How to Enable ServBay's Built-in Xdebug Module

As a powerful integrated web development tool, ServBay comes with the Xdebug module, and its enabling process is quite simple. Xdebug is a PHP debugging and profiling tool that helps developers with code debugging, performance analysis, and code coverage detection, making it an essential tool for developing and maintaining PHP applications.

Introduction to the Xdebug Module

Xdebug is a powerful PHP extension used for debugging and profiling PHP code. It offers a wide array of debugging features such as breakpoints, stack tracing, and variable watching. Additionally, Xdebug supports performance profiling and code coverage detection, assisting developers in optimizing code performance and ensuring code quality.

Key Features

1. Breakpoint Debugging: Xdebug allows setting breakpoints in the code to debug it line by line, making it easy to find and fix errors.
2. Stack Tracing: Xdebug generates detailed stack trace information when an error occurs, helping developers quickly locate problems.
3. Performance Profiling: Xdebug provides performance profiling capabilities, producing detailed performance reports to help developers optimize code performance.
4. Code Coverage: Xdebug supports code coverage detection, aiding developers in ensuring that all code paths are tested.
5. IDE Integration: Xdebug can be integrated with various integrated development environments (IDEs) like PHPStorm and Visual Studio Code, providing a convenient debugging experience.

Xdebug Module Versions in ServBay

ServBay supports multiple PHP versions, each pre-installed with the corresponding Xdebug module. The specific versions are as follows:

• PHP 5.6, 7.0, 7.1: Xdebug 2.5.5
• PHP 7.2, 7.3, 7.4: Xdebug 3.1.6
• PHP 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3: Xdebug 3.3.1
• PHP 8.4: Xdebug 3.4.0-dev

Note

Each PHP version's Xdebug port is independent and associated with the version number, e.g., PHP 7.2's Xdebug port is 39072, PHP 8.3's Xdebug port is 39083.

How to Enable the Xdebug Module

By default, the Xdebug module is disabled. Enabling the Xdebug module is straightforward, requiring only modifications to the configuration file of the respective PHP version. The detailed steps are as follows:

Step 1: Locate the Configuration File

First, find the conf.d directory for the corresponding PHP version. For example, to enable the Xdebug module for PHP 8.3, we need to edit the following file:

/Applications/ServBay/etc/php/8.3/conf.d/xdebug.ini

Step 2: Edit the Configuration File

Open the xdebug.ini file and uncomment the following line:

[Xdebug]
; Uncomment the following line to enable XDebug
zend_extension = xdebug.so

Step 3: Configure Xdebug Parameters

To fully leverage Xdebug's features, configure some commonly used parameters in the xdebug.ini file. For example:

xdebug.mode=debug,develop
xdebug.start_with_request=yes
xdebug.client_host=localhost
xdebug.client_port=39083
xdebug.log=/Applications/ServBay/logs/xdebug/8.3/xdebug.log

Step 4: Restart the PHP Service

In ServBay's service management panel, restart the corresponding PHP service, e.g., restart the PHP 8.3 service. Once restarted, the Xdebug module will be successfully loaded.

Verify if the Xdebug Module is Loaded Successfully

You can verify if the Xdebug module was successfully loaded by creating a simple PHP file. In the web server's root directory, create a phpinfo.php file with the following content:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Access https://servbay.host/phpinfo.php, and look for Xdebug information in the PHP info page. If Xdebug-related information is displayed, the module has been successfully loaded.

Configuring Xdebug in PHPStorm

To use Xdebug for debugging in PHPStorm, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open PHPStorm and Go to Settings

1. Open PHPStorm.
2. Click File in the menu bar and select Settings (Windows/Linux) or Preferences (macOS).

Step 2: Configure PHP Interpreter

1. In the settings window, navigate to Languages & Frameworks -> PHP.
2. In the CLI Interpreter section, click the ... button on the right.
3. In the popped-up window, click the + sign to add a new PHP interpreter and select Local.
4. Set the PHP interpreter path to the corresponding PHP version path in ServBay, e.g., /Applications/ServBay/package/php/8.3/8.3.7/bin/php.
5. Click OK to save the settings.

Step 3: Configure Xdebug Debugging

Note

Each PHP version's Xdebug port is independent and associated with the version number, e.g., PHP 7.2's Xdebug port is 39072, PHP 8.3's Xdebug port is 39083.

1. In the settings window, navigate to Languages & Frameworks -> PHP -> Debug.
2. In the Xdebug section, set the Debug Port to 39083, matching the xdebug.client_port configuration.
3. Ensure the Can accept external connections option is checked.
4. Click Apply, then click OK to save the settings.

Step 4: Configure PHP Web Server

1. In the settings window, navigate to Languages & Frameworks -> PHP -> Servers.
2. Click the + sign on the right to add a new server configuration.
3. Set the server name, e.g., ServBay Localhost.
4. Set Host to the corresponding host in ServBay, e.g., servbay.new, and port to 443 (HTTPS).
5. Set Debugger to Xdebug.
6. Click OK to save the settings.

Step 5: Start a Debugging Session

1. Open the PHP project you want to debug in PHPStorm.
2. Set a breakpoint in the code (click on the left side of the line number).
3. Click the Start Listening for PHP Debug Connections button (little bug icon) in the PHPStorm top toolbar.
4. In the browser, access your PHP application, Xdebug will automatically connect to PHPStorm and pause execution at the breakpoint.

Conclusion

ServBay offers a convenient way to manage and enable the Xdebug module. With simple configuration and restart operations, developers can quickly enable the Xdebug module in different PHP versions, fully leveraging its powerful debugging and profiling features to enhance PHP application development and maintenance efficiency. Xdebug's breakpoint debugging, performance profiling, and code coverage detection features make it an indispensable tool for PHP developers.