Setup xdebug in ubuntu with VS Code

Identify Your PHP Versions

ls /etc/php/

# Check the current default php version
php -v
which php

If you need to switch between PHP versions, Make sure to install and configure Xdebug for each version you plan to use.

Install Xdebug for Your PHP Version

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.2-xdebug

Configure Xdebug

sudo nano /etc/php/8.2/mods-available/xdebug.ini

add these lines

zend_extension=xdebug.so
xdebug.mode=debug
xdebug.start_with_request=yes
xdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1
xdebug.client_port=9003
xdebug.log=/tmp/xdebug.log
xdebug.idekey=VSCODE

Verify Xdebug Installation

php -m | grep xdebug

php -r "phpinfo();" | grep xdebug

Test Xdebug

php -m | grep -i xdebug

Test Xdebug Functionality

echo '<?php var_dump(extension_loaded("xdebug")); xdebug_info(); ?>' > test_xdebug.php
php test_xdebug.php

• You should see bool(true) and Xdebug configuration information without any "already loaded" warnings.

Troubleshooting

tail -f /tmp/xdebug.log

Check if there are conflicting xdebug entries

grep -r "xdebug" /etc/php/

Restart server

# for apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# for Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

• If everything is set up correctly, Xdebug should be working by now.

Laravel-Specific Xdebug Configuration

Update Xdebug Configuration for Web Debugging

sudo nano /etc/php/8.2/mods-available/xdebug.ini

#add these lines
zend_extension=xdebug
xdebug.mode=debug,develop
xdebug.start_with_request=yes
xdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1
xdebug.client_port=9003
xdebug.log=/tmp/xdebug.log
xdebug.idekey=VSCODE
xdebug.max_nesting_level=512
xdebug.var_display_max_depth=10
xdebug.var_display_max_children=256
xdebug.var_display_max_data=1024

#restart apache server
sudo systemctl restart apache2

VS Code Configuration for Laravel

• install xdebug vs-code extension/s
• Create .vscode/launch.json in your Laravel root directory,
• NOTE: pathMappings in below json .vscode/launch.json

for PHP artisan serve

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Listen for Xdebug (Laravel Serve)",
            "type": "php",
            "request": "launch",
            "port": 9003,
            "pathMappings": {
                "/path/to/application": "${workspaceFolder}"
            },
            "ignore": ["**/vendor/**/*.php"]
        },
        {
            "name": "Debug Laravel Serve with Xdebug",
            "type": "php",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/artisan",
            "args": ["serve", "--host=127.0.0.1", "--port=8000"],
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "runtimeArgs": [
                "-dxdebug.mode=debug",
                "-dxdebug.client_host=127.0.0.1",
                "-dxdebug.client_port=9003",
                "-dxdebug.start_with_request=yes"
            ],
            "env": {
                "XDEBUG_CONFIG": "idekey=VSCODE"
            },
            "ignore": ["**/vendor/**/*.php"]
        }
    ]
}

• After setting up just click (F5) to start debug

Enable Xdebug for CLI and Web

#Enable for CLI (for artisan commands):
sudo phpenmod -s cli xdebug

#Enable for Apache/Nginx:
sudo phpenmod -s apache2 xdebug

# or for nginx with php-fpm
sudo phpenmod -s fpm xdebug

Restart Services

# For Apache:
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# For Nginx with PHP-FPM:
sudo systemctl restart php8.1-fpm
sudo systemctl restart nginx