Laravel VS Code Extension Public Beta

VS Code has firmly established itself as the go-to editor for developers worldwide. While PHPStorm seems to be the preferred choice for Laravel developers, many, especially those transitioning from other languages, are comfortable and would prefer to do Laravel development in VS Code.

There is some Laravel support in VS Code through various extensions, but a truly seamless and integrated experience was missing. Recognizing this need, at Laracon US 2024 the Laravel core team announced the ambitious task of creating an official VS Code extension for Laravel. The wait is finally over, as the public beta is now available.

The new Laravel VS Code extension is set to enhance your development workflow by providing a suite of helpful features. It offers improved autocomplete, enhanced navigation with click-to-source functionality, and other tools to streamline your Laravel development experience. It can:

Auto-complete - for app bindings, config and environment variables, routes, models, views, and more.
Link directly to definitions for routes, models, and config values.
Warn if something's missing, like a config value or a blade template, and sometimes suggest fixes.
Provide more helpful information when you hover over the code.

Preview of the Laravel VS Code extension

More Features

Here is a non-exhaustive list of features covered in the extension so far:

App Bindings

app('auth')
App::make('auth.driver')
app()->make('auth.driver')
App::bound('auth.driver')
App::isShared('auth.driver')
// etc

Auto-completion
Links directly to binding
Warns when binding not found
Hoverable

Assets

asset('my-amazing-jpeg.png')

Auto-completion
Links directly to asset
Warns when asset not found
Blade
Syntax highlighting

Config

config('broadcasting.connections.reverb.app_id');
Config::get('broadcasting.connections.reverb.app_id');
Config::getMany([
    'broadcasting.connections.reverb.app_id',
    'broadcasting.connections.reverb.driver',
]);
config()->string('broadcasting.connections.reverb.app_id');
// etc

Auto-completion
Links directly to config value
Warns when config not found
Hoverable
Eloquent
Method auto-completion
Field auto-completion (e.g. where methods, create/make/object creation)
Relationship auto-completion (e.g. with method + with with array keys)
Sub-query auto-completion ( with with array keys + value as closure)

Env

env('REVERB_APP_ID');
Env::get('REVERB_APP_ID');

Auto-completion
Links directly to env value
Warns when env not found, offers quick fixes:
Add to .env
Copy value from .env.example
Hoverable

Inertia

inertia('Pages/Dashboard');
Inertia::render('Pages/Dashboard');
Route::inertia('/dashboard', 'Pages/Dashboard');

Auto-completion
Links directly to JS view
Warns when view not found, offers quick fixes:
Create view
Hoverable

Route

route('dashboard');
signedRoute('dashboard');
Redirect::route('dashboard');
Redirect::signedRoute('dashboard');
URL::route('dashboard');
URL::signedRoute('dashboard');
Route::middleware('auth');
redirect()->route('dashboard');
// etc

Auto-completion
Links directly to route definition
Warns when route not found
Hoverable

Middleware

Route::middleware('auth');
Route::middleware(['auth', 'web']);
Route::withoutMiddleware('auth');
// etc

Auto-completion
Links directly to middleware handling
Warns when middleware not found
Hoverable

Translation

trans('auth.failed');
__('auth.failed');
Lang::has('auth.failed');
Lang::get('auth.failed');
// etc

Auto-completion
Links directly to translation
Warns when translation not found
Hoverable
Parameter auto-completion

Validation

Validator::validate($input, ['name' => 'required']);
request()->validate(['name' => 'required']);
request()->sometimes(['name' => 'required']);
// etc

Auto-completion for strings/arrays (not "|" just yet)

View

view('dashboard');
Route::view('/', 'home');

Auto-completion
Links directly to Blade view
Warns when view not found, offers quick fixes:
Create view
Hoverable

More on the roadmap

Some things that are on the roadmap are:

Integration with VS Code test runner
Livewire support
Volt support
Pint support
Better autocompletion, linking, hovering, and diagnostics in Blade files

The extension is currently in Open Beta Testing. To provide feedback or report issues, follow the support instructions provided by the Laravel core team. Your input will help shape the future of this extension and make it the best-in-class Laravel VS Code extension.

Learn more about this extension on the marketplace and view the source code on Github.

The post Laravel VS Code Extension Public Beta appeared first on Laravel News.

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