How to set up PHP for Cursor on Windows

How To
1

  1. Download PHP

    • Goto https://windows.php.net/download/

    • Get the ZIP package (Thread Safe or NTS, both contain php.exe).

    • Extract it to a folder, e.g.:

      C:\Bcat\php-8.3.26-nts-Win32-vs16-x64

  2. Add to PATH

    • Go to Environment Variables → System variables → Path → Edit → New

    • Add the folder path containing php.exe:

      C:\Bcat\php-8.3.26-nts-Win32-vs16-x64

  3. Open a new Command Prompt

    • Run:

      php -v

    • If you see the PHP version → it’s installed correctly :white_check_mark:

  4. Configure in Cursor

    • Open settings.json and add:

      {
  "php.validate.executablePath": "C:\\Bcat\\php-8.3.26-nts-Win32-vs16-x64\\php.exe"
}

Now Cursor can use PHP for validation and code support.