v3.10.0: PHP Support Arrives in Turbo PRO 🐘

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Publication Date: 17/11/2025

Author: Anas Chakroun

5-6 minutes

PHP support is coming with the next Turbo release, bringing the same intelligent, AST-powered debugging experience you love to one of the world's most popular programming languages.

This is a major milestone for Turbo. With PHP support, we're expanding beyond JavaScript and TypeScript to serve millions of back-end developers who rely on PHP for web applications, APIs, and enterprise systems.

PHP support will be available exclusively in Turbo PRO, powered by the same sophisticated AST engine that handles JavaScript frameworks with precision.

Why PHP Support Matters

PHP powers a large share of the web, including platforms like WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, and Drupal. Despite its massive adoption, PHP developers have long lacked modern debugging tools with the same level of sophistication available in JavaScript ecosystems.

With Turbo PRO's PHP support, you get:

Intelligent Log Insertion: Context-aware placement that understands PHP syntax, from simple variables to complex class methods
AST-Powered Precision: Full parsing of PHP code structures — classes, methods, namespaces, traits, and more
Native Panel Integration: Your PHP logs appear in the Turbo PRO panel alongside JavaScript logs, providing a unified debugging experience
Multi-Language Projects: Perfect for full-stack developers working with PHP back-ends and JavaScript front-ends

Turbo PRO brings intelligent debugging to PHP

How It Works

Turbo PRO uses the glayzzle `php-parser` library to build a complete Abstract Syntax Tree of your PHP code. This means log insertion isn't based on simple text patterns, it understands your code structure.

Just like in JavaScript and TypeScript, PHP support comes with dedicated keyboard shortcuts for different logging methods:

⌘K ⌘L (Ctrl+K Ctrl+L): Insert var_dump() — detailed variable inspection
⌘K ⌘N (Ctrl+K Ctrl+N): Insert print_r() — human-readable output
⌘K ⌘B (Ctrl+K Ctrl+B): Insert error_log() — production-safe logging

Pro Tip

Combine print_r($value, true) with error_log() to write readable structures to the log file without printing to the browser.

Each method is bound to its own command, giving you the same flexibility and control you have in JavaScript. Choose the right tool for the debugging context:

<?php

// Development debugging with var_dump() - ⌘K ⌘L
$user = $repository->findUser($id);
// Turbo inserts: var_dump("🚀 user: ", $user);

// Readable output with print_r() - ⌘K ⌘N
public function updateProfile($userId, $data) {
    // Turbo inserts: print_r(["🚀 userId: " => $userId]);
    // Turbo inserts: print_r(["🚀 data: " => $data]);
}

// Production-safe logging with error_log() - ⌘K ⌘B
$filtered = array_filter($users, function($user) {
    return $user->isActive();
});
// Turbo inserts: error_log("🚀 filtered: " . print_r($filtered, true));

// Works with complex expressions
$response->data = $this->processPayload($request->body);
// Turbo inserts: var_dump("🚀 data: ", $response->data);

// Multi-line method calls
$result = $apiClient
    ->withHeaders(['Authorization' => $token])
    ->post('/api/users', $userData);
// Turbo inserts: var_dump("🚀 result: ", $result);

// Array operations
$results = array_map(function($item) {
    // Turbo inserts: print_r(["🚀 item: " => $item]);
    return $item->transform();
}, $items);

All standard Turbo commands work seamlessly: insert logs with dedicated shortcuts, comment/uncomment logs, delete logs, and view them all in the PRO panel with real-time synchronization.

Expanding Language Support

PHP is the first language beyond JavaScript/TypeScript to receive full Turbo support, but it won't be the last.

This release represents a strategic evolution of Turbo's architecture. The AST-based approach we've refined over the past year makes adding new language support more systematic and maintainable.

By modularizing language support within the PRO bundle, we can:

Iterate faster on new language integrations
Maintain higher quality through dedicated parsers per language
Keep the core extension lightweight while expanding capabilities
Provide specialized features tailored to each language's ecosystem

We're actively exploring Java, Python, and Go support based on community feedback. If you'd like to see Turbo support for a specific language, let us know!

Technical Architecture

PHP support integrates seamlessly with Turbo's existing architecture:

PHP Source Code

.php files

↓

PHP Parser

Converts code to Abstract Syntax Tree

↓

AST Router

Determines log types

Checker Methods

Analyzes context

Line Helper

Determines placement

Transformer

Applies transformations

↓

Intelligent Log Insertion

Precise, contextual, and reliable

The implementation maintains the same performance characteristics as JavaScript support: fast parsing, instant log insertion, and zero lag in the editor.

Perfect for Full-Stack Projects

If you're working on projects that combine PHP back-ends with JavaScript front-ends (Laravel + Vue, Symfony + React, WordPress + modern JS), Turbo PRO now gives you a unified debugging experience.

Switch between PHP API endpoints and JavaScript client code without switching tools or mental models. Your logs live in one panel, organized by file, regardless of language.

This is especially powerful for:

API development and debugging
Monorepo projects with mixed languages
Legacy codebases being modernized
Teams working across the full stack

Getting Started with PHP Support

PHP support will be available in Turbo PRO. If you're already a PRO user, the update is automatic, just open a PHP file and start using Turbo commands.

New to Turbo PRO? Here's what you get:

Log insertion and management in JS/TS and now PHP
Native VS Code panel with real-time log synchronization
Priority feature access and dedicated support
One-time payment, lifetime license (no subscriptions)

Visit the PRO page to upgrade and start debugging PHP projects with the same power you've experienced in JavaScript.

Built with Community Feedback

PHP support was one of the most requested features from our community. This release represents months of development, testing, and refinement based on real-world feedback from developers working in PHP ecosystems.

We're incredibly grateful to everyone who requested this feature, provided feedback during development, and helped test early versions. Your input directly shapes Turbo's roadmap.

Want to influence what comes next? Join our developer newsletter for behind-the-scenes updates, early feature previews, and opportunities to shape future releases.

What's Next

PHP support is coming soon, and we're not stopping here. Our roadmap focuses on strengthening the AST engines for both JavaScript/TypeScript and PHP, ensuring even more precise log insertion across complex code patterns.

We're also working on powerful new PRO panel features, including the ability to delete all log messages with a single action. Perfect for cleaning up after debugging sessions without manually hunting down each log statement.

Additional language support (Java, Python, and Go) and framework-specific integrations (Laravel, Symfony) are also in the pipeline , based on community demand and feedback.

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for being part of the Turbo Console Log community. Whether you're debugging JavaScript, TypeScript, or now PHP, we're here to make your development experience faster and more enjoyable.

TCL

TCL