File templates

File templates are specifications of the default contents for new files that you create. Depending on the type of file you are creating, templates provide initial code and formatting expected in all files of that type (according to industry or language standards, your corporate policy, or for other reasons).

PhpStorm provides predefined templates for all supported file types suggested when you create a new file.

To manage and configure file templates, open the Editor | File and Code Templates page of the IDE settings Ctrl+Alt+S.

The Default scope controls templates that apply to the entire workspace in any project. They are stored in the IDE configuration directory under fileTemplates.
The Project scope controls templates that apply only to the current project. They are stored in the project folder under .idea/fileTemplates. These templates can be shared among team members.

By default, the list of templates contains only predefined templates provided by PhpStorm. Some of them are internal, which means they cannot be deleted or renamed. The names of internal templates are shown in bold. The names of templates that you modified, as well as custom templates that you created manually, are shown in blue.

PhpStorm uses several types of templates, separated into the following tabs:

The Files tab contains file templates for creating new files.
The Includes tab contains pieces of reusable content for inserting into file templates (for example, if a specific header applies to multiple file templates).
The Code tab contains internal templates for code fragments (snippets) used by PhpStorm to generate various constructs. You can edit the available snippets on this tab, but you cannot create new ones.
To create custom code snippets, use Live templates.

The following procedures describe how to create file templates. Similar procedures can be used for creating include templates.

Create a new file template

Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the IDE settings and select Editor | File and Code Templates.
On the Files tab, click and specify the name, file extension, and body of the template.
Apply the changes and close the dialog.

Copy an existing file template

Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open the IDE settings and select Editor | File and Code Templates.
On the Files tab, click and modify the name, file extension, and body of the template as necessary.
Apply the changes and close the dialog.

Save a file as a template

Open a file in the editor.
From the main menu, select File | Save File as Template.
In the Save File as Template dialog, specify the new template name and edit the body, if necessary.
Apply the changes and close the dialog.

Syntax

File and code templates use the Velocity Template Language (VTL), which includes the following constructs:

Fixed text (markup, code, comments, and so on), which is rendered as-is.
Variables, which are replaced by their values.
Various directives, including #parse, #set, #if, and others.

Fore more information, see the VTL reference guide.

The following example shows the default template for creating a PHP class in PhpStorm:

                <?php
                #parse("PHP File Header.php")

                #if (${NAMESPACE})

                namespace ${NAMESPACE};

                #end

                class ${NAME} {

                }

This template is organized as follows:

The #parse directive is used to insert the contents of the PHP File Header.php template.
The #if directive is used to check whether the namespace is not empty. If it's not, its name is added to the namespace statement as the ${NAMESPACE} value.
The template then declares a class with the name passed as the ${NAME} value (name of the new file).

When you create a new PHP class based on the template, a file with contents similar to the following is generated:

                <?php
                /**
                * Created by PhpStorm.
                * User: jetbrains
                * Date: 03/07/2018
                * Time: 16:16
                */

                namespace My\Name;

                class MyClass
                {

                }
            

Last modified: 19 November 2021