How to test php code in browser

A GUI to open PHP/HTML/JS files in browser on http://localhost or file:/// scheme. Suitable for XAMPP/MAMP.

You can open any type of file in browser, not only html file with just one click!

Supported browsers: Firefox / Google Chrome / Chromium / Safari / Opera / Edge / IE or any other using configured custom script

Usage

You can open current file in browser using following methods:

Click the button Open In Browser on StatusBar
In the editor, right click on the file and click in context menu Open PHP/HTML/JS In Browser
Use keybindings Shift + F6 to open more faster (can be changed in menu File -> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts)

Shortcuts

Key	Command
`Shift + F6`	Open PHP/HTML/JS In Browser

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

Option	Description
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.urlToOpen`	Url scheme to open in browser (`http://localhost` or `file:///` or `custom`)
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.selectedBrowser`	Browser to open (`Chrome`, `Firefox`, ...)
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.customBrowserPath`	Path of a custom browser executable (eg. `C:\Program Files\Browser\Browser.exe`)
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.rememberBrowserSelection`	Remember last browser selection. Uncheck and select `Ask always...` option if you want to always choose browser to launch
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.showStatusBarItem`	Show the button `Open In Browser` in the vscode status bar
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.documentRootFolder`	Base directory of your pages to serve from `http://localhost` domain (eg. `C:\xampp\htdocs\`, `/var/www/`, `etc.`)
`open-php-html-js-in-browser.customUrlToOpen`	Custom url to open in browser (eg. `http://localhost:8888/${relativeDirnameDocumentRoot}/${fileBasename}`)

customUrlToOpen configuration:

Custom url to open in browser (eg. http://localhost:8888/${relativeDirnameDocumentRoot}/${fileBasename})

You can use variables substitutions see https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/variables-reference

Variable	Description
`${workspaceFolder}`	the path of the folder opened in VS Code
`${workspaceFolderBasename}`	the name of the folder opened in VS Code without any slashes (/)
`${file}`	the current opened file
`${relativeFile}`	the current opened file relative to workspaceFolder
`${fileBasename}`	the current opened file's basename
`${fileBasenameNoExtension}`	the current opened file's basename with no file extension
`${fileDirname}`	the current opened file's dirname
`${fileExtname}`	the current opened file's extension
`${cwd}`	the task runner's current working directory on startup
`${lineNumber}`	the current selected line number in the active file
`${selectedText}`	the current selected text in the active file
`${env:ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_NAME}`	value of enviroment variable
`${config:CONFIG_NAME}`	value of configuration (eg. `config:open-php-html-js-in-browser.documentRootFolder`)
${host}	`localhost` hostname with port number
`${relativeDirnameDocumentRoot}`	path relative to `documentRootFolder` configuration

Known Issues

None

Release Notes

See changelog below

[2.2.0] - 2022-07-12

Added support for alternative document root folders
Fixed double slashes url issue

[2.1.0] - 2022-07-12

Fixed file:/// scheme issue

[2.0.0] - 2020-09-14

Added document root folder autodetection

[1.8.0] - 2018-12-31

Added support for Opera
Refactored open browser core
Fixed Edge issue

[1.7.4] - 2018-12-19

Minor changes

[1.7.3] - 2018-12-19

Minor changes

[1.7.0] - 2018-12-19

Improved stability

[1.6.0] - 2018-12-19

Added Custom url to open in browser configuration option. You can set eg. http://localhost:8888/${relativeDirnameDocumentRoot}/${fileBasename}
You can use variables substitutions see https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/variables-reference

[1.5.0] - 2018-12-19

Edited document is automatically saved before Open In Browser command

[1.4.0] - 2018-12-18

Improved performance

[1.3.0] - 2018-12-18

Added fallback mode to file:/// when it's not possible to use http://localhost

[1.2.1] - 2018-12-18

Fixed missing dependencies

[1.0.0] - 2018-12-18

Initial release

Enjoy!

Can I view PHP code in browser?

Web developers and others who are knowledgeable about web pages know you can use a browser to view the HTML source code of a website. However, if the website contains PHP code, that code is not visible, because all the PHP code is executed on the server before the website is sent to a browser.

How do I test if PHP is working?

Make sure the Web server is running, open a browser and type http://SERVER-IP/phptest.php. You should then see a screen showing detailed information about the PHP version you are using and installed modules.

Can I test PHP without a web server?

You can make a PHP script to run it without any server or browser. You only need the PHP parser to use it this way. This type of usage is ideal for scripts regularly executed using cron (on *nix or Linux) or Task Scheduler (on Windows). These scripts can also be used for simple text processing tasks.