How to use Laravel Pint in VSCode?

Laravel Pint is an opinionated PHP code style fixer based on PHP-CS-Fixer. It helps maintain consistent code style across your Laravel projects by automatically formatting your code to follow Laravel's coding standards.

Why Use Pint?

Pros

• Zero configuration needed - works out of the box with Laravel standards
• Consistent code style across team members
• Saves time on code reviews by eliminating style discussions
• Integrates well with CI/CD pipelines
• Highly customizable through configuration file
• Fast execution compared to other formatters

Cons

• May conflict with other PHP formatters if not configured properly
• Some developers prefer different styling conventions
• Initial setup required for IDE integration
• Can cause large git diffs on first run

Installation

Install Laravel Pint in your project:

composer require laravel/pint --dev

VSCode Setup

1. Install "Laravel Pint" extension from VSCode marketplace

2. Configure default formatter in VSCode settings:

{
  "[php]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "open-southeners.laravel-pint"
  }
}

3. Create task configuration:

• Create .vscode/tasks.json:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Pint Formatter",
      "type": "shell", 
      "command": "./vendor/bin/pint",
      "problemMatcher": [],
      "presentation": {
        "reveal": "silent"
      },
      "group": {
        "kind": "build",
        "isDefault": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

4. Install "Run on Save" extension to auto-format on file save

Manual Usage

From terminal:

# Format all files
./vendor/bin/pint

# Format specific file
./vendor/bin/pint app/Models/User.php

# Format with verbose output
./vendor/bin/pint -v

# Test without making changes
./vendor/bin/pint --test

In VSCode

1. Using Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P):

   • Type "Format Document"
   • Or use shortcut: Shift + Alt + F

2. Using Task:

   • Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P
   • Type "Run Task"
   • Select "Pint Formatter"