ptsearch - PHP Token Search

Token-aware search panel for PHP codebases. Searches inside chosen token types only (strings, variables, funcs, consts, comments, numbers, inline html, others), so uid in a string won't drown in $uid variables - something plain-text search can't do. Live search, native-search-style UI, results grouped by file with click-to-jump.

Features

• Search restricted to selected php token types; every type button shows a live match count (post-filter) whether selected or not.
• Match case / whole word / regex flags, native-style.
• Find-similar mode (≈ on the input): the input becomes a php snippet, matched as a token sequence - whitespace and comments ignored, variables may be renamed (consistently: $x=$x finds $a=$a, never $a=$b).
• Include / exclude file globs (legacy.php,*.bak.php → **/legacy.php,**/*.bak.php).
• Exclude filters: rows that disqualify hits by their surrounding line, each with its own match-case / whole-word / regex flags.
• Unsaved editor buffers are searched as typed, not stale disk content.
• Live search with 250ms debounce; results grouped by file, collapsible, token-true syntax-tinted previews, click or Enter to jump.
• Clicked hits get a dim · mark (per search word) and become the arrow-nav position, so you can walk results sequentially across jumps; ⟳ re-runs and clears the marks.
• Multi-root workspaces: results sectioned per root, collapsible; the status line shows searched-file counts per root.
• Hit cap (ptsearch.maxHits) keeps huge searches from stalling the UI; the status line says when results were cut.
• Panel state (word, flags, globs, filters, token toggles) survives window reload.

Usage

• Open: magnifier icon in the activity bar, command PHP Token Search: open, or Ctrl+Alt+F (Cmd+Alt+F mac) to search the current selection / word under cursor.
• Type to search; ··· opens include/exclude globs and exclude filters (it lights up whenever filters are active but collapsed).
• Token type buttons choose where matches may live. funcs = name followed by ( (calls + definitions; new Foo( counts), consts = bare names (class names included), others = everything unclassified (keywords, operators, tags, casts).

Find similar (≈)

The ≈ toggle on the search input flips it into find-similar mode: the input is then a php snippet, matched as a token sequence. Formatting and comments are invisible, non-variable tokens must match exactly, variables match by consistent renaming (bijective: $x=$x finds $a=$a, never $a=$b). Each hit is reported at the first token of the matched sequence.

Wildcards (phpgrep-style):

Non-wildcard names and keywords compare case-insensitively (php semantics); variables, strings and numbers compare exactly. Examples: $_ == null (non-strict null compares), foo($_, ${"int"}), stripos(${"str"}, $_) (misplaced args), setcookie(${"x:var"}, $x).

In this mode the Aa/ab/.* flags and the token type buttons gray out (they're word-search concepts and don't apply), and a caption under the input previews the exact searched sequence - plain = literal, dotted-underline = consistent variable, dashed-underline = typed/anonymous wildcard. The preview comes from the engine itself, so it always shows what actually ran. Toggle ≈ off to return to word search.

Exclude filters

Each row disqualifies hits by the line they sit on (same line only):

• regex mode (.* on, the default): the pattern runs on the hit's line; a hit lying fully inside any match span is excluded. Example: //.* drops hits inside trailing comments.
• literal mode (.* off): paste a snippet containing the search word (e.g. _GET('uid') when searching uid); hits whose line aligns with the snippet around them are excluded.
• Aa = match case, ab = whole word - per row.

Keyboard & mouse shortcuts

API for other extensions

Anything that can run vscode commands (extensions, keybindings, tasks) can open the panel pre-filled and running:

vscode.commands.executeCommand('ptsearch.search',{
	word:'uid',                 // the search word/pattern
	types:'strings,comments',   // token type labels, comma separated
	flags:'ci,ww',              // any of: re (regex), ci (ignore case), ww (whole word)
	inc:'src/**',               // files to include glob
	exc:'legacy.php',           // files to exclude glob
	excl:[{p:'//.*',re:1,cs:1,ww:0}], // exclude filter rows
	sim:"in_array($x,$arr,true)",     // find-similar snippet; non-empty = runs instead of word search
});

All args optional - omitted ones keep the panel's current state. ptsearch.searchSelection (the Ctrl+Alt+F command) grabs the active editor's selection or the word under the cursor and calls the above.

Dependencies

• PHP CLI on the machine - vanilla php, any stock 8.x (minimum 7.2). No composer, no pecl extensions, no php.ini requirements. If php isn't found, the panel shows setup instructions with one-click access to the ptsearch.php setting.
• VS Code ≥ 1.75. No npm dependencies.

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