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XDebug (PHP)

Quick guide

  • You will need an open workspace for this
  • Now, configure PHP to enable XDebug debugging. From CodeLite menu bar, click on the PHP → Run XDebug Setup Wizard
  • At the end of the wizard, copy the text and paste it inside your php.ini file
  • Your php.ini should also have a section similar to this:
[xdebug]
zend_extension=xdebug
xdebug.mode=debug
xdebug.start_with_request=trigger
xdebug.idekey="codeliteide"
xdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1
xdebug.client_port=9003

CodeLite supports Xdebug 3 (required by PHP 8). If you still use Xdebug 2, keep your current php.ini settings (xdebug.remote_*) and set the port in PHP → XDebug Settings... to match.

  • Next, change directory to the workspace folder (in my case it was: C:\Users\Eran\Documents\TestPHP and start PHP debug web server like this
cd C:\Users\Eran\Documents\TestPHP
php.exe -S 127.0.0.1:80 -t .
  • Right click on your project folder and add new PHP file, name it test.php with the following content:
<?php

$test123 = "hello world";

$arr = [];
$arr[] = "Hello";
$arr[] = "World";


function baz($i) {
    echo $i."<br>";
}

function foo($i) {
    baz($i);
}

for($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++){
    foo($i);
}
  • Place a breakpoint at the for loop (keyboard shortcut F9)
  • Click on the Wait for debugger to connect button

wait to connect

  • Open a web browser and type in the address bar: http://127.0.0.1/test.php?XDEBUG_SESSION_START=codeliteide
  • Clicking the ENTER button in the browser, the debug session starts

xdebug session

Xdebug with a File System Workspace

XDebug also works with a File System Workspace on the local machine:

  • Open the workspace settings and select XDebug as the debugger of the build configuration
  • From the menu bar, click on PHP → XDebug Settings... to choose how to run the code (command line script or web site), the PHP executable, the include path and the file mapping
  • Start the debugger (F5). CodeLite asks for the script or URL to debug, and then starts it
  • To start the session from a web browser instead, click on PHP → Wait for XDebug to Connect, and then open the URL with ?XDEBUG_SESSION_START=codeliteide

The settings and the breakpoints are stored in the file .codelite/xdebug.json in the workspace folder.