Laravel Gohu

Run Eloquent & Query Builder queries against your Laravel app — without leaving VS Code.

Laravel Gohu opens a panel with a code editor on the left and a live result view on the right. Write a snippet like User::query()->latest()->get(), hit Run, and instantly see the result as JSON — row count, query time, connection details and all. It's a fast, focused way to inspect data, test logic and debug queries while you stay in your editor.

Features

🧩 Eloquent & Query Builder — run any snippet, from User::get() to complex DB::table(...) chains.
⚡ Instant JSON results — total count, execution time, database and connection name, plus the first rows of data.
✍️ Monaco editor — the same editor that powers VS Code, with a draggable split between code and results.
🟢 Server status indicator — a colored dot tells you at a glance whether PHP boots, Laravel loads and the database is reachable. Click it for the full details.
🐘 Any PHP stack — works with Laravel Herd, Valet or XAMPP; just point it at your PHP binary.
🔤 Short model names — User::get() resolves just like in an interactive php artisan tinker, no full namespaces required.
🛡️ Safe execution — your code is run through Artisan Tinker via a temporary runner; it never gets pasted into a shell command.

Requirements

A Laravel project (the folder must contain an artisan file).
PHP available on your machine (via Herd, Valet, XAMPP, or your PATH).
laravel/tinker installed in the project (included by default in new Laravel apps).

Getting started

Open the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P) and run Laravel Gohu.
Click the folder button and select your Laravel project. The path is remembered for next time.
Check the status dot in the result header — green means you're connected.
Write an Eloquent or Query Builder statement in the editor and press ▶ Run.

Example

$users = User::query()->where('active', 1)->get();

Result:

{
    "success": true,
    "total": 160,
    "query_time": "12.94 ms",
    "database": "my_app",
    "connection_name": "mysql",
    "data": [
        { "id": 1, "name": "Ada Lovelace", "email": "ada@example.com" }
    ]
}

The last expression of your snippet is the result. You can also write an explicit return. data is capped at the first 20 rows to keep the view fast, while total always reflects the full count.

Server status

The dot in the result header reflects your environment for the selected project:

Indicator	Meaning
🟢 Online	PHP boots, Laravel loads and the database connection responds.
🔴 Offline	No project selected, `artisan` is missing, PHP can't run, or the database isn't reachable.
🟡 Checking	A verification is in progress.

Click the dot to open a popover with the PHP version, connection, driver and database name — or the exact error when something is off — plus a Re-check button.

Extension settings

Setting	Default	Description
`laravelTools.projectPath`	`""`	Path to the Laravel project. Set automatically when you pick a folder.
`laravelTools.phpBinary`	`php`	PHP binary used to run Artisan. Uses your `PATH` by default (Herd/Valet). On Windows + XAMPP, set the full path, e.g. `C:\xampp\php\php.exe`.

Commands

Command	Title
`gohu.openPanel`	Laravel Gohu

How it works

When you run a snippet, Laravel Gohu writes a small temporary PHP runner and executes it with php artisan tinker. Running inside Tinker gives you class-alias resolution (so short model names work) and a fully booted framework. The runner uses PHP's tokenizer to reliably capture the value of your last expression — even when it contains closures, strings or comments — normalizes it (Builder → ->get(), Collection, Model, array or scalar) and returns clean JSON.

Known limitations

data shows the first 20 rows only; total is the complete count. A ->get() still loads the full result set into memory.
Multi-statement snippets should end with the expression you want back, or an explicit return.

Release notes

See CHANGELOG.md.