Laravel is a popular PHP framework for web development. It provides several features that make it easy to create complex web applications. However, debugging Laravel code can be difficult. One common method for debugging Laravel code is to use the dd() function. However, the dd() function can be slow and inefficient. In this article, we will discuss a better way to debug Laravel code. We will recommend a free tool that is specifically designed for debugging Laravel code. We will also provide examples of how to use the tool. We hope that this article will help you to debug your Laravel code more easily and efficiently.

The old way problems:
use dd() can be a fast method but it came with many limitations:
dd() function will stop the execution of the script

dump() function allows the script to be fully executed but you will not get the normal result on the screen

we are trying here to debug an integer variable value

it’s even worse when we are trying to debug a Laravel model instance

see how much information you got when you only need a few

but don’t worry Laravel community has a solution for this

what if say that you can get only the information you want in a beautiful interface without breaking the response

not just that but we also get the SQL query and the execution time

amazing right?

So what is this tool?

LaraDumps is a friendly app that boosts your Laravel PHP coding and debugging experience.

How do we install it?

1․ Download the LaraDumps desktop application.

2․ Add the LaraDumps Laravel package to your Laravel project.

3․ Start debugging!

Desktop app

The current LaraDumps version is 1.7.2

Windows: Click to download the installer here

macOS: Click to download the Apple disk image here

Linux: download using Snapcraft

Laravel Package

Requirements: PHP 8.0+ and Laravel 8.75+

1․ Install LaraDumps Package in your Laravel project using Composer.

Run the command:

composer require laradumps/laradumps --dev

2․ Now, configure LaraDumps. Run the command below:

php artisan ds:init

The wizard will guide you through the configuration options.

just note that I am using docker so when I asked about the app host address I choose the host.docker.internal otherwise you should use the app address using 1,3 or other if your using another address

now we are ready for the final step.

Debugging

to use it simply use ds() function instead of dd() or dump()

you will get the result on the desktop app and the application will continue working unlike when using dd()

Debugging tools

Debug Model:

 ds()->model(User::first());

will generate:

Debug SQL query:

    ds()->queriesOn();

    User::query()->where('id', 20)->get();

    ds()->queriesOff();


    // or you can you this for a single query
      User::query()->where('id', 20)
          ->ds()
          ->get();

View data in a table:

 $users = User::query()
        ->select([
            'id',
            'name',
            'email'
        ])
        ->limit(5)
        ->get();

  ds()->table($users, 'users table');

Get the execution time:

 ds()->time('counter');

 for($i=0; $i<100000; $i++){
    //some code
 }

 ds()->stopTime('counter');

not just this also you can debug:

• HTTP request
• Mailable
• Artisan command
• Jobs
• Cache
• Collection
• Routes
• Strings
• JSON

and a lot more

if you still want the execution to stop you can use die()

ds(['string'])->die();

and for those who forget the debugging code and push it to git
LaraDumps has an artisan command which will produce an error if any ds() is found in your code.

php artisan ds:check

by default its searches only inside the app and the resources folders you can update this in config/laradumps.php

You can also add a custom verify script in your composer.json, and run composer verify in your deployment pipeline (CI/CD).

"scripts": {
   "ds:check": "@php artisan ds:check",
   "verify": [
         "@ds:check",
   ],
}

Visual enhancement

if you are debugging multiple variables together

you can add labels, have multiple screens, add colors

 ds(['string'])
        ->label('dumping string array')
        ->toScreen('the first screen')
        ->info();

 ds()->model(User::first())
     ->toScreen('the second screen');

available colors:

• info() => blue
• warning() => orange
• danger() => red
• success()=>green
• color()=> custom color

Debug without invoking the desktop app

By default, LaraDumps Desktop App will be invoked and gain focus whenever a new dump arrives.

To disable this behavior, change the .env file key DS_AUTO_INVOKE_APP to false.

DS_AUTO_INVOKE_APP=false

You can also send Quiet Dumps and the app will not be invoked.

dsq('quiet dump');

you can check the full documentation for additional information

Note: if you want to not automatically send all the quires to the application
you can put

DS_SEND_QUERIES = false

in order to only send the queries to the app when manual dump it

this note can also be considered for all the features of the package

Conclusion:

we have discussed a better way to debug Laravel code. We have recommended a free tool that is specifically designed for debugging Laravel code. We have also provided examples of how to use the tool. We hope that this article has helped you to debug your Laravel code more easily and efficiently.

If you have any questions about using the tool, please feel free to leave a comment below. I will be happy to help you out.

Thank you for reading!

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