Getting started with phpstorm

Remarks#

This section provides an overview of what phpstorm is, and why a developer might want to use it.

It should also mention any large subjects within phpstorm, and link out to the related topics. Since the Documentation for phpstorm is new, you may need to create initial versions of those related topics.

Versions#

Version	Release Date
2017.1	2017-04-27
2016.3	2016-11-24
2016.2	2016-07-13
2016.1	2016-03-17
10	2015-11-02
9	2015-07-08
8	2014-09-16
7	2013-10-22
6	2013-03-12
5	2012-09-12
4	2012-04-24
3	2012-01-12
2	2011-02-14
1	2010-05-27

Installation

Introduction

JetBrains PhpStorm is a commercial, cross-platform IDE for PHP. It is built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA platform, which is written in Java. It will thus run on all major operating systems that support Java.

Users can extend the IDE by installing plugins created for the IntelliJ Platform.

Requirements

Hardware

1 GB RAM minimum, 2 GB RAM recommended
1024x768 minimum screen resolution

Software

It is recommended to use the bundled Oracle Java Runtime Environment. OpenJDK may lead to unexpected behavior and is not officially supported.

Installing PhpStorm

To start using PhpStorm, download the version for the desired OS from the PhpStorm download page. The next step depends on the OS.

OS Specific instructions

Linux

Unpack the downloaded .tar.gz file.
Run PhpStorm.sh from the bin sub-directory

OSX

Download the PhpStorm-2016.2.dmg Mac OS X Disk Image file
Mount it as another disk in your system
Copy PhpStorm to your Applications folder

Windows

Run the downloaded .exe file that starts the Installation Wizard.
Follow all steps suggested by the wizard.
Pay special attention to the corresponding installation options.

License

PhpStorm includes bundled evaluation license key for a free 30-day trial. In order to use the IDE after that period, a license for PhpStorm needs to be acquired from Jetbrains.

Various licenses are offered free or at a discount:

Education and training / students and teachers discount: free
Open Source projects discount: free
Student graduation discount 25% off
Startups discount: 50% off

Early Access Program

Alternatively, Jetbrains also offers a program which allows user to try pre-release versions for free.

As stated on the PhpStorm EAP page, the pre-release software can be unstable at times:

Be warned: It is important to distinguish EAP from traditional pre-release software. Please note that the quality of EAP versions may at times be way below even usual beta standards.

Issue tracker

In case you experience problems, there is an official issue tracker where you can open bug reports and feature requests.