PHP Linters — VS Code Extension
A Visual Studio Code extension that runs PHP_CodeSniffer and PHPStan in your current workspace and displays the results directly in the sidebar, with one-click navigation to every error.
Features
- Two dedicated views in the activity bar sidebar: one for PHPCS, one for PHPStan
- File tree: only files containing errors or warnings are displayed
- Error details: each file node is expandable to list all its violations
- Direct navigation: clicking a file opens it in the editor; clicking an error opens it at the exact line (and column)
- Run on save: option to automatically re-run the analysis whenever a PHP file is saved
Installation
From the VSIX file (recommended)
Download the latest phpcs-vs-ext-x.x.x.vsix from the Releases page, then install it in one of the following ways:
Via the VS Code command palette:
- Open the command palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
- Run Extensions: Install from VSIX…
- Select the downloaded
.vsix file
Via the terminal:
code --install-extension phpcs-vs-ext-0.1.0.vsix
From source
git clone https://github.com/Honemo/Phpcs-vs-ext.git
cd Phpcs-vs-ext
npm install
npx @vscode/vsce package
code --install-extension phpcs-vs-ext-0.1.0.vsix
Requirements
| Tool |
Installation |
| PHP_CodeSniffer |
composer global require squizlabs/php_codesniffer or vendor/bin/phpcs |
| PHPStan |
composer global require phpstan/phpstan or vendor/bin/phpstan |
The commands must be available in your PATH or via vendor/bin/ at the workspace root.
Usage
1 — Open a PHP project
Open any folder containing PHP files in VS Code (File > Open Folder…). The extension activates automatically.
Click the PHP Linters icon in the activity bar (left side of the window). Two panels appear:
- PHPCS Results — violations reported by PHP_CodeSniffer
- PHPStan Results — errors reported by PHPStan
3 — Run an analysis
Each panel has its own toolbar with three action buttons:
PHPCS panel:
| Button |
Icon |
Action |
| Run |
▶ |
Launch the analysis |
| Fix |
⚡ |
Auto-fix violations using PHPCBF |
| Clear |
⊗ |
Reset the panel and discard current results |
PHPStan panel:
| Button |
Icon |
Action |
| Run |
▶ |
Launch the analysis |
| Clear |
⊗ |
Reset the panel and discard current results |
Click ▶ in either panel to start the corresponding tool. The results appear within seconds once the command completes.
4 — Read the results
The results are displayed as a file tree. Only files that contain at least one error or warning are listed.
📁 src/Controller/HomeController.php 3 errors
├ 12:5 Missing doc comment for function index()
├ 27:1 Line exceeds 120 characters
└ 34:9 Unused variable $data
📁 src/Model/User.php 1 error
└ 8:14 Missing member variable doc comment
Each file node shows the total number of violations. Click the arrow to expand or collapse it.
5 — Navigate to an error
| Click target |
Result |
| A file row |
Opens the file in the editor |
| An error row |
Opens the file and moves the cursor to the exact line and column |
This lets you jump directly from a violation in the list to the offending line in your code, without any manual searching.
6 — Run on save (optional)
Enable automatic re-analysis whenever you save a PHP file by activating the Run on Save option in the settings (see Configuration below). This keeps the results panel always up to date as you work.
Configuration
Open File > Preferences > Settings and search for phpcs-vs-ext to access all options.
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
phpcs-vs-ext.command |
phpcs --report=json . |
Full PHPCS command. Must include --report=json. |
phpcs-vs-ext.phpcsfix |
vendor/bin/phpcbf --report=json . |
Command used to auto-fix issues via PHPCBF. |
phpcs-vs-ext.runOnSave |
false |
Re-run PHPCS automatically on every PHP file save. |
phpcs-vs-ext.phpstanCommand |
vendor/bin/phpstan analyse --error-format=json --no-progress |
Full PHPStan command. Must include --error-format=json. |
phpcs-vs-ext.phpstan.runOnSave |
false |
Re-run PHPStan automatically on every PHP file save. |
The commands run from the workspace root folder. Make sure the binaries are reachable either via vendor/bin/ or your system PATH.
Custom command examples
// WordPress coding standard
"phpcs-vs-ext.command": "vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=WordPress --report=json ."
// PHPStan on a specific level and folder
"phpcs-vs-ext.phpstanCommand": "vendor/bin/phpstan analyse --level=6 --error-format=json --no-progress src/"
// Global PHPCS binary targeting a subfolder
"phpcs-vs-ext.command": "phpcs --report=json src/"
// Using a phpstan.neon config file
"phpcs-vs-ext.phpstanCommand": "vendor/bin/phpstan analyse --error-format=json --no-progress --configuration=phpstan.neon"
Development
git clone https://github.com/Honemo/Phpcs-vs-ext.git
cd Phpcs-vs-ext
npm install
Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.
The TypeScript watcher starts automatically via the default build task.
License
MIT
