🪄 Artisan Tinker Runner

A lightweight VS Code / Cursor extension to execute PHP code directly in Artisan Tinker from a dedicated sidebar panel — no terminal, no file switching, no setup.

Developed by abcprintf · workitdee.com

Artisan Tinker Runner Overview

✨ Features

Feature	Description
🖥️ Sidebar Panel	Dedicated panel in Activity Bar, always accessible, theme-aware
⚡ Quick Execution	Run PHP code via `php artisan tinker --execute` safely
🛑 Stop Process	Kill a runaway or infinite-loop process instantly with the Stop button
📜 Execution History	Auto-saves successful snippets (up to 15) with timestamps
🔍 Search History	Filter history dropdown in real-time by keyword
🎨 Pretty-Print Output	Auto-formats JSON and `var_dump`/`print_r` output for readability
⏱️ Execution Time	Shows elapsed milliseconds after each run
📋 Copy / Clear Output	One-click copy to clipboard or clear the output area
🛡️ Friendly Error Messages	Human-readable errors for PHP not found, missing artisan, and crashes
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcut	`Ctrl+Enter` / `Cmd+Enter` to execute instantly
🌓 Auto Theme Sync	UI adapts automatically to any VS Code / Cursor theme
🌐 PHP Path Auto-Detect	Detects `php` from PATH automatically; override in settings
⏰ Timeout Guard	Kills runaway processes after a configurable timeout (default 30s)
⚡ Execution Cache	Caches results for identical code within a TTL window (default 30s)
🐳 Sail / Docker Auto-Detect	Detects `vendor/bin/sail` and switches to `sail tinker` automatically
🪟 WSL Support	Routes execution via `wsl` for WSL workspace paths
🔄 Persistent REPL	Optional toggle to keep a single Tinker process alive between runs
🗄️ Query Log Viewer	Auto-detects `DB::getQueryLog()` output and renders as an interactive table
🌐 Share via Gist	Share code + output as a secret GitHub Gist with one click
🧪 Test Runner	Run `php artisan test` directly from the sidebar panel
📈 Usage Analytics	Local-only stats: runs, cache hits, shares, and tests (never leaves your machine)
🎓 Interactive Tutorial	5-step guided walkthrough shown automatically on first install
📦 Zero Config	Just open a Laravel project and start tinkering
🔐 Safe Execution	`shell: false` prevents shell injection; each run is isolated

📦 Installation

From Marketplace (Recommended)

Open VS Code or Cursor
Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Extensions)
Search: Artisan Tinker Runner
Click Install → Reload when prompted

From VSIX (Offline)

Download the latest .vsix from the Marketplace
In VS Code: Ctrl+Shift+P → Extensions: Install from VSIX...
Select the downloaded file

🚀 Usage

Basic Flow

1. Open a Laravel project (must contain `artisan` in root)
2. Click the 🪄 icon in the Activity Bar
3. Type or paste PHP code in the editor
4. Press ▶ Execute or Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter
5. View formatted output instantly below
6. Use the 📜 History dropdown (or search box) to recall previous snippets

Example Snippets

// Count records
User::count();

// Inspect environment
app()->environment();

// Pretty-print an array (auto-formatted)
dump(config('app'));

// Complex query
App\Models\Order::with('user')->where('status', 'pending')->get();

// Capture query log
DB::enableQueryLog();
User::all();
$q = DB::getQueryLog();
return $q;

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Windows / Linux	macOS
Execute	`Ctrl + Enter`	`Cmd + Enter`
Stop process	Click ■ Stop button	Same

⚙️ Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`artisan-tinker-runner.phpPath`	`""`	Custom PHP executable path. Empty = auto-detect from PATH
`artisan-tinker-runner.timeout`	`30`	Execution timeout in seconds before the process is killed
`artisan-tinker-runner.cacheEnabled`	`true`	Cache results for identical code within the TTL window
`artisan-tinker-runner.cacheTtl`	`30`	Cache time-to-live in seconds

🐛 Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
`❌ PHP not found`	Ensure `php` is in `PATH`. Test: `php -v` in terminal
`❌ No artisan file found`	Open the Laravel project root as workspace (not a subfolder)
Blank / white webview	Open Webview Developer Tools → Console tab for details
`(ไม่มีผลลัพธ์)` shown	Use `echo`, `return`, or `dump()` — `--execute` only captures explicit output
Process hangs	Click ■ Stop to kill the process immediately
History not saving	Check Webview Console for `localStorage` errors

📬 Support

🌐 Website: workitdee.com
👤 Author: abcprintf