I got tired of dd() and built a visual PHP debugger that doesn't need Xdebug

#php #productivity #tooling #laravel

Hey everyone.

I've been a PHP dev for years and like most of us, I've been living between dd(), var_dump(), and that twice-a-year attempt to configure Xdebug that works for 3 days until Docker rebuilds and breaks everything.

After spending way too many hours debugging with echo where I shouldn't, I decided to build DDLess — a desktop app that does visual debugging for any PHP project without installing an extension, without IDE plugins, without Composer, and without changing a single line of code.

What it does

You open a project, set breakpoints by clicking on a line, send a request, and DDLess pauses right there. Variables, call stack, step in/out/over — all visual, the way it should be.

But it goes beyond just debugging:

Dumppoints — a visual dd(): you pick the line and expressions in the UI, without touching your code. It evaluates, displays the results, and terminates execution.
Task Runner — a REPL with full framework context. Write PHP, run it, see streaming output. With autocomplete for your project's classes, methods, and helpers.
Method Execution — pick any method from any class and test it directly, with auto-scaffolded parameters.
Proxy Mode — selectively intercepts browser requests without changing URLs or using Postman.
CLI Debug — debug artisan commands, PHPUnit, migrations, queue workers. Run .ddless/php-ddless 8001 artisan test and breakpoints just work.
Code Navigation — Ctrl+Click for go-to-definition, file search, and content search across your entire project.

Why it works everywhere

DDLess doesn't use sockets or PHP extensions. It instruments code at runtime via AST (nikic/PHP-Parser) and uses file-based communication. In practice, this means it works on Local, Docker, WSL, and remote SSH with zero extra configuration. If PHP runs there, DDLess debugs there.

Zero manual path mapping. Zero xdebug.client_host. Zero "it works on his machine but not mine."

Frameworks

Laravel, WordPress, Symfony, Drupal, CakePHP, Slim, or any PHP 7.4+ project. Laravel gets automatic bootstrap. For other frameworks, just point to the entry file and you're good.

Runs on

Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (AppImage, .deb, .rpm).

This is my solo project, built independently. I use it daily and it's stable.

If you want to try it: ddless.com

Any questions, feedback, or bugs — hit me up here or on Discord.