PHP Smart Files

Smart PHP File Creation & Intelligent Namespace Management

Create PHP files effortlessly with smart templates and automated namespace management for safe PSR-4 refactoring and consistent references.
Simplify your PHP development!

Key Benefits

• 📁 Simplified Creation: One-click PHP file creation with smart templates and proper namespaces
• 🔄 Safe Refactoring: Move, rename, and restructure without breaking namespace references
• 🧩 Developer-Focused: Built for real PHP workflows with practical features and sensible defaults
• 🌍 Accessible: Available in five languages with clear, customizable settings

Table of Contents

• Features
• Usage
• Recommendations
• Extension Settings
• Available Languages
• About This Project
• Release Notes
• Current Limitations
• Feedback and Contributions
• License

Features

PHP Smart Files extends VS Code to enhance your PHP development workflow through automated file creation and intelligent namespace management:

🚀 Smart PHP File Creation

Create PHP files with auto-detected namespaces based on your project's Composer configuration:

• File Types: Functions, Classes, Interfaces, Traits, and Enums
• Automatic Namespaces: Intelligently follows PSR-4 standards from composer.json with optional fallback to directory structure
• Template Options:
  • Basic empty files
  • Pre-populated templates with boilerplate code
  • Specialized Symfony templates (Controllers, Commands, Form Types)
• Context Menu Integration: Right-click in the explorer to create PHP files

💡 Tip: You can enable strict type declarations (declare(strict_types=1);) for all generated files through the extension settings

Demo: Creating a PHP class from template with automatic namespace detection

🔄 Intelligent Namespace Refactoring

Save time and prevent bugs with comprehensive namespace management:

• File Operations:
  • Move files: Automatically adjust namespaces and all references
  • Rename files: Update class/interface/trait/enum names and all references
  • Manage directories: Refactor all files within moved/renamed directories
• Smart Use Statement Management:
  • Adds missing use statements when needed
  • Removes redundant use statements when files share namespace
  • Updates fully qualified and partially qualified namespace references
  • Supports use statements with aliases
  • Automatically sorts use statements (normal use, use function, use const) alphabetically — optional and configurable in the settings.
• Efficient Processing: Handles reference updates in parallel for better performance
• Flexible Configuration: Control refactoring behavior for each operation type
• Format Integrity: Preserves your preferred line break style (CR, LF, CRLF) during all file operations

Demo: Moving a PHP file with automatic namespace and reference updates

Demo: Renaming a PHP file with automatic definition and reference updates

Usage

Creating PHP Files

Right-click in the Explorer and select from the "Create PHP File" submenu:

Basic Files

• Empty PHP File: Creates a basic PHP file with namespace
• Empty PHP Function: Creates a basic PHP function with namespace
• Empty PHP Class: Creates a PHP class with namespace
• Empty PHP Interface: Creates a PHP interface with namespace
• Empty PHP Trait: Creates a PHP trait with namespace
• Empty PHP Enum: Creates a PHP 8.1+ enum with namespace

Template Files

• PHP Function with Template: Creates a PHP function with helpful boilerplate code
• PHP Class with Template: Creates a PHP class with helpful boilerplate code
• PHP Interface with Template: Creates a PHP interface with method templates
• PHP Trait with Template: Creates a PHP trait with method examples
• PHP Enum with Template: Creates a PHP enum with case examples

Symfony Templates

• Symfony Controller: Creates a controller with route attributes and render method
• Symfony Command: Creates a command with complete structure following Symfony console conventions
• Symfony Form Type: Creates a form type with buildForm and configureOptions methods

All created files automatically detect the proper namespace based on your project's PSR-4 configuration in composer.json or (when enabled) fall back to an intelligent directory-based namespace structure.

Namespace Refactoring

The extension automatically refactors namespaces and references during standard file operations:

• Simply move files between directories or rename files in your editor or file explorer
• When prompted, confirm the refactoring operation (if using default settings)
• That's it! The extension handles all namespace updates, class renames, and reference adjustments

💡 Tip: Use the extension settings to control whether confirmations are shown or to disable specific refactoring features

Recommendations

No setup required — the extension works right after installation!

For even better results and the most reliable namespace refactoring, consider these recommendations:

• PHP executable is configured
  Set the PHP path in VS Code settings (php.validate.executablePath or php.executablePath), or ensure PHP is available in your system’s PATH.

• composer.json at the root of your workspace(s)
  This helps the extension detect your project’s PSR-4 autoloading configuration, which is particularly useful for larger projects or when using frameworks like Symfony or Laravel.

• Composer dependencies are installed
  Having the vendor directory and installed packages improves detection of global functions and enhances namespace handling.

💡 Tip: The extension works out of the box, but following these recommendations will further improve the accuracy and effectiveness of namespace and reference refactoring.

Extension Settings

All settings can be configured through VS Code settings (Gear icon → Extensions → PHP Smart Files) or in your settings.json file.

Available Languages

This extension is available in multiple languages:

• English
• German (Deutsch)
• French (Français)
• Spanish (Español)
• Russian (Русский)

About This Project

🌱 Project Origins

PHP Smart Files began as a personal project to simplify my own development workflow. Initially created as a simple tool for generating correctly namespaced PHP files, it has grown into a comprehensive solution, driven by evolving requirements and continuous feature enhancements.

Looking back, it's nice to see how far this project has come. The files actually became "smart" along the way - handling namespaces and refactoring automatically, which saves a lot of manual work I used to do.

🧰 Development & Maintenance

I maintain this extension in my spare time alongside a full-time job and other responsibilities. While I'm committed to its quality and stability, it's important to set realistic expectations:

• Bug fixes and critical issues are prioritized
• Feature requests are evaluated based on community interest and implementation complexity
• Response times may vary depending on my availability

I'll do my best to keep this extension reliable and useful while balancing its scope with available time.

Release Notes

Current Version: 1.1.0

• Improved support for use function and use const statements during namespace refactoring.
• Automatic grouping and alphabetical sorting of use statements by type.
• New ability to create PHP function files directly from the file creation dialog.
• Added a global reserved service to prevent naming conflicts with PHP built-in functions, constants, and keywords.
• Visual updates including a refreshed logo and Marketplace banner.

For the full list of changes and detailed release notes, please see the CHANGELOG.

Current Limitations

Grouped Namespace Statements

The current version doesn't support grouped use statements in namespace refactoring:

// Not fully supported yet:
use MyNamespace\{ClassA, ClassB as B, SubNamespace\ClassC};

When using this PHP syntax feature, refactoring operations may be incomplete or require manual adjustments. Support for grouped namespace statements is planned for future releases. If this feature is important to your workflow, please see the "Feedback and Contributions" section below and let me know.

Feedback and Contributions

Your feedback, ideas, and contributions are truly appreciated! If you've found a bug, have a suggestion, or want to contribute:

• Submit an issue
• Contribute on GitHub

Thanks for helping make PHP Smart Files better!

License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License.

Enjoying PHP Smart Files? Consider rating it in the VS Code Marketplace!