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# PHP in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a great editor for PHP development. You get features like syntax highlighting and bracket matching, IntelliSense (code completion), and snippets out of the box and you can add more functionality through community-created VS Code [extensions](/docs/configure/extensions/extension-marketplace.md).

## Linting

VS Code uses the official PHP linter (`php -l`) for PHP language diagnostics. This allows VS Code to stay current with PHP linter improvements.

> Tip: Using XAMPP? Install the full version of PHP in order to obtain the development libraries.

There are three [settings](/docs/configure/settings.md) to control the PHP linter:

* `setting(php.validate.enable)`: controls whether to enable PHP linting at all. Enabled by default.
* `setting(php.validate.executablePath)`: points to the PHP executable on disk. Set this if the PHP executable is not on the system path.
* `setting(php.validate.run)`: controls whether the validation is triggered on save (value: `"onSave"`) or on type (value: `"onType"`). Default is on save.

To change the PHP settings, open your **User or Workspace Settings** (`kb(workbench.action.openSettings)`) and type 'php' to filter the list of available settings.

![show PHP settings](images/php/php-settings.png)

To set the PHP executable path, select the **Edit in settings.json** link under **PHP > Validate: Executable Path**, which will open your user `settings.json` file. Add the `setting(php.validate.executablePath)` setting with the path to your PHP installation:

### Windows

```json
{
    "php.validate.executablePath": "c:/php/php.exe"
}
```

### Linux and macOS

```json
{
    "php.validate.executablePath": "/usr/bin/php"
}

or

{
    "php.validate.executablePath": "/usr/local/bin/php"
}
```

## Snippets

Visual Studio Code includes a set of common snippets for PHP. To access these, hit `kb(editor.action.triggerSuggest)` to get a context-specific list.

![PHP Snippets](images/php/php-snippets.png)

## PHP extensions

There are many PHP language extensions available on the [Visual Studio Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/VSCode) and more are being created. You can search for PHP extensions from within VS Code in the **Extensions** view (`kb(workbench.view.extensions)`) then filter the extensions dropdown list by typing 'php'.

![Searching for PHP in the Extensions view](images/php/category-php.png)

### Disable built-in PHP support

To disable the built-in PHP smart completions in favor of suggestions from an installed PHP extension, uncheck **PHP > Suggest: Basic**, which sets `setting(php.suggest.basic)` to false in your `settings.json` file.

## Debugging

PHP debugging with **XDebug** is supported through a [PHP Debug extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=xdebug.php-debug). Follow the extension's instructions for configuring **XDebug** to work with VS Code.

## Next steps

Read on to find out about:

* [Extension Marketplace](/docs/configure/extensions/extension-marketplace.md) - Browse the extensions others have shared
* [Debugging](/docs/debugtest/debugging.md) - Learn more about VS Code debugging