Files in your folder
It reads, creates and edits files inside the chat's working folder, and a counter shows files created, edited and read.
Product
Learn to code PHP by building small projects
01
You can learn to code PHP by building small projects in your own folder while PHP Trail does the typing, the running and the checking. Every step becomes a card. It shows the real result, and in Ask first you accept or reject each change while PHP Trail reads and writes files, runs your PHP command and reads the manual.
Real command output
Shell runs your PHP command and reports the real output, the real error message and the real exit code.
A review step
Ask first pauses before actions that change something, and edit_file shows each change as a diff to accept or reject.
What the agent can do
- Filesread_file, write_file, append_file, edit_file, delete_file, make_dir, move_file, copy_file, list_dir, grep and glob work inside the chat's working folder.
- Shellruns terminal commands such as php -l file.php and php file.php, and reports the real exit code when a command ends. Dangerous commands are blocked.
- Webweb_search finds pages and http_get downloads one page, so the agent can read the PHP manual for a function you do not know yet.
- Screenshots and imagesocr reads text from a screenshot, for example an error message you cannot copy, and gen_image saves real image files.
- Orchestrationtask starts parallel sub-agents, run_on_model sends a hard step to a bigger model, skill loads reusable playbooks, and a version-control skill handles branches and commits.
- Approval modesAuto-run acts at once, Ask first pauses before actions that change something, and Plan only writes a plan and runs nothing. Plans survive restarts.
- Cronruns a prompt on a schedule you set, such as asking the agent to check the syntax of every PHP file in your folder.
- Modelsconnect a cloud AI provider through a standard API endpoint, a model running locally on your PC, or the built-in model. The Test button checks an endpoint.
Small projects, real feedback
Reading cannot run a script. A PHP coding tutorial on paper stops at the text, while PHP Trail saves the file, runs your PHP command and returns the real output for you to read.
Move the total in totals.php into a function with a return type, then run it.
- read_file
totals.phpread - grep
array_sum totals.php1 match - edit_file
totals.php+5 -1 - Shell
php -l totals.phpexit 0 - Shell
php totals.phpexit 0
Waiting for your OK before the next stepRejectAccept
Two practice sessions in detail
Escape a name from a form
Ask for greeting.php, a page with a small HTML form that shows the submitted name back. write_file saves it with the name passed through htmlspecialchars, because form input is untrusted, and Shell runs php -l greeting.php to check the syntax. You start php -S localhost:8000 in your own terminal, since that built-in server is for local testing only and must never be exposed to the internet. Keep it local. Type a name with an angle bracket in it and see whether it appears as plain text. Learning PHP for backend development includes server-side form handling like this: input arrives, you escape it on output and you test it locally. Read the file in the Ask first card before you accept it, and test the page yourself.
Understand a loop with Plan only
Switch to Plan only, point to the foreach loop in totals.php or paste it, and ask what it does with the associative array. The agent explains each line in plain steps and writes a plan for a second loop, without running a command or changing a file. Read the plan first. Learning PHP the right way includes asking about your own code, not only about the examples in PHP learning material for beginners. When the explanation makes sense, switch to Ask first and ask for the second loop. edit_file shows the change as a diff, and Shell runs php totals.php so you can compare the printed lines with what you expected. Accept the diff only when you can say what each new line does.
What PHP Trail does not do
PHP Trail is not a hosted service or an editor plugin. It is intended for your own files and machines, and it does not decide for you what is yours to touch. File tools work in the chat's working folder, while Shell and web tools are not limited to it. A result is not proof, so review every diff and test each script yourself.
