Issues connecting Vagrant Xdebug with PhpStorm 2020.3

Question

Have spent over a day trying to get PhpStorm to debug a Drupal site inside a Vagrant virtual machine running Xdebug and I feel I'm close - but just not quite there yet.

Currently, in PhpStorm when debugging I have an error:

Waiting for incoming connection with ide key 'PHPSTORM'

In the Xdebug log in the VM (at /tmp/xdebug.log)

[2094] I: Checking remote connect back address.
[2094] I: Checking header 'HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'.
[2094] I: Checking header 'REMOTE_ADDR'.
[2094] I: Remote address found, connecting to 192.168.88.1:9000.
[2161] E: Time-out connecting to client (Waited: 200 ms). :-(
[2161] Log closed at 2020-12-15 04:25:32

I tried setting up the Zero-configuration debugging without any luck.

For the debugging configuration, I have a PHP Remote Debug that validates correctly although it always defaults to the 'Local Web Server or Shared Folder' rather than the 'Remote Web Server' option.

When I started the project I set it up as a local web server option and I'm worried that I haven't changed the correct settings to now make this a remote web server. The connection type for the deployment is now 'Local or mounted folder' but originally this was 'In-place'.

Under Languages & Frameworks --> PHP --> Servers, I set this up on port 80, using Xdebug and without path mappings. I tried changing the port etc but then it doesn't validate so I'm confident that the server settings are correct and that PhpStorm is talking to the virtual machine correctly.

I changed the /etc/php/7.4/cli/php.ini file but phpinfo() says the configuration is coming from /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini. The changes I made in the php.ini file are active though. phpinfo() is showing:

xdebug.idekey: PHPSTORM
xdebug.remote_host: 10.0.2.2
xdebug.remote_port: 9000
xdebug.remote_autostart: Off
xdebug.remote_connect_back: On

Really at a loss now as to what to try next. It is incredibly frustrating so hope someone can shed some light.

EDIT --- As per comment here is the screenshots of the setup:

Deployment: Local or mounted folder

PHP settings

The server setup

Debug settings

Validate the debugger from the remote server

Run Chrome with the debug addon running

The error message

The Run debug configuration settings

Start of the phpinfo with the config file showing where the xdebug settings need to be edited.

The Xdebug settings of phpinfo()

Some of the tests as per the comments:

After logging in to 'vagrant SSH' it shows the IP address to be used (10.0.2.2). The local computer is also IP 10.1.1.150 a telnet test of both of these works.

A 'sudo nano' of the Xdebug ini file

NOTE: Changing the remote connect back to 0 fixed the connection:

xdebug.remote_connect_back=0

And then the path mapping needed to be turned on in the Server settings and then everything was working correctly.

Big thanks to LazyOne for his helpful and thorough comments. :)

1) Please post screenshots with all your settings (including Xdebug section of phpinfo() output captured in the same way as you are trying to debug -- be it a CLI or a web page). 2) Yes, it is very common on Linux and Mac to have separate php.ini files to be used in CLI and by web server, so yes -- you need to edit the right php.ini file. — LazyOne
3) What's your Xdebug version? 4) What is the IP address of your Host OS as seen from the inside the VM? That's where Xdebug should connect (as it's Xdebug that connects to IDE and NOT other way around). 5) xdebug.remote_connect_back: On -- try set it off and ensure that you have correct xdebug.remote_host (as Xdebug v2 may not fallback to remote_host value when autodetected IP fails. 6) Ensure that PhpStorm is the one that listens on Xdebug port when "phone handle" icon is enabled (use netstat or alike to confirm) and is allowed in firewall — LazyOne
7) If you know the correct IP and sure that PhpStorm is listening -- you can just use telnet from inside the VM and try to connect to IDE on Xdebug port -- if connected then IP, port and firewall is most likely set up correctly. — LazyOne
Thank you so much, LazyOne! It ended up being step 5. :) All your steps were so very helpful (especially the telnet hint). Please put the steps in an answer and I'll allocate it. I've taken screen shots as per your step 1 so will update the post with those to help others with the same issue. Thank you again. :) — Das123
Please post your final solution as an answer (you can accept your own answers later). This will help other users in a similar situation (because it will make this question/answer more visible). The points I have made is just a list of what to check .. as it's hard to give precise answer from that little info (without knowing your actual setup details etc); therefore it makes little sense for me to post that as an answer myself. — LazyOne

Das123 Das123 · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-15T23:34:38

1) Check if there are separate php.ini files used by web server, -- you need to edit the right php.ini file.

Run phpinfo() and check to see if there is an ini file for Xdebug. In my case this was at /etc/php/7.4/fpm/conf.d/20-xdebug.ini

2) What's your Xdebug version?

Version 2 and 3 of Xdebug have slightly different parameters. In my case I was running Xdebug 2.9.5

3) What is the IP address of your Host OS as seen from the inside the VM? That's where Xdebug should connect (as it's Xdebug that connects to IDE and NOT other way around).

When you first log in to the SSH there will be an IP address shown. This is what the IP should be for Xdebug. In my example, this was 10.0.2.2

4) xdebug.remote_connect_back: On -- try set it off and ensure that you have correct xdebug.remote_host (as Xdebug v2 may not fallback to remote_host value when autodetected IP fails.

This fixed my connection!

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/fpm/conf.d/20-xdebug.ini

Then change:

xdebug.remote_connect_back=1

To:

xdebug.remote_connect_back=0

Save, and then restart the server.

Test the connection again. After this step I had a connection between the host and remote server but I also had to turn on path mapping in PhpStorm to get the debugger working 100%.

5) Ensure that PhpStorm is the one that listens on Xdebug port when "phone handle" icon is enabled (use netstat or alike to confirm) and is allowed in firewall.

6) If you know the correct IP and sure that PhpStorm is listening -- you can just use telnet from inside the VM and try to connect to IDE on Xdebug port -- if connected then IP, port and firewall is most likely set up correctly.

Even with the error messages, the telnet check was working. So it pointed to the issue being with the Xdebug setup rather than the handshaking between the host and remote server.

Thanks to LazyOne's comments for finding the answer and for presenting a great workflow to help identify the problem.

Issues connecting Vagrant Xdebug with PhpStorm 2020.3

3 Answers