My VS Code Setup for WordPress and PHP, So It Stops Feeling Clunky

A one-time Intelephense + stubs setup that gives WordPress and PHP IntelliSense across projects, plus real core files for Go to Definition.

Feb 20, 2026 6 min read

My VS Code Setup for WordPress and PHP, So It Stops Feeling Clunky

I’ve been working with WordPress for a long time. I started with theme development. Later, I moved into plugin support.

Support work is not the same as building or working on features every day. I helped users with fixes and workarounds, so my PHP and WordPress fundamentals got rusty over time.

Though, I didn’t stop coding. I kept writing JavaScript in my personal time, I stayed up to date with the modern JS stack. Over time, my weak side got weaker, and my strong side got stronger.

I noticed the gap during an interview. The interviewer said I could open the WordPress Codex. I did, and I still felt stuck. That moment made it clear. I needed to get the full picture clear again, and I needed my editor to help more to check source code and reference.

This guide is the setup I use in VS Code with Intelephense. It gives you WordPress and PHP IntelliSense across all projects on your machine with source code. You set it once in user settings.

Overview

Here’s what we’re doing:

Install WordPress and PHP stub files with Composer (globally).
Point Intelephense to those stubs.
Point Intelephense to a local WordPress core folder so “Go to Definition” can open real core files.

What You Get

Autocomplete for WordPress core functions and classes
WordPress globals like $wpdb, $wp_query, and $post
PHP built-in functions like file_exists() and array_*
PHP superglobals like $_GET, $_POST, and $_SERVER
Better navigation for core WordPress files
A full experiece like PHPStorm

Prerequisites

Intelephense extension installed
Composer installed
A local WordPress codebase on disk (Herd, Valet, or any install you can point to)

Step 1: Install PHP & WordPress Stubs Globally

Install the stub packages globally via Composer:

composer global require php-stubs/wordpress-stubs php-stubs/wordpress-globals

To confirm where Composer installed them on your machine, run:

composer global config vendor-dir --absolute

Your stubs live under:

<global-vendor-dir>/php-stubs/

Step 2: Configure VS Code Global Settings

Now add the stubs path and your WordPress core path to VS Code user settings.

Option A: Edit settings.json directly

Open VS Code Settings (CMD/Ctrl + ,)
Click the “Open Settings (JSON)” icon in the top-right corner
Add this configuration

{
  "intelephense.environment.phpVersion": "8.2",
  "intelephense.environment.includePaths": [
    "${env:HOME}/path/to/your/wordpress",
    "/absolute/path/to/your/global/composer/vendor/php-stubs"
  ],
  "intelephense.stubs": [
    "apache",
    "bcmath",
    "bz2",
    "calendar",
    "Core",
    "ctype",
    "curl",
    "date",
    "dom",
    "exif",
    "fileinfo",
    "filter",
    "ftp",
    "gd",
    "gettext",
    "hash",
    "iconv",
    "imagick",
    "imap",
    "intl",
    "json",
    "libxml",
    "mbstring",
    "mysqli",
    "mysqlnd",
    "openssl",
    "pcntl",
    "pcre",
    "PDO",
    "pdo_mysql",
    "Phar",
    "posix",
    "redis",
    "Reflection",
    "session",
    "SimpleXML",
    "soap",
    "sockets",
    "sodium",
    "SPL",
    "standard",
    "tokenizer",
    "xml",
    "xmlreader",
    "xmlrpc",
    "xmlwriter",
    "zip",
    "zlib"
  ]
}

Important: Update the WordPress path

Replace ${env:HOME}/path/to/your/wordpress with your WordPress core path:

If using Laravel Herd (macOS):

"${env:HOME}/Herd/wordpress"

If using Laravel Valet:

"${env:HOME}/.config/valet"

Custom path:

"/absolute/path/to/your/wp-installation"

Important: Update the stubs path

Run this and copy the result:

composer global config vendor-dir --absolute

Then set the stubs path to:

<global-vendor-dir>/php-stubs

If the path is inside your home folder, you can replace /Users/yourname with ${env:HOME}.

Step 3: Reload VS Code

After updating the settings, reload VS Code:

Press CMD+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux)
Type “Reload Window”
Press Enter

Step 4: Verify IntelliSense is Working

Open any PHP file and test:

Type $_ and check for PHP superglobals
Type file_ and check for PHP functions
Type wp_ and check for WordPress functions
Type $wpdb and check for methods on the wpdb class
Type new WP_ and check for WordPress classes

How It Works

Include Paths

intelephense.environment.includePaths tells Intelephense where to look for PHP files outside your project.

We add two locations:

Your WordPress core folder. This helps with “Go to Definition”.
The php-stubs folder. This helps with autocomplete and signatures.

