Early Access Program

PhpStorm 2023.1 EAP #2

In this build, you’ll find performance and quality-of-life improvements.

The EAP allows you to try new features from the upcoming PhpStorm version, 2023.1. EAP builds are free to use and you can install them side by side with a stable version of PhpStorm. If something doesn’t work correctly, you can quickly switch back to the previous version without interfering with your workflow.

Performance improvements

Scanning files to index in smart mode

We’ve improved the IDE startup experience by performing the Scanning files to index… process in smart mode, which makes the startup process much quicker.


When opening a project, PhpStorm will use the project’s existing caches from the previous session and look for any new files to index. If no changes are found after scanning, the IDE will be ready to work.

A new IDE suggestion to reconfigure Windows Defender settings for better performance

Windows Defender’s Real-Time Protection checks can significantly decrease IDE speed. To avoid this, PhpStorm will suggest adding certain folders to Defender’s list of exclusions.

The notification provides the option to either reconfigure these settings automatically or first check the Defender configuration instructions and do it manually.

Quality of life improvements for PHP

Descriptions for file open modes in the completion popup

In the previous PhpStorm release, we added descriptions for different formats in date-time functions.

In PhpStorm 2023.1, the date-time format is now shown in Carbon functions where applicable, as well as in WordPress’ date-time functions. For instance, in `wp_date()`:

The upcoming release will also have descriptions of file modes. You won’t have to remember what `r+`, `a`, `w`, etc. all mean!

More live templates

We’ve introduced more live templates, including fun for function template:

… and fori for indexed for loops:

Learn more about how to use live templates from Christoph Rumpel’s video tutorial:


Please see the release notes for the complete list of changes in the EAP #2 build.

  • Important! PhpStorm EAP builds are not fully tested and may be unstable.
  • You can install an EAP build side by side with a stable PhpStorm version to try out the latest features.
  • EAP builds are free to use and don’t require a license. However, they expire 30 days after the build date and then you’ll have to download a new build.

Please let us know about any problems you find by reporting them to our issue tracker or commenting on this post.

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