HowToConfigureXDebug

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Revision as of 16:09, 9 February 2010

How to configure XDebug

Overview

This document describes the installation of xdebug. There are separate sections for Linux and Windows users. However, the information in How to on Linux may be interesting for Windows users as well. Please send your comments to users@php.netbeans.org if you have any comments or questions.

General Information

Edit PHP Configuration - name of configuration file is php.ini
The location of php.ini differs between operating systems, Linux distributions, types of installation (from packages or sources), and/or Windows-based solution stacks (WAMP, XAMP)
Typically, more than one php.ini file exists
Xdebug configuration is either inside php.ini or in another ini file often called xdebug.ini - this ini file is then shared between both configurations (Script and Local Web Server)
Xdebug is incompatible with the Zend Optimizer and Zend Studio Debugger extensions. These extensions should be commented out. See user's comment:

[Zend]
;zend_extension_ts = "C:\xampp\php\zendOptimizer\lib\ZendExtensionManager.dll"
;zend_extension_manager.optimizer_ts = "C:\xampp\php\zendOptimizer\lib\Optimizer"
;zend_optimizer.enable_loader = 0
;zend_optimizer.optimization_level=15
;zend_optimizer.license_path =; Local Variables:
; tab-width: 4

; Local Variables:
; tab-width: 4
; End:

NOTICE: From PHP 5.3 onwards, you need to use zend_extension and not zend_extension_ts.

How to on Linux

e.g. Ubuntu files layout (xdebug configuration is in both php.ini files):

/etc/php5/
|-- apache2
|   |-- conf.d -> ../conf.d
|   |-- php.ini
|   `-- php.ini.ucf-dist
|-- cli
|   |-- conf.d -> ../conf.d
|   |-- php.ini
|   `-- php.ini.ucf-dist
`-- conf.d
    |-- mysql.ini
    |-- mysqli.ini

alternative Ubuntu files layout (xdebug configuration is in xdebug.ini shared between both configurations. If this is your case then you better add related directives to xdebug.ini. See article Xdebug On Ubuntu):

/etc/php5/
|-- apache2
|   |-- conf.d -> ../conf.d
|   |-- php.ini
|   `-- php.ini.ucf-dist
|-- cli
|   |-- conf.d -> ../conf.d
|   |-- php.ini
|   `-- php.ini.ucf-dist
`-- conf.d
    |-- mysql.ini
    |-- mysqli.ini
    |-- xdebug.ini

php.ini (or xdebug.ini) should contain at least following settings (see all settings).

zend_extension=/path/to/xdebug.so
xdebug.remote_enable=1
xdebug.remote_handler=dbgp
xdebug.remote_mode=req
xdebug.remote_host=127.0.0.1
xdebug.remote_port=9000

NOTICE: From PHP 5.3 onwards, you need to use zend_extension and not zend_extension_ts.

/path/to/xdebug.so is just example. Check that the file really exists on given path.
For Script verify that Xdebug appears in the Zend module lists after: php -m
For Local Web Server verify that Xdebug appears in the Zend modules (not PHP Modules) after: : php -mf path_to_ini_file/php.ini

[PHPModules]
bcmath
bz2
calendar
...

[ZendModules]
Xdebug

For Local Web Server you can alternatively create a phpinfo.php file containing the line '<?php phpinfo(); ?>', run and watch whether information about Xdebug will be displayed

Optionally enable Xdebug logging by adding into php.ini also: xdebug.remote_log=/log_path/xdebug.log
Optionally enable NetBeans PHP debugger logging by starting NetBeans with -J-Dorg.netbeans.modules.php.dbgp.level=400 or by editing netbeans.conf

netbeans/etc/
|-- netbeans.clusters

|-- netbeans.conf
`-- netbeans.import

whenever php.ini is modified don't forget restart web server (not needed for Script)
see Howto check xdebug installation, XDebug on Ubuntu

Notes on Windows Configuration

php.ini location hint for Local Web Server for XAMP on Windows: c:\xamp\apache\bin\php.ini
php.ini location hints for Script(CGI/CLI) for XAMP on Windows: c:\xampp\php\php.ini
for Windows use zend_extension_ts instead of zend_extension (e.g. zend_extension_ts=c:\path\to\php_xdebug.dll). Again c:\path\to\php_xdebug.dll must exist.
NOTICE: From PHP 5.3 onwards, you need to use zend_extension and not zend_extension_ts.
For more information, please see Configuring PHP Development Environment in Windows.