Stubs

intelephense.stubs is for PHP extension stubs bundled with Intelephense. This is how you get signatures for things like curl, mbstring, and mysqli.

Environment Variables

Using ${env:HOME} instead of hardcoded paths (like /Users/username/) makes your configuration portable across different machines and users.

Setting Up on Multiple Devices

If you use VS Code Settings Sync, your settings can carry over. On a new device, you still need to install the stubs again with Composer.

You can also use a small setup script.

Create a setup script to run on new devices:

setup-php-stubs.sh

#!/bin/bash

echo "Setting up PHP and WordPress stubs globally..."

# Install stubs globally via composer
composer global require php-stubs/wordpress-stubs php-stubs/wordpress-globals

# Get global composer vendor path
VENDOR_PATH=$(composer global config vendor-dir --absolute)
STUBS_PATH="$VENDOR_PATH/php-stubs"

echo "Stubs installed to: $STUBS_PATH"
echo ""
echo "Add this to your VS Code settings.json:"
echo ""
echo '"intelephense.environment.includePaths": ['
echo '  "${env:HOME}/Herd/wordpress",'
echo "  \"$STUBS_PATH\""
echo "],"
echo ""
echo "Done! Reload VS Code to apply changes."

Make it executable and run:

chmod +x setup-php-stubs.sh
./setup-php-stubs.sh

Troubleshooting

IntelliSense not working after setup

Reload VS Code window (CMD+Shift+P → “Reload Window”)
Check the stubs are installed:
```
VENDOR_DIR=$(composer global config vendor-dir --absolute)
ls "$VENDOR_DIR/php-stubs/"
```
You should see folders like wordpress-stubs and wordpress-globals.
Verify your WordPress path is correct:
- Make sure the path exists
- Make sure it contains WordPress core files (wp-includes, wp-admin, etc.)

Some PHP functions show as undefined

Make sure you’ve added the necessary extension stubs in the intelephense.stubs array. The list provided includes all common PHP extensions.

Slow performance

If IntelliSense feels slow, you can:

Increase the file size limit (default is 1MB):
```
"intelephense.files.maxSize": 5000000
```

Exclude more directories from indexing:

"intelephense.files.exclude": [
  "**/node_modules/**",
  "**/vendor/**/{Test,test,Tests,tests}/**",
  "**/storage/**",
  "**/cache/**"
]

Optional: PHP editor settings

If you want, add these PHP-specific settings:

{
  "[php]": {
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "bmewburn.vscode-intelephense-client",
    "editor.suggest.insertMode": "replace",
    "editor.tabSize": 4
  },
  "intelephense.completion.insertUseDeclaration": true,
  "intelephense.compatibility.correctForBaseClass": true
}

Complete Example Configuration

Here’s a full example you can adapt:

{
  "intelephense.environment.phpVersion": "8.2",
  "intelephense.environment.includePaths": [
    "${env:HOME}/Herd/wordpress",
    "/absolute/path/to/your/global/composer/vendor/php-stubs"
  ],
  "intelephense.stubs": [
    "apache",
    "bcmath",
    "bz2",
    "calendar",
    "Core",
    "ctype",
    "curl",
    "date",
    "dom",
    "exif",
    "fileinfo",
    "filter",
    "ftp",
    "gd",
    "gettext",
    "hash",
    "iconv",
    "imagick",
    "imap",
    "intl",
    "json",
    "libxml",
    "mbstring",
    "mysqli",
    "mysqlnd",
    "openssl",
    "pcntl",
    "pcre",
    "PDO",
    "pdo_mysql",
    "Phar",
    "posix",
    "redis",
    "Reflection",
    "session",
    "SimpleXML",
    "soap",
    "sockets",
    "sodium",
    "SPL",
    "standard",
    "tokenizer",
    "xml",
    "xmlreader",
    "xmlrpc",
    "xmlwriter",
    "zip",
    "zlib"
  ],
  "[php]": {
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "bmewburn.vscode-intelephense-client",
    "editor.suggest.insertMode": "replace",
    "editor.tabSize": 4
  },
  "intelephense.completion.insertUseDeclaration": true,
  "intelephense.compatibility.correctForBaseClass": true,
  "intelephense.files.exclude": [
    "**/.git/**",
    "**/.svn/**",
    "**/.hg/**",
    "**/CVS/**",
    "**/.DS_Store/**",
    "**/node_modules/**",
    "**/bower_components/**",
    "**/vendor/**/{Test,test,Tests,tests}/**"
  ],
  "intelephense.files.maxSize": 1000000
}

Summary

This setup gives you:

One global VS Code config for WordPress and PHP
Faster navigation in core code
Better autocomplete from stubs

That’s it.

Links: