Debug with PhpStorm: Ultimate Guide

Quick Start

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.

note
See Zero-configuration debugging for the detailed step-by-step instructions, and Advanced debugging scenarios for more debugging scenarios.

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.

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.