How to configure xdebug on WAMP

installing xdebug on WAMP is a bit diferrent and requires another steps to sucesfully load module. I focus on the easiest use case, installation using precompiled .dll.

Prerequisities

I assume these prerequisities:

you have latest version of WAMP installed. That's WAMP 2.0 when writing this tutorial (Apr 15, 2009). These includes:

Apache 2.2.11
PHP 5.2.9-1
I don't care about MySQL at this moment ..,

Steps

if you didn't customize your installation paths then you should find php in <wamp_folder>\bin

C:.
├───apache
│   <some folders>
├───mysql
│   <some folders>
└───php
    └───php5.2.9-1
        ├───dev
        ├───ext
        ├───extras
        │   ├───mibs
        │   ├───openssl
        │   └───pdf-related
        └───PEAR

folder ext is used for extension and we used it to copy xdebug's dll there. However, you can use whatever folder you want.
download xdebug from http://www.xdebug.org/download.php. Carefully choose version you download! There is a description you should read on download page! I downloaded php_xdebug-2.0.4-5.2.8.dll for WAMP2 with prerequisities above. Consult our FAQ at the end of this page if you need more help on choosing a version.
open your php.ini that is easily accesible from tray. Wamp tray icon -> PHP -> php.ini
add following lines to your php.ini. Use full path! (change your .dll name to match your version, of course)

zend_extension_ts="C:/wamp/bin/php/php5.2.9-1/ext/php_xdebug-2.0.4-5.2.8.dll"
xdebug.remote_enable=on
xdebug.remote_handler=dbgp
xdebug.remote_host=localhost
xdebug.remote_port=9000

NOTICE: From PHP 5.3 onwards, you need to use zend_extension and not zend_extension_ts.
note that you always use zend_extension_ts unless you intentionally installed non thread safe apache version
restart WAMP services (restart Apache is enough)
open localhost (or WAMP server default page) and check if xdebug is between Loaded Extensions
click on phpinfo() on default WAMP page or create file containing <? phpinfo() ?>. You should see the same as for Linux tutorial above:

You can check your configuration using simple script written by Radek Matous and posted on blog.sun.com. If you are using WAMP then you don't have php on path, most probably. All you have to do is to copy this code to php file and then call it from browser with $_GET variable in url ?XDEBUG_SESSION_START=mysession. Let's say your file i called dbgtest.php and it's in web directory. All you have to do is type http://localhost/dbgtest.php?XDEBUG_SESSION_START=mysession.
If xdebug is properly installed then script started in step 1. should print message like "connection established: Resource id #5". If no message is printed and the script is still running, then xdebug isn't installed properly or uses different port or whatever else. So, kill the running process and investigate where the problem is, but this is the other story.

<?php
$address = '127.0.0.1';
$port = 9000;
$sock = socket_create(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
socket_bind($sock, $address, $port) or die('Unable to bind');
socket_listen($sock);
$client = socket_accept($sock);
echo "connection established: $client";
socket_close($client);
socket_close($sock);
?>

Troubleshooting

if something goes wrong then check your PHP Error Log that you can find after invoking WAMP context menu from system tray

e,g,: WAMP icon -> PHP -> Error Log

Probably typo or file was not found if you see this:

PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'c:/wamp/bin/php/php5.2.9-1/ext/php_xdebug-2.0.4-5.2.8.dl' 
- The specified module could not be found.
 in Unknown on line 0

You downloaded wrong version of php.ini if you see following:

PHP Warning:  PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library 'c:/wamp/bin/php/php5.2.9-1/ext/php_xdebug-2.0.4-5.3.0-vc9.dll' - 
The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect. 
Please see the application event log for more detail. 
in Unknown on line 0

Do NOT use XAMPP 1.7.0. If you set up XDebug as described here, the Apache server crashes when you run or debug a file or project. The workaround prevents the IDE from stopping at breakpoints. XAMPP 1.7.1 is fine, with XDebug 2.0.4 VC 5.2 thread-safe.

try to check Apache Error Log as well.

Enable Xdebug logging

by adding into php.ini: xdebug.remote_log=/log_path/xdebug.log (see http://www.xdebug.org/docs/all_settings) the content of log is in /log_path/xdebug.log (this path is just an example, for Windows something like: C:\... && xdebug must be writable )

Enable NetBeans PHP debugger logging

helpful is to turn on the debugger-related logging and attach the log into Issuezilla as well.
See following simple steps:

Running NetBeans with logging turned on. You can do this by:

  
either adding the text:-J-Dorg.netbeans.modules.php.dbgp.level=400 to your $NB_BIN/etc/netbeans.conf, property netbeans_default_options
   
or running NetBeans directly with those parameters, like: $NB_BIN/bin/netbeans -J-Dorg.netbeans.modules.php.dbgp.level=400

When NetBeans starts up, reproduce the bug, so it is logged into the log files.
Then file a new issue (click this link) and attach (or just send me directly):

   
the content of IDE log file Menu -> View -> IDE Log File (or directly $YOUR_NB_USER_DIR/var/log/messages.log)
   
the content of the Output Window

Attach (or just send me directly) both log files xdebug.log and messages.log

Remote Debuging

For Remote Web Server configuration Xdebug must be properly configured on remote server (not on local one)

you need to have correctly configured property xdebug_remote.host on remote machine. The IP address of local machine has to be defined in this property. For example, you want to debug your source code on remote machine 192.168.0.1 using Netbeans installed on 192.168.0.2. You need to change xdebug.remote_host on 192.168.0.1 to xdebug.remote_host=192.168.0.2. If doesn't work verify you have port configured in xdebug.remote_port open on both machines.

Where to ask?

see PHP Users mailing list

Other useful resources:

How to configure xdebug to work only on one virtual server ? - an online article on how to configure xdebug

Tutorial on how to configure Xdebug to work with phpDesigner 2008 - has screen shots perfect for those who are writing an essay about it.

FAQ

what version of Xdebug should I download?

Xdebug has a simple rule for choosing a version of xdebug extension youneed to download: "The Windows binaries generally work for every mini release for the mentioned PHP version, althoughthe extension is built against the most current PHP version at that time. The VCx marker tells with which compiler the extension was built, and Non-thread-safe whether ZTS was disabled. Those qualifiers need to match the PHP version you're using."

You need to get answers on few simple questions, firstly 1. whats your version of php? there are more ways to find this out either

$ php -v 
PHP 5.2.6-3ubuntu4.1 with Suhosin-Patch 0.9.6.2 (cli) (built: Apr 23 2009 14:37:14) 
Copyright (c) 1997-2008 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.2.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2008 Zend Technologies
    with Xdebug v2.0.3, Copyright (c) 2002-2007, by Derick Rethans

or create a file

<? 
phpinfo(); 
?>

you should get output like below after running it in browser

Clearly my version of php is 5.2.6-3

2. Do I need Non Thread Safe or Thread Safe version? non-threaded use of PHP" for example the CLI, CGI or Apache 1.3 module threaded usage of PHP, for example the Apache 2 work MPM or the the ISAPI module

either run on Linux

 
$ apache2 -V
Server version: Apache/2.2.11 (Ubuntu)
Server built:   Jun 11 2009 03:24:38
Server's Module Magic Number: 20051115:21
Server loaded:  APR 1.2.12, APR-Util 1.2.12
Compiled using: APR 1.2.12, APR-Util 1.2.12
Architecture:   64-bit
==Server MPM:   Prefork!!!==
==threaded:     no!!!==
==forked:     yes (variable process count)!!!==
Server compiled with....
 -D APACHE_MPM_DIR="server/mpm/prefork"
 -D APR_HAS_SENDFILE
 -D APR_HAS_MMAP
 -D APR_HAVE_IPV6 (IPv4-mapped addresses enabled)
 -D APR_USE_SYSVSEM_SERIALIZE
 -D APR_USE_PTHREAD_SERIALIZE
 -D SINGLE_LISTEN_UNSERIALIZED_ACCEPT
 -D APR_HAS_OTHER_CHILD
 -D AP_HAVE_RELIABLE_PIPED_LOGS
 -D DYNAMIC_MODULE_LIMIT=128
 -D HTTPD_ROOT=""
 -D SUEXEC_BIN="/usr/lib/apache2/suexec"
 -D DEFAULT_PIDLOG="/var/run/apache2.pid"
 -D DEFAULT_SCOREBOARD="logs/apache_runtime_status"
 -D DEFAULT_LOCKFILE="/var/run/apache2/accept.lock"
 -D DEFAULT_ERRORLOG="logs/error_log"
 -D AP_TYPES_CONFIG_FILE="/etc/apache2/mime.types"
 -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="/etc/apache2/apache2.conf"

or on Windows

C:\wamp\bin\apache\Apache2.2.11\bin>httpd
Server version: Apache/2.2.11 (Win32)
Server built:   Dec 10 2008 00:10:06
Server's Module Magic Number: 20051115:21
Server loaded:  APR 1.3.3, APR-Util 1.3.4
Compiled using: APR 1.3.3, APR-Util 1.3.4
Architecture:   32-bit
==Server MPM:     WinNT!!!==
==threaded:     yes (fixed thread count)!!!==
==forked:     no !!!==
Server compiled with....
 -D APACHE_MPM_DIR="server/mpm/winnt"
 -D APR_HAS_SENDFILE
 -D APR_HAS_MMAP
 -D APR_HAS_OTHER_CHILD
 -D AP_HAVE_RELIABLE_PIPED_LOGS
 -D DYNAMIC_MODULE_LIMIT=128
 -D HTTPD_ROOT="/apache"
 -D SUEXEC_BIN="/apache/bin/suexec"
 -D DEFAULT_SCOREBOARD="logs/apache_runti
 -D DEFAULT_ERRORLOG="logs/error.log"
 -D AP_TYPES_CONFIG_FILE="conf/mime.types
 -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf"

the other option is to have a look on phpinfo on

or you can use command line Linux:

$ php -i | grep "Thread Safety" 
Thread Safety => disabled

Windows:

C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.2.9-2>php.exe -i -w
phpinfo()
PHP Version => 5.2.9-2

System => Windows NT FELIPEE-VISTA 6.0 build 6001
Build Date => Apr  9 2009 08:22:37
Configure Command => cscript /nologo configure.js  "--enable-snapshot-build" "--enable-debug-pack" "--with-snapshot-template=d:\php-sdk\snap_5_2
vc6\x86\template" "--with-php-build=d:\php-sdk\snap_5_2\vc6\x86\php_build" "--with-pdo-oci=D:\php-sdk\oracle\instantclient10\sdk,shared" "--with
oci8=D:\php-sdk\oracle\instantclient10\sdk,shared"
Server API => Command Line Interface
Virtual Directory Support => enabled
Configuration File (php.ini) Path => C:\Windows
Loaded Configuration File => C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.2.9-2\php.ini
Scan this dir for additional .ini files => (none)
additional .ini files parsed => (none)
PHP API => 20041225
PHP Extension => 20060613
Zend Extension => 220060519
Debug Build => no
Thread Safety => enabled
Zend Memory Manager => enabled
IPv6 Support => enabled
Registered PHP Streams => php, file, data, http, ftp, compress.zlib
Registered Stream Socket Transports => tcp, udp
Registered Stream Filters => convert.iconv.*, string.rot13, string.toupper, string.tolower, string.strip_tags, convert.*, consumed, zlib.*

My Thread Safety is apparently disabled so I don't need thread safe version. If you use Windows you most probably need thread safe version .

