PhpStorm Plugin Development

PhpStorm is an IntelliJ Platform-based product. Plugin projects targeting PhpStorm can be developed using IntelliJ IDEA.

PhpStorm Plugin Setup

Gradle Build Script

IntelliJ Platform Gradle Plugin (2.x)

Define a dependency using phpstorm(), see Versions link on top of this page for all available versions. See Local IntelliJ Platform IDE Instance for using a local installation.

A dependency on the bundled com.jetbrains.php plugin must be added using the bundledPlugin() helper.

Minimum build.gradle.kts setup:

repositories {
  mavenCentral()
  intellijPlatform {
    defaultRepositories()
  }
}

dependencies {
  intellijPlatform {
    phpstorm("<versionNumber>")
    bundledPlugin("com.jetbrains.php")
  }
}

Gradle IntelliJ Plugin (1.x)

The configuration of targeting PhpStorm IDE follows the methods described in Configuring Plugin Projects Using a Product-Specific Attribute.

The possibility of configuring the PS IntelliJ Platform type was introduced in Gradle IntelliJ Plugin (1.x) 1.8.0. Only the versions of PhpStorm 2022.2 and newer are supported.

The table below summarizes the Gradle IntelliJ Plugin attributes to set in the plugin project's Gradle build script. Click on an entry in the table's Attribute column to go to the documentation about that attribute.

`gradle-intellij-plugin` Attribute	Attribute Value
`intellij.type`	`PS` for PhpStorm.
`intellij.version`	Set to the targeted `PS` version (only versions 2022.2+ are supported).

PhpStorm plugins targeting versions older than 2022.2 are developed using the Ultimate Edition of IntelliJ IDEA. The IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition (with the PHP plugin) must be used for developing PhpStorm plugins because the PHP plugin is incompatible with IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. However, this IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate configuration runs the risk of accidentally using some APIs that are not available in PhpStorm. The recommended best practice is to use PhpStorm for testing.

Configuration of a Gradle-based PhpStorm plugin project is used as a tutorial in the section Configuring Plugin Projects using the IntelliJ IDEA Product Attribute. Many techniques are discussed, such as choosing a version of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate given a targeted version of PhpStorm.

The table below summarizes the Gradle IntelliJ Plugin (1.x) attributes to set in the plugin project's Gradle build script. Click on an entry in the table's Attribute column to go to the documentation about that attribute. To see how these attributes appear in the Gradle build script for PhpStorm, see Configuring Gradle Build Script Using the IntelliJ IDEA Product Attribute.

`gradle-intellij-plugin` Attribute	Attribute Value
`intellij.type`	`IU` for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate. The required PHP plugin isn't compatible with IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition.
`intellij.version`	Set to the same `IU` BRANCH.BUILD as the PhpStorm target version, e.g. `193.5233.102`.
`intellij.plugins`	`com.jetbrains.php:193.5233.102` for the PHP plugin. See below for PHP plugin version information.
`runIde.ideDir`	Path to locally installed target version of PhpStorm. For example, on macOS: /Users/$USERNAME$/Library/Application Support/JetBrains/Toolbox/apps/PhpStorm/ch-0/193.5233.101/PhpStorm.app/Contents.

The PHP plugin version is explicitly declared because it isn't bundled with IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition. Select a version of the PHP plugin compatible with the intellij.version.

plugin.xml

The dependency on the PHP plugin APIs (com.jetbrains.php) must be declared in the plugin.xml file, as shown in the tutorial Configuring plugin.xml section.

Last modified: 06 February 2025