dependency	Project Type	Reference
laravel/framework	Laravel	See references/framework-laravel.md
symfony/framework-bundle	Symfony	See references/framework-symfony.md
Neither	Generic PHP	See references/php-standards.md

PhpStorm MCP Tools Quick Reference

Code Analysis

Tool	When to Use
get_inspections	After edits, for code review, to find problems with available quick fixes
apply_quick_fix	To resolve inspection problems automatically
get_file_problems	Quick error/warning check on any file type (no quick fixes returned)
build_project	Trigger project build and get compilation errors

Code Search

Tool	When to Use
search_structural	To find code patterns semantically using SSR (requires fileType: "PHP")
get_structural_patterns	To discover predefined PHP search patterns by category
search_text	Fast text substring search across project files
search_regex	Regex search across project files with match coordinates
search_symbol	Semantic symbol lookup (classes, methods, fields)
search_file	Find files by glob pattern
find_files_by_name_keyword	Fast file search by name substring (uses indexes)
find_files_by_glob	Find files matching glob pattern recursively

Code Intelligence

Tool	When to Use
get_symbol_info	Get Quick Documentation for a symbol at a specific position
rename_refactoring	Safely rename a symbol across the entire project
get_php_project_config	Get PHP language level, interpreter, extensions, runtime info
get_composer_dependencies	Understand project dependencies, framework, and versions

File Operations

Tool	When to Use
read_file	Read file with advanced modes (slice, lines, offsets, indentation)
get_file_text_by_path	Read full file text by project-relative path
replace_text_in_file	Targeted find-and-replace in files
create_new_file	Create new files with content
reformat_file	Apply IDE code formatting rules

Execution

Tool	When to Use
get_run_configurations	List available run/test configurations
execute_run_configuration	Run a specific configuration and get results
execute_terminal_command	Run shell commands in IDE terminal

See references/mcp-tools-reference.md for detailed parameters and usage patterns.

Documentation Lookup

When you need documentation beyond what these references provide:

• Context7 MCP: Use resolve-library-id then query-docs for any PHP framework or library — returns up-to-date docs and code examples
• PHP official docs: https://www.php.net/manual
• PhpStorm help: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/phpstorm/
• phpstorm-stubs: https://github.com/JetBrains/phpstorm-stubs — PHP built-in function signatures and type info

Reference Documents

Reference	Content
references/project-detection.md	composer.json anatomy, PSR-4 autoloading, directory layouts
references/php-standards.md	PER/PSR coding standards, PHP version features, anti-patterns
references/testing-guide.md	PHPUnit, Pest, running tests, common mistakes
references/framework-laravel.md	Laravel directory structure, Eloquent, artisan, routes
references/framework-symfony.md	Symfony directory structure, Doctrine, console, services
references/static-analysis.md	PHPStan, Psalm, PHP CS Fixer, PHP CodeSniffer
references/composer-guide.md	Composer commands, version constraints, autoloading
references/mcp-tools-reference.md	Detailed PhpStorm MCP tool parameters and workflows