Ide Helper Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install the package as a dev dependency to get Swoole extension autocompletion in your IDE:

composer require --dev swoole/ide-helper:~6.0.0

Ensure your Swoole extension version matches the stubs (e.g., swoole_version() returns 6.0.2). Once installed, start typing Swoole classes like Swoole\Coroutine::sleep() or new Swoole\Http\Server(...)—your IDE (PHPStorm, VS Code + Intelephense) will auto-populate parameter names, types, and return values. No runtime configuration needed.

Implementation Patterns

• IDE-only stub usage: The package contains only .php stub files—no runtime code. Keep it in require-dev to prevent bloating production builds.
• Version alignment: Always match swoole/ide-helper version to your Swoole extension (check php -m | grep swoole). Mismatched versions cause misleading signatures (e.g., missing 6.x methods in 5.x stubs).
• Swoole server development: When building servers with Swoole\Server, IDE hints improve callback signatures (e.g., on('request', fn($request, $response) => {...})) and reduce typos in enum options like SWOOLE_PROCESS.
• Annotation reuse: Copy return types from stubs into your own PHPDoc (e.g., @return Swoole\Server\Port|false) for better static analysis with Psalm/PHPStan.

Gotchas and Tips

• use_shortname conflict: If swoole.use_shortname=Off in php.ini, your IDE will still show aliases like Co::sleep() (from stubs), but runtime will fail. Either enable shortnames or disable stub shortname entries via IDE settings or phpcs rules.
• Stubs ≠ runtime behavior: Stub signatures assume default config (e.g., swoole.enable_coroutine=On). Runtime coroutines may behave differently under preemptive scheduling—always test edge cases in dev env.
• IDE indexing pitfalls: In PHPStorm, ensure vendor/swoole/ide-helper/ isn’t in Excluded Paths; in VS Code, verify Intelephense indexes vendor/ (set "intelephense.environment.includePaths" if needed).
• Avoid @dev in prod: Using swoole/ide-helper:@dev introduces breaking changes without warning. Pin to stable releases matching your Swoole version for reliability.
• Zero runtime footprint—but watch disk: The package adds ~2MB of stubs. Commit only if your repo is Swoole-specific (e.g., hyperf microservices), otherwise keep it require-dev and .gitignore the vendor dir.