setting-up-your-php-project-for-codespaces.md

title	allowTitleToDifferFromFilename	shortTitle	intro	versions	redirect_from	type	topics
Setting up a PHP project for GitHub Codespaces	true	Setting up a PHP project	Get started with a PHP project in {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} by creating a custom dev container configuration.	fpt ghec * *	/codespaces/getting-started-with-codespaces/getting-started-with-your-php-project-in-codespaces /codespaces/setting-up-your-project-for-codespaces/setting-up-your-php-project-for-codespaces	tutorial	Codespaces Developer Set up

Introduction

This guide shows you how to set up an example PHP project {% data reusables.codespaces.setting-up-project-intro %}

Step 1: Open the project in a codespace

{% data reusables.getting-started.sign-in-dotcom %}

1. Go to https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-remote-try-php. {% data reusables.codespaces.use-this-template %}

When you create a codespace, your project is created on a remote virtual machine that is dedicated to you. By default, the container for your codespace has many languages and runtimes including PHP. It also includes a common set of tools, such as Composer, XDebug, Apache, pecl, nvm, git, lynx, and curl.

{% data reusables.codespaces.customize-vcpus-and-ram %}

Step 2: Add a dev container configuration

The default development container, or "dev container," for {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} will allow you to work successfully on a PHP project like vscode-remote-try-php. However, we recommend that you configure your own dev container to include all of the tools and scripts your project needs. This will ensure a fully reproducible environment for all {% data variables.product.prodname_github_codespaces %} users in your repository.

{% data reusables.codespaces.setup-custom-devcontainer %} {% data reusables.codespaces.command-palette-container %}

1. Type php and click PHP. Other options are available if your project uses particular tools. For example, PHP & MariaDB.

2. Choose the version of PHP you want to use for your project. In this case, select the version marked "(default)."

3. A list of additional features you can install is displayed. We'll install {% data variables.product.prodname_cli %}, a tool for interacting with {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} from the command line. To install this tool, type github, select {% data variables.product.prodname_cli %}, then click OK, then select Keep defaults.

{% data reusables.codespaces.overwrite-devcontainer-config %} {% data reusables.codespaces.details-of-devcontainer-config %}

// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
// README at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates/tree/main/src/php
{
  "name": "PHP",
  // Or use a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. More info: https://containers.dev/guide/dockerfile
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/php:1-8.2-bullseye",

  // Features to add to the dev container. More info: https://containers.dev/features.
  // "features": {},

  // Configure tool-specific properties.
  // "customizations": {},

  // Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
  "forwardPorts": [
    8080
  ],
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
  }

  // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
  // "postCreateCommand": "sudo chmod a+x \"$(pwd)\" && sudo rm -rf /var/www/html && sudo ln -s \"$(pwd)\" /var/www/html"

  // Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
  // "remoteUser": "root"
}

{% data reusables.codespaces.devcontainer-properties-1 %} {% data reusables.codespaces.devcontainer-properties-2 %} {% data reusables.codespaces.additional-container-config %}

Step 3: Modify your devcontainer.json file

With your dev container configuration added and a basic understanding of what everything does, you can now make changes to customize your environment further. In this example, you'll add properties that will:

• Run composer install, after the dev container is created, to install the dependencies listed in a composer.json file.
• Automatically install a {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %} extension in this codespace.

1. In the devcontainer.json file, delete the two commented-out lines about features:

   // Features to add to the dev container. More info: https://containers.dev/features.
   // "features": {},

2. Edit the customizations property as follows to install the "Composer" extension.

   // Configure tool-specific properties.
   "customizations": {
     // Configure properties specific to VS Code.
     "vscode": {
       "extensions": [
         "ikappas.composer"
       ]
     }
   },

3. Add a comma after the features property.

   "features": {
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
   },

4. Uncomment the postCreateCommand property and add some text to the end to run the command composer install if a composer.json file exists. (The existing commands are just some setup procedures that allow Apache to access the files in the workspace.)

   // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
   "postCreateCommand": "sudo chmod a+x \"$(pwd)\" && sudo rm -rf /var/www/html && sudo ln -s \"$(pwd)\" /var/www/html; if [ -f composer.json ];then composer install;fi"

The devcontainer.json file should now look similar to this, depending on which image you chose:

// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
// README at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates/tree/main/src/php
{
  "name": "PHP",
  // Or use a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. More info: https://containers.dev/guide/dockerfile
  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/php:1-8.2-bullseye",

  // Configure tool-specific properties.
  "customizations": {
    // Configure properties specific to VS Code.
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "ikappas.composer"
      ]
    }
  },

  // Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
  "forwardPorts": [
    8080
  ],
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/github-cli:1": {}
  },

  // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
  "postCreateCommand": "sudo chmod a+x \"$(pwd)\" && sudo rm -rf /var/www/html && sudo ln -s \"$(pwd)\" /var/www/html; if [ -f composer.json ];then composer install;fi"

  // Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
  // "remoteUser": "root"
}

{% data reusables.codespaces.save-changes %} {% data reusables.codespaces.rebuild-command %} {% data reusables.codespaces.rebuild-reason %}

After the dev container is rebuilt, and your codespace becomes available again, the postCreateCommand will have been run, installing any Composer dependencies, and the "Composer" extension will be available for use.

Step 4: Run your application

In the previous section, you modified the postCreateCommand to install a set of packages via the composer install command. With the dependencies now installed, you can run the application. However, in this scenario we first need to change the ports that Apache will listen on. We're forwarding port 8080, so we'll instruct Apache to use this port rather than the default port 80.

1. In the Terminal of your codespace, enter:

   sudo sed -i 's/Listen 80$//' /etc/apache2/ports.conf

2. Then, enter:

   sudo sed -i 's/<VirtualHost \*:80>/ServerName 127.0.0.1\n<VirtualHost \*:8080>/' /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf

3. Then start Apache using its control tool:

   apache2ctl start

4. When your project starts, you should see a "toast" notification message at the bottom right corner of {% data variables.product.prodname_vscode_shortname %}, telling you that your application is available on a forwarded port. To view the running application, click Open in Browser.

Step 5: Commit your changes

{% data reusables.codespaces.committing-link-to-procedure %}

Next steps

You should now be able to add a custom dev container configuration to your own PHP project.

{% data reusables.codespaces.next-steps-adding-devcontainer %}