A lightweight VS Code / Cursor extension to execute PHP code directly in Artisan Tinker from a dedicated sidebar panel — no terminal, no file switching, no setup.
Developed by abcprintf · workitdee.com
| Feature |
Description |
| 🖥️ Sidebar Panel |
Dedicated panel in Activity Bar, always accessible, theme-aware |
| 🎨 PHP Code Editor |
Syntax highlighting, line numbers, bracket matching & auto-close — powered by CodeMirror |
| ⚡ Quick Execution |
Run PHP code via php artisan tinker --execute safely |
| 🛑 Stop Process |
Kill a runaway or infinite-loop process instantly with the Stop button |
| 📜 Execution History |
Auto-saves successful snippets (up to 15) with timestamps |
| 🔍 Search History |
Filter history dropdown in real-time by keyword |
| 🎨 Pretty-Print Output |
Auto-formats JSON and var_dump/print_r output for readability |
| ⏱️ Execution Time |
Shows elapsed milliseconds after each run |
| 📋 Copy / Clear Output |
One-click copy to clipboard or clear the output area |
| 🛡️ Friendly Error Messages |
Human-readable errors for PHP not found, missing artisan, and crashes |
| ⌨️ Keyboard Shortcut |
Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter to execute instantly |
| 🌓 Auto Theme Sync |
UI adapts automatically to any VS Code / Cursor theme |
| 🌐 PHP Path Auto-Detect |
Detects php from PATH automatically; override in settings |
| ⏰ Timeout Guard |
Kills runaway processes after a configurable timeout (default 30s) |
| ⚡ Execution Cache |
Caches results for identical code within a TTL window (default 30s) |
| 🐳 Sail / Docker Auto-Detect |
Detects vendor/bin/sail and switches to sail tinker automatically |
| 🪟 WSL Support |
Routes execution via wsl for WSL workspace paths |
| 🔄 Persistent REPL |
Optional toggle to keep a single Tinker process alive between runs |
| 🗄️ Query Log Viewer |
Auto-detects DB::getQueryLog() output and renders as an interactive table |
| 🌐 Share via Gist |
Share code + output as a secret GitHub Gist with one click |
| 🧪 Test Runner |
Run php artisan test directly from the sidebar panel |
| 📈 Usage Analytics |
Local-only stats: runs, cache hits, shares, and tests (never leaves your machine) |
| 🎓 Interactive Tutorial |
5-step guided walkthrough shown automatically on first install |
| 📦 Zero Config |
Just open a Laravel project and start tinkering |
| 🔐 Safe Execution |
shell: false prevents shell injection; each run is isolated |
- Open VS Code or Cursor
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+X (Extensions)
- Search:
Artisan Tinker Runner
- Click Install → Reload when prompted
- Download the latest
.vsix from the Marketplace
- In VS Code:
Ctrl+Shift+P → Extensions: Install from VSIX...
- Select the downloaded file
1. Open a Laravel project (must contain `artisan` in root)
2. Click the 🪄 icon in the Activity Bar
3. Type or paste PHP code in the editor
4. Press ▶ Execute or Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter
5. View formatted output instantly below
6. Use the 📜 History dropdown (or search box) to recall previous snippets
// Count records
User::count();
// Inspect environment
app()->environment();
// Pretty-print an array (auto-formatted)
dump(config('app'));
// Complex query
App\Models\Order::with('user')->where('status', 'pending')->get();
// Capture query log
DB::enableQueryLog();
User::all();
$q = DB::getQueryLog();
return $q;
| Action |
Windows / Linux |
macOS |
| Execute |
Ctrl + Enter |
Cmd + Enter |
| Stop process |
Click ■ Stop button |
Same |
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
artisan-tinker-runner.phpPath |
"" |
Custom PHP executable path. Empty = auto-detect from PATH |
artisan-tinker-runner.timeout |
30 |
Execution timeout in seconds before the process is killed |
artisan-tinker-runner.cacheEnabled |
true |
Cache results for identical code within the TTL window |
artisan-tinker-runner.cacheTtl |
30 |
Cache time-to-live in seconds |
| Issue |
Solution |
❌ PHP not found |
Ensure php is in PATH. Test: php -v in terminal |
❌ No artisan file found |
Open the Laravel project root as workspace (not a subfolder) |
| Blank / white webview |
Open Webview Developer Tools → Console tab for details |
(ไม่มีผลลัพธ์) shown |
Use echo, return, or dump() — --execute only captures explicit output |
| Process hangs |
Click ■ Stop to kill the process immediately |
| History not saving |
Check Webview Console for localStorage errors |