See Also

This feature is supported in the Ultimate edition only.

The following is only valid when PHP Plugin is installed and enabled!

IntelliJ IDEA provides a dedicated Framework tool window where you can examine the structure of a Symfony2 or a Yii project in the terms of the Model-View-Controller pattern.

On this page:

Before you start

  1. Install and enable the PHP, Command Line Tool Support, and Framework MVC Structure Support plugins. The plugins are not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but they can be installed from the JetBrains plugin repository as described in Installing, Updating and Uninstalling Repository Plugins and Enabling and Disabling Plugins. Once enabled, the plugins are available at the IDE level, that is, you can use them in all your IntelliJ IDEA projects.
  2. Download the Symfony2 or Yii command line tool.
  3. Integrate the tool with IntelliJ IDEA on the Command Line Tool Support page of the Settings / Preferences Dialog.
  4. Create an initial Symfony2 or Yii project.

Enabling the MVC view

  1. Open the Framework Integration page (File | Settings | Tools | Command Line Tool Support for Windows and Linux or IntelliJ IDEA | Preferences | Tools | Command Line Tool Support for macOS).
  2. Select the Enable framework integration check box and choose your tool from the list.
  3. In the File/Directory field, specify the location of the tool project. IntelliJ IDEA checks the contents of the specified tool project directory and accepts the appointed project root if it contains the following subfolders:
    • For Symfony2: app, src, vendor, and web subfolders.
    • For Yii: a protected subfolder.

After that, the Framework Tool Window is available from the View | Tool Windows menu.

Examining the MVC structure of a tool-specific project

  1. To open the required tool-specific project, choose File | Open or File | Open Directory, and then select the project root folder in the dialog that opens.
  2. In the Framework Tool Window that immediately opens automatically, examine the project in the terms of bundles, controllers, and other elements of the MVC pattern.