To Tinker

Run any PHP or Laravel code in one click from VS Code ⚡

To Tinker is a VS Code extension for Laravel and PHP developers who want to run real application code without opening a terminal, starting Tinker manually, or creating temporary routes, commands, and tests just to inspect a value.

It runs through php artisan tinker, stays inside your Laravel app context, and lets you execute selections, files, methods, and functions directly from the editor.

✨ Features

• ⚡ Run PHP and Laravel code where you write it, without jumping to a terminal
• ✂️ Run current selection or whole file with smart last-value output
• 🧠 Run methods and functions directly from the editor with CodeLens and callable detection
• 🔁 Execute real Laravel app context through php artisan tinker, not a fake mini runtime
• 🖥️ See output in a dedicated result panel built for readable values, errors, and source context
• 🧪 Prevent accidental side-effects with Dry Run mode, then switch to real execution only when you mean it

⚙️ How It Works

• To Tinker runs your code through php artisan tinker inside the active Laravel workspace
• To Tinker: File executes whole file and prints final meaningful value
• To Tinker: Run is context-aware: selection runs selection, no selection runs current line
• Selecting a full function or method declaration promotes the run into callable mode instead of just evaluating raw source
• Results appear in a dedicated side panel with output, errors, elapsed time, and source context
• Dirty files are saved automatically before a run starts

🎯 Best For

• Checking the return value of helpers, queries, and service calls
• Trying Eloquent queries without switching to a terminal
• Inspecting formatted values while refactoring PHP code
• Running a method or function in real Laravel app context
• Quickly validating an idea before writing a test

📋 Requirements

• A Laravel project with an artisan file
• A PHP file opened inside a VS Code workspace folder
• PHP available in your PATH, or configured explicitly with toTinker.phpPath

🤔 Why this exists

Most Laravel developers eventually do the same awkward loop:

• open a terminal
• start php artisan tinker
• copy and paste code
• or create a temporary route, command, controller action, or test just to try something quickly

To Tinker exists to remove that friction. It gives you a one-click way to run PHP and Laravel code directly from VS Code while still using Laravel Tinker as the execution path.

🧪 Dry Run (Experimental)

Dry Run mode provides a safety net by intercepting common side-effects using Laravel's native fakes and transactions. It is designed to prevent accidental data changes or emails during local experimentation.

[!TIP] Experimental Feature: While robust, Dry Run is a "best-effort" tool for development convenience. It is not a security boundary and should not be used against production data.

• 📬 Fakes Mail, Notification, Event, Bus, Queue
• 💾 Optionally fakes Storage
• 🗃️ Wraps DB connections in transactions and rolls them back

See the Dry Run Documentation for technical details and how to contribute to making it even more solid.

Use the To Tinker: Toggle Dry Run Mode command to switch between modes.

🩺 Troubleshooting

Run Doctor Diagnostics

Use To Tinker: Doctor when runs fail or keep timing out. It validates:

• extension config and timeout value
• Laravel workspace and artisan resolution
• PHP executable and php -v
• artisan --version
• plain artisan tinker ping
• To Tinker wrapped execution probe (Dry Run off/on)

Open To Tinker Logs after Doctor runs to inspect doctor PASS/WARN/FAIL lines.

For timeout incidents, Doctor helps isolate whether the issue is:

• environment/runtime setup (php / artisan)
• plain Tinker startup
• To Tinker wrapping path (Dry Run instrumentation)