How to Set Up PHP Xdebug on VS Code

If you want to debug your PHP code in VS Code, Xdebug is the best tool. This guide will help you set it up on Ubuntu in a few minutes.

Step 1: Check Your PHP Version

Open a terminal and run:

php -v

Example output:

PHP 8.2.12 (cli)

Remember your PHP version.

Step 2: Install Xdebug

Install Xdebug using:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install php-xdebug

Or install the version-specific package if needed:

sudo apt install php8.2-xdebug

Check that it is installed:

php -m | grep xdebug

If you see xdebug, it is installed successfully.

Step 3: Configure Xdebug

Open the Xdebug configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/php/<your-php-version>/mods-available/xdebug.ini

Replace <your-php-version> with your PHP version (for example, 8.2).

Add these settings:

zend_extension=xdebug.so



xdebug.mode=debug

xdebug.start_with_request=yes

xdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1

xdebug.client_port=9003

Save the file.

Step 4: Restart PHP

If you use Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

If you use PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php<your-php-version>-fpm

Step 5: Install the VS Code Extension

In VS Code:

1. Open Extensions.


2. Search for PHP Debug.


3. Install the extension by Xdebug.

Step 6: Create launch.json

Create a .vscode/launch.json file with this content:

{

  "version": "0.2.0",

  "configurations": [

    {

      "name": "Listen for Xdebug",

      "type": "php",

      "request": "launch",

      "port": 9003

    }

  ]

}

Step 7: Start Debugging

1. Open your PHP project in VS Code.


2. Add a breakpoint.


3. Press F5 to start listening.


4. Run your PHP script or open your website.

VS Code will stop at your breakpoint.

Check That Xdebug Is Working

Run:

php -v

If you see something like with Xdebug v3.x.x, everything is ready.

Conclusion

That's it! You have successfully set up PHP Xdebug on Ubuntu with VS Code. You can now debug your PHP applications more easily and find issues faster.