Pint This - Installation & Usage Guide

A VS Code extension that adds a convenient right-click option to run Laravel Pint on your PHP files. Format single files or multiple files at once with just a few clicks!

Features

✨ Right-click on file tabs - Quick access from any open PHP file
✨ Right-click in Explorer - Format files directly from the file explorer
✨ Multiple file selection - Select and format multiple PHP files at once
✨ Progress notifications - See real-time progress when formatting multiple files
✨ Smart filtering - Automatically filters to PHP files only when multiple files are selected

Prerequisites

PHP 8.2+: Check your version with php -v
Composer: Verify installation with composer --version

Step 1: Install Laravel Pint Globally

Laravel Pint is a PHP code style fixer that needs to be available globally on your system for this extension to work.

Option A: Global Installation (Recommended)

Install Laravel Pint globally using Composer:

composer global require laravel/pint

Option B: Project-based Installation

If you prefer project-based installation:

# In your PHP/Laravel project directory
composer require laravel/pint --dev

Note: With project-based installation, the extension will only work within projects that have Pint installed.

Verify Installation

Test that Pint is available from the command line:

pint --version

If you get a "command not found" error, ensure Composer's global bin directory is in your PATH:

Windows: Add %APPDATA%\Composer\vendor\bin to your PATH
macOS/Linux: Add ~/.composer/vendor/bin or ~/.config/composer/vendor/bin to your PATH

Step 2: Install the VS Code Extension

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac)
Search for "Pint This" by ShyamkumarAshokGarud
Click "Install"

Step 3: Using the Extension

Method 1: From File Tabs (Single File)

Pint This from file tab

Open any PHP file in VS Code
Right-click on the file tab (the tab at the top)
Click "Pint this" from the context menu
Done! Your file will be automatically formatted

Method 2: From Explorer (Single or Multiple Files)

Pint This from explorer

Single File:

Right-click on any PHP file in the Explorer panel
Click "Pint this" from the context menu

Multiple Files:

Select multiple files in the Explorer panel (Ctrl+Click or Cmd+Click)
Right-click on the selection
Click "Pint this" from the context menu
Watch the progress - you'll see a progress notification for multiple files

Note: When selecting multiple files, the extension automatically filters to PHP files only, so you can safely select mixed file types.

Features in Action

Single file: Get instant feedback with a success notification
Multiple files: See progress notifications and batch processing results
Error handling: Clear error messages if something goes wrong
Smart filtering: Only PHP files are processed, even in mixed selections

Configuration (Optional)

Laravel Pint works perfectly with default settings, but you can customize it by creating a pint.json file in your project root:

{
    "preset": "laravel",
    "rules": {
        "simplified_null_return": true,
        "array_indentation": false
    }
}

Troubleshooting

"pint command not found"

Solution: Ensure Laravel Pint is installed globally and in your PATH:

# Check if globally installed
composer global show laravel/pint

# If not installed, install it
composer global require laravel/pint

If still not working, add Composer's bin directory to your PATH:

Windows: Add %APPDATA%\Composer\vendor\bin to your PATH
macOS/Linux: Add ~/.composer/vendor/bin to your PATH

Extension Not Appearing

Solution:

Restart VS Code
Make sure you're right-clicking on either:
- The file tab (at the top), or
- Files in the Explorer panel
Check that the extension is enabled in the Extensions panel

Multiple File Selection Not Working