31 Jan 2025

Configure PHP with Doom Emacs on Arch Linux

This post records my steps of installing and configuring basic PHP with Doom Emacs and Arch Linux.

1. Terminal Installation

yay php: install PHP.
yay composer: install PHP package manager.
yay phpactor: install the language server.
Install the following packages with `composer` globally so any project can use it:
- composer global require phpunit/phpunit: install PHP test framework.
- composer global require techlivezheng/phpctags: better code completion.
- composer global require friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer: code formatting.
Export the composer global path with export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin" >> ~/.zshrc.
Configure phpactor to auto-load global packages:
- Create file ~/.config/phpactor/phpactor.yml and write to file:
```
composer.autoloader_path:
  - ~/.config/composer/vendor/autoload.php
```

2. Emacs Configuration

Uncomment (php +lsp) in init.el.
Add packages (package! phpactor) and (package! php-cs-fixer) to packages.el to use their interfaces in Emacs.

Configure config.el as following:

(after! lsp-mode
    (setq lsp-disabled-clients '(intelephense php-ls))  ;; disable other language servers
  (setq lsp-php-server 'phpactor)  ;; set the language explicitly
  (setq lsp-phpactor-path (executable-find "phpactor")))

(use-package! php-mode
  :hook (php-mode . lsp-deferred))  ;; defer lsp loading

run doom sync and restart the Emacs.

3. Usage

Use M-x lsp-describe-session to verify phpactor is in use.
Use M-x php-cs-fixer-fix to format the current PHP buffer.
Use M-x phpunit-current-test to run the tests in the current buffer.