PhpStorm Composer and Laravel Not Working (Autocomplete, Undefined Class)

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Configure Composer

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   1. Open Settings | PHP | Composer
   2. Set the path to composer.json and the executable
   3. Run Tools | Composer | Install
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Make sure vendor is indexed

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   1. Check vendor is not marked Excluded
   2. Run composer install and wait for indexing
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Add helpers for facades

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   1. Use a Laravel helper package such as barryvdh/laravel-ide-helper to generate stubs
   2. Install the PhpStorm Laravel plugin if you need Laravel-aware features
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Undefined class or method warnings on Laravel code, Composer actions greyed out, or autocomplete missing for facades.

Why it happens

• composer.json not configured under Settings | PHP | Composer
• vendor folder excluded or not yet installed
• Facade methods are dynamic so the IDE cannot resolve them without helper stubs
• Interpreter not configured

This guide also covers

• phpstorm laravel autocomplete not working
• phpstorm composer not working
• phpstorm undefined class laravel

Other PhpStorm errors

• PhpStorm Xdebug Not Connecting / Breakpoints Not Hit
• PhpStorm PHP Interpreter Is Not Configured
• PhpStorm Indexing Takes Forever / Stuck on Indexing
• PhpStorm Out of Memory: How to Increase Heap Size
• Why Is PhpStorm So Slow / Freezing?
• PhpStorm License Activation Error / License Not Found
• PhpStorm Plugin Incompatible After Update
• PhpStorm AI Assistant Quota Exceeded / Not Working