And that's it! Go to Xdebug download page and download appropriate file. I need veersion marked as 5.2. and NonThreadSafe.

How to build Xdebug (useful for php5.3)

Ubuntu

If you build your php5.3 from sources then the best way how to get stable xdebug to your Ubuntu is to build it. Well, building from sources can be tedious but building xdebug is pretty easy process. So, let's get started. I am using Karmic Koala release of Ubuntu.

This process is well described on http://xdebug.org/docs/install as well.

Get your xdebug sources

Download sources from http://xdebug.org/download.php. Xdebug 2.1.beta2 (or beta3 when you checkout sources) is current release that correctly works with php5.3.x (at the time being).

$ wget http://xdebug.org/files/xdebug-2.1.0beta2.tgz

or 

svn co svn://svn.xdebug.org/svn/xdebug/xdebug/trunk xdebug

Extract Xdebug sources

if you downloaded .tgz then extract somewhere

$ tar -xzf xdebug-2.1.0beta2.tgz 
$ cd xdebug-2.1.0beta2

Configure

Run

$ phpize
Configuring for:
PHP Api Version:         20090626
Zend Module Api No:      20090626
Zend Extension Api No:   220090626

then run xdebug configure script

./configure --enable-xdebug

Make

$ make 

it should finish with: 
Build complete.
Don't forget to run 'make test'.

Copy

$ sudo cp modules/xdebug.so /<somewhere>

I used /etc/php5/xdebug/ as copy destination.

Set up your environment

configure php.ini

$ sudo gedit /etc/php5/apache/php.ini

and add xdebug.so path to the end of file.

zend_extension="/etc/php5/xdebug/xdebug.so"
xdebug.remote_enable=on
xdebug.remote_handler=dbgp
xdebug.remote_host=localhost
xdebug.remote_port=9000

restart apache

$ sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

and have a look if phpinfo() output contains xdebug module.

Troubleshooting

Please, refer to http://xdebug.org with xdebug installation, build process. You may want to see "installation how to" on http://xdebug.org/docs/install in particular.

Meet php version requirements

As written on xdebug web page, if configure script fails with something like:

../configure: line 1960: syntax error near unexpected token
`PHP_NEW_EXTENSION(xdebug,'
../configure: line 1960: `  PHP_NEW_EXTENSION(xdebug, xdebug.c
xdebug_code_coverage.c xdebug_com.c xdebug_handler_gdb.c
xdebug_handler_php3.c xdebug_handlers.c xdebug_llist.c xdebug_hash.c
xdebug_profiler.c xdebug_superglobals.c xdebug_var.c usefulstuff.c,
$ext_shared)'

then it means that you do not meet the PHP 4.3.x version requirement for Xdebug.

Upgrade your autotools

If you get:

configure: line 1145: PHP_INIT_BUILD_SYSTEM: command not found
configure: line 1151: syntax error near unexpected token `config.nice'
configure: line 1151: `PHP_CONFIG_NICE(config.nice)'

You will need to upgrade your autotools (autoconf, automake and libtool) or install the known working versions: autoconf-2.13, automake-1.5 and libtool-1.4.3.

Retrieved from "http://wiki.netbeans.org/HowToConfigureXDebug"

HowToConfigureXDebug

Revision as of 16:09, 9 February 2010

How to configure XDebug

Contents

Overview

Other Useful Documents

General Information

How to on Linux

Notes on Windows Configuration

How to configure xdebug on WAMP

Prerequisities

Steps

Troubleshooting

Enable Xdebug logging

Enable NetBeans PHP debugger logging

Remote Debuging

Where to ask?

Other useful resources:

FAQ

How to build Xdebug (useful for php5.3)

Ubuntu

Get your xdebug sources

Extract Xdebug sources

Configure

Make

Copy

Set up your environment

Troubleshooting

Meet php version requirements

Upgrade your autotools

NetBeans Wiki

Navigation

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