Debug with PhpStorm: Ultimate Guide

Quick Start

Before proceeding with any of the debugging scenarios, you need to choose a debugging engine and install it in your PHP environment. These tutorials will guide you through the installation process:

Install Xdebug (recommended)	Install Zend Debugger

With the debugging engine installed, you can start debugging by following the zero-configuration debugging approach:

Choose and install the browser extension suitable for your browser.
On the PhpStorm toolbar, toggle to start listening for incoming PHP debug connections, or choose Run | Start Listening for PHP Debug Connections from the main menu.
Set a breakpoint in your code. Breakpoints can be set in the PHP context inside PHP, HTML, TWIG, BLADE, and files of other types. Line breakpoints can be set only on executable lines, but not on comments, declarations, or empty lines. For details on getting started with Twig and Blade debugging, refer to Debug Twig templates and Debug Blade templates.
Start the debugging session in the browser using the installed browser extension.
During a debugging session, examine the program state: see variable values, evaluate expressions, step through the program, and so on.

Debugging a PHP web application

Depending on your environment, you can debug your PHP Web application locally or remotely.

Local debugging	Remote debugging
The debugging engine and PhpStorm are running on the same machine.	The debugging engine is running on a remote environment (for example, a remote server or a virtual machine).
Follow the Zero-configuration debugging procedure.	If you can establish direct connection between your machine and the remote server, that is, no firewall, router or ISP is blocking the connection from your remote server to the specific port on the local machine, follow the Zero-configuration debugging procedure. Otherwise, if direct connection cannot be established, follow the Remote debugging via SSH tunnel procedure.

Debugging a PHP CLI script

Depending on your environment, you can debug your PHP CLI script locally or remotely.

Local debugging	Remote debugging
The debugging engine and PhpStorm are running on the same machine.	The debugging engine is running on a remote environment (for example, a remote server or a virtual machine).
Follow the Debug a PHP CLI script procedure.	Set up a remote PHP interpreter as described in Configure remote PHP interpreters. Follow the Debug a PHP CLI script procedure.

Besides running an entire application, you may want to run a PHPUnit or Behat test that covers a specific class, function or scenario, with the debugging engine attached. To learn how to do it, follow the Create a test configuration for a specific target procedure.

Troubleshooting

When using Xdebug or Zend Debugger with PhpStorm, some misconfiguration can prevent the debugger from working. In the Troubleshooting guide, you will find the description of some common issues and learn how to troubleshoot them.

Advanced debugging scenarios

The following topics will assist you in exploring the advanced debugging scenarios in PhpStorm: