php-project-guide

name	php-project-guide
description	Foundational PHP project knowledge for AI agents. Use when working on a PHP project, setting up a PHP development environment, understanding PHP project structure, following PHP coding standards, running PHP tests, using Composer, or when guidance on PHP-specific tools and workflows in PhpStorm is needed.

PHP Project Guide

Foundational knowledge for working effectively on any PHP project in PhpStorm. Provides project detection, coding standards, testing patterns, framework guidance, and MCP tool usage.

Quick Start: First Interaction with a PHP Project

Run these steps when encountering a new PHP project for the first time.

1. Detect PHP environment

get_php_project_config()

Returns the configured PHP language level, interpreter details (name, path, local/remote), and runtime information (exact PHP version, loaded extensions, php.ini path, debuggers). Use this to understand the PHP environment before generating code.

2. Identify dependencies and framework

get_composer_dependencies()

This returns all installed packages with exact versions from composer.lock. Use it to determine:

• Framework: laravel/framework, symfony/framework-bundle, or neither
• Test framework: phpunit/phpunit, pestphp/pest, codeception/codeception
• Static analysis: phpstan/phpstan, vimeo/psalm
• Code style: friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer, squizlabs/php_codesniffer

Use the optional nameFilter glob parameter to search for specific packages (e.g., nameFilter: "laravel/*").

3. Route to framework-specific guidance

Dependency	Project Type	Reference
laravel/framework	Laravel	See references/framework-laravel.md
symfony/framework-bundle	Symfony	See references/framework-symfony.md
Neither	Generic PHP	See references/php-standards.md

PhpStorm MCP Tools Quick Reference

Code Analysis

Tool	When to Use
get_inspections	After edits, for code review, to find problems with available quick fixes
apply_quick_fix	To resolve inspection problems automatically
get_file_problems	Quick error/warning check on any file type (no quick fixes returned)
build_project	Trigger project build and get compilation errors

Code Search

Tool	When to Use
search_structural	To find code patterns semantically using SSR (requires fileType: "PHP")
get_structural_patterns	To discover predefined PHP search patterns by category
search_text	Fast text substring search across project files
search_regex	Regex search across project files with match coordinates
search_symbol	Semantic symbol lookup (classes, methods, fields)
search_file	Find files by glob pattern
find_files_by_name_keyword	Fast file search by name substring (uses indexes)
find_files_by_glob	Find files matching glob pattern recursively

Code Intelligence

Tool	When to Use
get_symbol_info	Get Quick Documentation for a symbol at a specific position
rename_refactoring	Safely rename a symbol across the entire project
get_php_project_config	Get PHP language level, interpreter, extensions, runtime info
get_composer_dependencies	Understand project dependencies, framework, and versions

File Operations

Tool	When to Use
read_file	Read file with advanced modes (slice, lines, offsets, indentation)
get_file_text_by_path	Read full file text by project-relative path
replace_text_in_file	Targeted find-and-replace in files
create_new_file	Create new files with content
reformat_file	Apply IDE code formatting rules

Execution

Tool	When to Use
get_run_configurations	List available run/test configurations
execute_run_configuration	Run a specific configuration and get results
execute_terminal_command	Run shell commands in IDE terminal

See references/mcp-tools-reference.md for detailed parameters and usage patterns.

Documentation Lookup

When you need documentation beyond what these references provide:

• Context7 MCP: Use resolve-library-id then query-docs for any PHP framework or library — returns up-to-date docs and code examples
• PHP official docs: https://www.php.net/manual
• PhpStorm help: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/phpstorm/
• phpstorm-stubs: https://github.com/JetBrains/phpstorm-stubs — PHP built-in function signatures and type info

Reference Documents

Reference	Content
references/project-detection.md	composer.json anatomy, PSR-4 autoloading, directory layouts
references/php-standards.md	PER/PSR coding standards, PHP version features, anti-patterns
references/testing-guide.md	PHPUnit, Pest, running tests, common mistakes
references/framework-laravel.md	Laravel directory structure, Eloquent, artisan, routes
references/framework-symfony.md	Symfony directory structure, Doctrine, console, services
references/static-analysis.md	PHPStan, Psalm, PHP CS Fixer, PHP CodeSniffer
references/composer-guide.md	Composer commands, version constraints, autoloading
references/mcp-tools-reference.md	Detailed PhpStorm MCP tool parameters and workflows