Debugging with Xdebug Quick-Start Guide

Course Videos

Welcome to Debugging with Xdebug

Ryan says hello and shares what we'll learn in this course.

This quick-start course will move you from var_dump() and dd() to pro­fes­sion­al debug­ging with Xde­bug. You’ll learn to set up, con­fig­ure, and use Xde­bug in DDEV with Php­Storm and VS Code.

My goal is sim­ple: make Xde­bug your default debug­ging tool. By the end of this course, you’ll be com­fort­able using a prop­er debug­ger instead of lit­ter­ing your code with dump statements.

We’ll focus on Craft CMS projects, but these debug­ging tech­niques apply to any PHP frame­work or CMS.

What we’ll cover:

  • How Xde­bug works and where it fits in your toolchain
  • Set­ting up Xde­bug in Php­Storm and VS Code
  • Con­fig­ur­ing Xde­bug in DDEV, the offi­cial­ly sup­port­ed local­host­ing tool for Craft CMS
  • Set­ting and man­ag­ing breakpoints
  • Step debug­ging (into, over, out)
  • Debug­ging Twig tem­plates in PhpStorm
  • Prac­ti­cal debug­ging exer­cis­es using our cus­tom Bug­gy plugin

Let’s start by under­stand­ing what Xde­bug actu­al­ly is and how it works.

Craft Version
Craft 4, Craft 5
Topic
Xdebug
Instructor
Ryan Irelan
Level
Intermediate
Date Published
December 09, 2025
Ryan Irelan

I am the creator of CraftQuest, a web developer, and former software team manager. I spend most of my time improving CraftQuest with code and courses. When I'm not in front of the computer, I spend my time with my family, and running on the roads and trails of Austin, TX.