OpenTinker

A Tinkerwell-style scratchpad for Laravel inside VS Code. Write code on the left, get per-statement results, dumps and SQL on the right — all running in a persistent PsySH session inside your application runtime.

Status: 0.1.0 — Tinker window with per-line cards. Snippet library, history search, table/email rendering and SSH live on the roadmap.

How it works

Scratch file (left editor)                    Output panel (right editor)
┌──────────────────────────────┐             ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ $user = User::find(42);      │             │ Line 3  12.4 ms              │
│ $user->name;                 │  Ctrl+Enter │   = "Marcel"                 │
│ dump($user->fresh());        │────────────▶│   SELECT * FROM users …      │
│                              │             │ Line 4  0.8 ms               │
└──────────────────────────────┘             └──────────────────────────────┘
                    │
                    ▼  docker compose exec -T app php /tmp/opentinker/worker.php
        Persistent PsySH session · statement-by-statement execution · DB::listen

• OpenTinker: New Scratch File creates .tinker/scratch-1.php (offered to be gitignored), opens it on the left and the output panel on the right.
• Scratch files run statement by statement, so each line gets its own result card: return values, dump() output, echo, errors and SQL queries with timings.
• Variables, defines and imports persist between statements and between runs. Restart clears state.
• dd() is rewritten to dump() and exit/die become catchable exceptions, so a snippet cannot kill the session.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90+
• A Laravel 11+ application
• Docker Compose (default) or a local PHP binary with the app's dependencies installed

Usage

1. Open the OpenTinker view in the activity bar (flask icon) and press New Scratch File, or run OpenTinker: New Scratch File from the command palette.
2. Choose where code should run: click the Session item in the sidebar (or run OpenTinker: Select Runtime). Pick a Docker Compose service, any running container, or local PHP. The choice is stored per workspace and restarts the session.
3. Write PHP on the left.
4. Press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter as an alternate) or click ▶ Run scratch file above the file. Results appear on the right.

In regular PHP files, a selection runs as one snippet; with no selection the current line runs.

Command	Description
OpenTinker: Run	Selection, scratch file, or current line
OpenTinker: Select Runtime	Pick a Compose service, container, or local PHP
OpenTinker: New Scratch File	Create and open the next .tinker/scratch-N.php
OpenTinker: Open Scratch File…	Quick pick over .tinker/
OpenTinker: Restart Session	Kill the worker and clear state
OpenTinker: Clear Output	Clear the panel view
OpenTinker: Show Output	Reveal the output panel

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
opentinker.transport	auto	auto, docker-compose or local
opentinker.docker.service	app	Compose service running the app
opentinker.docker.workingDir	/var/www	Mount path inside the container
opentinker.php.binary	php	PHP binary for the local transport
opentinker.scratchDir	.tinker	Scratch file directory
opentinker.executionMode	statements	Per-line cards (statements) or one card (file)
opentinker.timeoutMs	30000	Snippet timeout before the session restarts
opentinker.dumpTheme	dark	dark or light VarDumper theme

Keybinding conflicts

The IntelliJ IDEA Keybindings extension maps Cmd+Enter in editors, so Ctrl+Enter is the primary binding. If anything still steals a shortcut, override it in keybindings.json:

{
    "key": "ctrl+enter",
    "command": "opentinker.run",
    "when": "editorTextFocus && editorLangId == php"
}

Development

npm install
npm run watch      # esbuild in watch mode
# press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host

Useful scripts: npm run typecheck, npm run lint, npm test, npm run package.

Security

OpenTinker executes arbitrary PHP in your application context. It refuses to run in untrusted workspaces and never auto-runs snippets. Treat a session with the same care as php artisan tinker.

License

MIT