Migrate from Sublime Text

Switch to the Sublime Text keymap

If you aren’t ready to say goodbye to Sublime Text shortcuts just yet, you can switch to the Sublime Text keymap. To do so, go to Settings | Keymap, set Sublime Text or Sublime Text (macOS) as your default keymap, and save the changes.

Learn PhpStorm shortcuts

Learning PhpStorm shortcuts will come in handy even if you decide to switch to another JetBrains IDE later on – the shortcuts are the same in almost all of them. Here’s what can help you learn them faster:

• Memorize PhpStorm’s most universal shortcut – double Shift or Search Everywhere. You can use it to find any file, action, class, or symbol, and see all the matches in one place.

• Install Key Promoter X – This extension helps you learn essential shortcuts while working. When you use the mouse on a button inside the IDE, Key Promoter X shows you the shortcut you could have used instead.

• Use the PhpStorm shortcut cheat sheet – You can download the default PhpStorm keymap reference and print it out as a card.

Install packages (plugins)

PhpStorm's plugins work pretty much the same way packages do in Sublime Text, allowing you to extend the built-in functionality and customize your IDE. To explore the available plugins, go to the Marketplace tab under Settings | Plugins. You can then install a plugin by clicking the Install button next to its name.

Here’s what PhpStorm looks like with the popular CodeGlance Pro plugin installed.

You can find more plugins at JetBrains Marketplace.

Framework support

PhpStorm has extended support for many projects of the diverse PHP ecosystem, including Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Joomla!, and more.

For more advanced support and extra features, you can check out framework-specific plugins from the community:

• Laravel Idea plugin (paid)

• Symfony Support plugin (freemium)

• Magento plugin (free)

Change the UI theme

PhpStorm comes with only a few predefined themes, but there’s a variety of custom options to choose from. To explore them, go to Settings | Plugins and search for theme in the Marketplace tab.

You can then go back to the editor and check what the themes you’ve installed look like. Select View | Quick Switch Scheme from the main menu or press Ctrl+` and select Theme.

Command Palette

Search Everywhere is your replacement for Sublime Text’s Command Palette. You can use it to search for files, actions, classes, or symbols. All matches are displayed in a single location.

To open the Search Everywhere dialog, double-press Shift.

Search and replace

Although PhpStorm’s search and replace workflow is slightly different from the one in Sublime Text, the principles are the same.

PhpStorm lets you find and replace text strings within both specific files and entire projects. To get started, in the main menu, go to Edit | Find and select Find (for specific files) or Find in Files (for entire projects). To replace a text string, select Replace or Replace in Files under the same submenu instead.

Change the defaults for the Project view

PhpStorm has the Project view, which lets you see the structure of your current projects and browse them. Its default behavior differs from that of Sublime Text. For instance, you need to double-click a file to open it in the editor. Here’s how you can change the default setup to match what you were used to in Sublime Text:

You can go to the Project view settings and select any or all of these options:

• Enable Preview Tab – Preview files you have selected in the Project view in the editor.

• Open Files with Single Click – Open files in the editor with one click.

• Always Select Opened File – Auto-select the file that’s currently open in the Project view.

Set up a PHP Interpreter

In order to get the most out of PhpStorm for PHP projects, it makes sense to set PHP interpreter settings. This be your local PHP from the system, MAMP/XAMP, Laravel Valet, DDEV, Docker, and so on.

You can add PHP interpreters under Preferences/Settings | PHP. Learn more about configuring PHP development environments in Configure local PHP interpreters.