IDE's built-in web server

Last modified: 24 January 2025

PhpStorm has a built-in web server that can be used to preview and debug your application in a web browser or IDE's built-in browser. This server is always running and does not require any manual configuration.

Out of the box, the built-in server only serves static content like HTML, JavaScript and CSS. To use it with PHP files, you need a local PHP interpreter specified for your project. When the interpreter is configured, PhpStorm will automatically start the PHP Built-In Web Server and redirect all PHP requests to it as soon as you run your PHP application.