Examine a suspended program
tip
If you accidentally closed the Debug tool window, select from the main menu or press Alt05 to reopen it.
tip
Be mindful of variable scope and lifetime. If a variable is not present on the list, this means the variable is out of scope for the current frame at the current execution point.
User-defined constants are grouped under a separate Constants node, which is by default collapsed. Once expanded or collapsed, the Constants node preserves this state across the debugging sessions. Note that if the number of user-defined constants is significant, the stepping performance might decrease. If necessary, you can disable fetching such constants during the debugging session by clicking 
on the Debug tool window toolbar. The Constants node will be hidden.
Right-click a variable or a watch and select Inspect.
Select a variable and press F2. Alternatively, select Set Value from the context menu.
Enter the value for the variable and press Enter.
note
Due to a GDB/LLDB limitation, you cannot set value for
std::stringvariables.
To navigate to the code where the variable is declared, right-click the variable and select Jump to Source F4.
To navigate to the class declaration of the variable type, right-click the variable and select Jump to Type Source ShiftF4.
Suppose, you have
$my_car = new Car();. If you select$my_carin the Variables pane, then choosing will bring you to$my_car = new Car();while choosing will bring you toclass Car().To navigate to the callback function declaration from a calling element, click Navigate next to this element on the Variables pane.
note
When evaluating expressions, be mindful of variable scope and lifetime. All expressions are evaluated in the context of the current execution point.
Point at the expression you want to evaluate. The result of the expression appears in a tooltip.
To view child elements , click
or press CtrlF1.
Select the expression and press CtrlAltF8 or select Evaluate Expression from the floating toolbar that appears.
Alternatively, go to .
tip
When calling methods, make sure you are aware of their possible side effects (for example, changes to an outside variable), as they may alter the program flow or result.
To evaluate an arbitrary expression, enter it in the Evaluate expression field in the Variables pane and press Enter
The result is displayed right below. You can also add the expression to watches by clicking
in the right-hand part of the expression field.
If you want to start with some expression or a variable, which is currently in front of you (for example, in the editor or on the Variables pane), select it.
Go to AltF8 or select Evaluate Expression from the context menu. The shortcut may not work on Ubuntu (for correct operation, adjust the shortcut configuration).
In the Evaluate dialog, modify the selected expression or enter a new one in the Expression field. Click Expand ShiftEnter to modify a multiline code fragment.
note
Keep in mind that any variables declared in the body of the expression go out of scope after the expression has been evaluated.
Click Evaluate (CtrlEnter for multiline mode). The expression result appears in the Result field.
The result of the expression is taken from the return statement. When there is no return statement, the result is taken from the last line of code (it does not even have to be an expression: a single literal works too). When there is no valid line to take the value from, the result is
undefined. If the specified expression cannot be evaluated, the Result field indicates the reason.
tip
When calling methods, make sure you are aware of their possible side effects (for example, changes to an outside variable), as they may alter the program flow or result.
Select the variable in the Variables pane and choose Evaluate in Console from the context menu of the selection.
When you switch to the Console pane, the variable name is shown in green at
>and its value is displayed below in blue.
Click the Use Console Input
toggle button and type the name of any variable at >in the Console and press Enter to have its value displayed.Code completion CtrlSpace is available: as you type the name of a variable, PhpStorm displays a suggestion list.
To evaluate a previously evaluated variable, find it using the Up and Down arrows on you keyboard and press Enter.
On the Console pane of the Debug tool window, click the Use Console Input toggle button
on the toolbar.When this toggle-button appears pressed, you can evaluate and alter variables, call PHP functions, and define additional functions on the fly in the Console pane.
When the toggle-button appears non-pressed, any input in the Console pane is treated like
STDIN.
Type a statement or expression at
>and press Enter. PhpStorm evaluates your code fragment and shows the output below the input code. You can type most PHP constructs including class declarations, function declarations, variables, expressions, and so on. Code completion CtrlSpace is available: as you type, PhpStorm displays a suggestion list.When typing a multi-line code fragment, press ShiftEnter to start a new line and CtrlEnter to split a line.
Output for arrays and objects is by default wrapped in a
var_export()function and displayed in the Console. To hide the output displayed, clear the Show array and object children in Debug Console checkbox on the Debug page.
Click the inline hint referring to the object whose property you want to track.
In the popup, select the property and click Add as Inline Watch.
Fine-tune the watch if needed. You can use any valid expression as a watch.
For the current debugging session only: right-click any hint and select Turn Off Data Flow Assist.
For all further debugging sessions: in the Settings dialog (CtrlAlt0S) , go to and clear the Predict future condition values analyzing program data flow checkbox in the Xdebug area.
tip
When calling methods, make sure you are aware of their possible side effects (for example, changes to an outside variable), as they may alter the program flow or result.
Watches are evaluated in the context of the selected frame. Watches cannot be evaluated when they are out of context or when they fail to compile. If this is the case, the watch is marked with the error icon 
.
By default, watches are shown together with variables in the Variables pane. To hide/reveal the Watches pane, use the Separate watches option in the Layout Settings
menu.
For expressions in the editor – select the expression, then click the Add to Watches icon
on the floating toolbar that appears. Alternatively, drag the expression to the Variables tab.
For elements in the current context – right-click a variable in the Variables tab and select Add to Watches from the menu.
For arbitrary expressions – enter the expression in the top part of the Variables tab, then click Add to Watches.
Select the watch you want to copy.
Click Duplicate Watch
on the Variables/Watches tab or press Ctrl0D.
To pause a watch, right-click it and select Pause Watch.
To resume a watch, right-click it and select Resume Watch.
To perform a one-time evaluation of a paused watch, click Evaluate near the watch.
Do one of the following:
In the main menu, go to .
Press AltF10.
Click
on the stepping toolbar of the Debug tool window and select 
Show Execution Point from the context menu that opens.
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