docker.rst

Docker Support

Use this setup when your application runs in a Docker container and PHP isn't installed on your machine. You don't need to install it: Symfony Language Tools is a self-contained executable, and it boots your application inside the container to load application information such as routes and services.

Configure the PHP Command

Set phpCommand to a non-interactive command that runs PHP in the container, and containerProjectRoot to the project path inside it.

For a Docker Compose service named php that mounts the project at /app, add this to .symfony-lsp.json:

{
    "version": 1,
    "phpCommand": [
        "docker", "compose", "exec", "-T", "php", "php"
    ],
    "containerProjectRoot": "/app"
}

Start the container before opening your project. The container must mount the project at containerProjectRoot: paths are translated between both sides by swapping that prefix.

Raise bridgeTimeout when the application needs more than 300 seconds to boot in the container.

If It Doesn't Work

Run the configured command manually from the project root:

$ docker compose exec -T php php -v

Then check that:

• the container is running and mounts the project root at containerProjectRoot;
• Composer dependencies are installed inside the container;
• the command doesn't allocate a TTY: pass -T to docker compose exec and use docker exec -i without -t;
• compose.yaml is discoverable from the project root; add -f or --project-directory to phpCommand otherwise;
• the application boots in the configured environment inside the container.

Good to Know

• running the application still requires debug mode, and your editor still asks for workspace trust. symfony-lsp check has no such prompt and runs the application unless you pass --source-only;
• when vendor/ lives only in the container, Symfony features work but your editor can't open vendor files that don't exist on your machine;
• any other isolated PHP command works the same way, in a virtual machine for example: set containerProjectRoot to the project path that command sees and share the project files between both sides.