Xdebug Update: January 2026
In this update I explain what happened with Xdebug development in the last month.
In the last month, I spent only around 9 hours on Xdebug, with 24 hours funded. The rest of the time, I spend on building out Xdebug Cloud version 2.
Xdebug 3.5
Most of this month I spent on a few bug and performance reports from the Xdebug 3.5 release — most notable a performance degradation on Windows due to the new experimental control sockets.
I also spent time on my large better code coverage patch, which still isn't quite as performant as the current feature; although it does give more precise results.
Native Path Mapping
Fabian Potencier, from Symfony fame, has created an exploratory patch for Twig to make use of Xdebug's new Native Path Mapping functionality.
From the initial patch, it became clear that a few things need to be improved on the Xdebug side for this to be a complete feature. For that reason, I have created a few issues to work on:
My PhpStorm issue to allow for the setting of breakpoints in template file has now been merged, and is scheduled for 2026.1 EAP 2. At the time of writing this isn't quite out yet, so I will keep you posted.
Xdebug Videos
I have created one new videos in the last month:
All Xdebug videos are now available on the phpc.tv PeerTube instance. This will be the primary location for new videos, although I also still post them to my YouTube channel.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to reach out to me on Mastodon or via email.
Xdebug Cloud
I am currently reworking Xdebug Cloud, the Proxy As A Service platform to allow for debugging in complex networking scenarios.
The new version will allow for automatic subscriptions.
Packages will start at £16/month for one-developer companies.
If you want to be kept up to date with Xdebug Cloud, please sign up to the mailing list, which I will use to send out an update not more than once a month.
Life Line
I've published a new blog post: "Human Creations", on the difference in content generation by LLMs, and the creation of text, art and code by humans.
You can find it at https://derickrethans.nl/human-creations.html or at @blog
RE: https://phpc.social/@afilina/116274024588235234
It's good to see that more and more people are realising that the Web can be for-good, without all the enshittification.
That's why I'm happy to see endeavours like phpc.tv springing up, and helping out where I can.
Taking back the control of how the Web is for people, by people, without big tech making it all shit.
Created a waste_basket; Updated 5 crossings and a bicycle_parking
I walked 10.7km in 2h35m10s
If you're in the UK (south, preferably), the International Space Station is going to be visible straight above you in about half an hour!
If you're further north than London, it moves further to the south.
Updated 2 crossings
Created 3 crossings, 2 waste_baskets, and 2 trees; Updated a crossing
Created 2 post_boxes and a crossing; Updated a newsagent shop
Updated a crossing
Updated a post_box
Created a bench; Updated a bench
Created an information; Updated 2 benches
Updated a crossing and a supermarket shop
Confirmed a restaurant
I hiked 18.8km in 3h50m35s
Updated a pub
Updated a restaurant, a pub, and a toilet
Created a butcher shop and a restaurant; Updated a restaurant; Confirmed a bakery shop and a restaurant
I walked 10.8km in 1h44m13s
Merged pull request #1069
Bump versions for CI and release scripts
Merged pull request #1067
Update GitHub actions
Merge branch 'xdebug_3_5'
Merged pull request #1068


Shortlink
This article has a short URL available: https://drck.me/xdebug-25oct-k48