On this page
Not every PHP project is Laravel or Symfony. If you maintain a Craft CMS site, a Magento 2 store or a ten-year-old CakePHP app, DevWorkspace Pro treats it as a first-class project. Any folder with composer.json shows a PHP badge, and Other PHP in New Project covers the DDEV project types beyond the big four frameworks.
Core features every project gets
Like every folder you add, a PHP project gets the full set of core tools:
- Files editor with PHP IntelliSense, ⌘+P and project search
- Git Changes, GitHub issues and Actions, and Send to AI
- AI sessions with resume, terminal tabs and Focus Pad
- The ⌘+K project switcher, uptime monitoring and Remote SSH
Extras for PHP projects
Because the app knows PHP, you also get:
- A PHP badge from
composer.jsonand an Other PHP create flow with a project type - A Run card with your Composer scripts
- PHP recipes on DDEV and a
composer.locksecurity scan - Runtime tools for DDEV (start, stop, services, database, PHP version, Xdebug, add-ons, logs), Docker Compose services and Local PHP
Your first day with a PHP project
Create or import
Click New Project, select Other PHP and pick a Type: Craft CMS, TYPO3, Magento 2, Shopware 6, CakePHP, Silverstripe, Backdrop, Drupal 7, Drupal 6, generic or PHP. With DDEV you can set the PHP version, web server, Composer version, document root and database.
Starting from an existing repository? Select Clone a repository, and the app clones it, runs ddev start and then ddev composer install. For a folder already on your disk, drag it onto the window.
Run it
DDEV projects have Start and Stop in the page header, and the same controls sit on the project card on the Projects page. The power icon in the top bar stops all DDEV projects at once.
With Local PHP, the Run card runs php -S localhost:8000 -t <docroot>. It also lists each composer run script and each Makefile target, using the target's ## comment as its description.
Hand a task to an AI agent
Press ⌘+J, type the task and press Enter. Pick Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode from the tool menu, and change the flags for this one session if you need to. After a restart, you can resume the session with the same conversation and the same flags.
Ship through GitHub
Commit from Git › Changes. Your commit hooks run as usual, and if one blocks the commit, its output shows under the message box. Push from the terminal, then watch CI in Git › Actions, where you can re-run a failed job or send the failure to your agent.
What PHP developers get
PHP IntelliSense
The Files tab and the Scratchpad use Phpactor. You get completion with automatic use imports, hover documentation, signature help and error markers. On a large codebase, the first index can take a few minutes.
Scratchpad (DDEV and SSH)
Run PHP inside your DDEV container one statement at a time, and each statement that returns a value gets its own card. You can also run code on your server through the Remote SSH connection. In projects without DDEV, the Scratchpad tab is a notes pad.
Recipes
DDEV projects get Rector (it creates rector.php), Laravel Pint (it works on any PHP code, not only Laravel), Prettier PHP, Addons, Cloudflare Tunnel and Additional Database. Upgrade DDEV lives in the This computer group. Support for the PHP recipes outside DDEV is in progress.
Dependency security
Health › Security reads composer.lock and checks every package against Packagist advisories and OSV.dev. Only package names and versions leave your computer. The check runs in the background, and the app tells you when a new vulnerability appears.
Xdebug (DDEV)
Turn Xdebug on and off per project from the page header.
Works with your existing setup
The app runs the php, composer, ddev and docker you already have installed. The tool check in New Project shows the version of each one and links to an installer when something is missing. Your Makefile, Composer scripts and shell aliases keep working, and IDE opens the project in PhpStorm, VS Code or any editor command.
For framework-specific features, see /for/laravel and /for/symfony. Docs: Projects, DDEV Projects, Files, Dependency Security.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which PHP project types can I create?
Laravel, Symfony, WordPress and Drupal have their own entries. Other PHP lists the DDEV project types: Craft CMS, TYPO3, Magento 2, Shopware 6, CakePHP, Silverstripe, Backdrop, Drupal 7, Drupal 6, generic and plain PHP.
Can I run PHP without Docker?
Yes. Select Local PHP in step 2. The app uses the PHP on your computer, for example from Laravel Herd, and runs php -S localhost:8000 with the web root of the project type.
What does the security scan read for PHP?
composer.lock. It checks direct and transitive packages, production and dev, against Packagist advisories and OSV.dev. If composer.json has no composer.lock, the scan shows a note.