Phide Documentation
The complete engineering and user manual for Phide—the high-performance, local-first C++ and PHP IDE engineered with Direct2D hardware acceleration, interactive project graphs, and seamless workflows.
1. Architecture & Core Philosophy
PhidePhide is an intelligent, high-performance desktop IDE engineered natively in C++20 for Windows x64. By utilizing Direct2D and DirectWrite hardware-accelerated GPU rendering alongside a sub-millisecond line-indexed text buffer, Phide provides instant startup and zero keystroke latency without the memory overhead of web runtimes—delivering an entirely local-first development environment where your code never leaves your machine.
2. Getting Started & Setup
Follow this quickstart walkthrough to install Phide, configure your local workspace, and begin writing code with native acceleration in minutes:
Download & Install Phide
Download the latest verified Windows release (Phide-2026.a-Setup.exe) directly from our official portal. Run the lightweight standalone installer; no external Node.js, Electron, or Python prerequisites are required to launch Phide.
Open a Project Workspace
Launch Phide from your Start Menu or Desktop shortcut. On the welcome screen, select Open Folder or press Ctrl + O to open any existing C++, PHP, Python, or web directory. Phide scans and indexes your files in the background in milliseconds without blocking the UI.
Fast File Navigation & IntelliSense
Press Ctrl + P to bring up the Quick Open fuzzy search dialog to jump directly to any file in your workspace. As you write code, native offline IntelliSense automatically provides method signatures, symbol completions, and syntax error squiggles in real time.
Run & Debug via Embedded Terminal
Press Ctrl + ` to toggle the integrated Windows ConPTY terminal. Execute PowerShell commands, compiler builds, or start your local server without switching application windows.
3. Text Buffer & IntelliSense Core Engine
The editing canvas is built on a custom line-indexed piece buffer (Buffer.hpp) engineered for instantaneous keystroke response, smooth horizontal and vertical scrolling, and multi-megabyte file editing without frame drops.
Real-Time Syntax Tokenizer
Custom lexical analyzer for PHP 8.x, C++20, Python, and JavaScript/TypeScript. Keywords, strings, numeric literals, and comments are highlighted with zero noticeable lag.
Bracket Pair Colorization
Calculates nested scope depths in real time, coloring matching pairs of parentheses, brackets, and braces to prevent nesting syntax bugs.
Local IntelliSense Engine
Provides contextual auto-completion, parameter hints, and snippet expansion completely offline without sending source code off-machine.
Tailwind CSS & Smart Imports
Integrated Tailwind utility class auto-completion with visual color swatch decorators, plus automated namespace and module import resolution.
4. Interactive Project Graph View
Phide includes a native visual project graph engine (GraphView.hpp) that scans your codebase, maps module interdependencies, and constructs an interactive 2D node-link topology of your entire repository.
Graph View Capabilities
Real-Time AST Topology- Visual Dependency Mapping: See which files import, include, or inherit from other classes in your codebase.
- Interactive Zoom & Pan: Smooth Direct2D zoom controls to inspect large repos with hundreds of files.
- Jump-to-Code on Click: Clicking any node immediately opens the file and jumps to the exact declaration line.
- Circular Dependency Flags: Automatically highlights circular imports and tight module coupling in red.
5. Embedded Terminal & Workspaces
Phide includes a high-performance terminal emulator (TerminalPanel.hpp) connected via Windows ConPTY to provide true native x64 shell execution.
Supports PowerShell 7, Command Prompt, Git Bash, and WSL2 Ubuntu instances with full ANSI escape codes, color palettes, and interactive CLI programs.
Powered by WorkspaceManager.hpp, Phide scans directory trees asynchronously and utilizes Win32 ReadDirectoryChangesW to react to external file modifications instantly.
6. UI Layout & Keyboard Shortcuts
Phide’s user interface is designed for speed, clarity, and distraction-free coding:
| Command / Action | Default Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Open File | Ctrl + P / Ctrl + O | Fuzzy file finder across the active project |
| Command Palette | Ctrl + Shift + P | Search and trigger any IDE command |
| Toggle Activity Drawer | Ctrl + B | Show or hide the 280px sidebar drawer |
| Toggle Embedded Terminal | Ctrl + ` (Backtick) | Open or collapse the bottom terminal panel |
| Open Project Graph View | Ctrl + Alt + G | Launch real-time visual dependency graph |
| Format Document | Shift + Alt + F | Auto-format source via clang-format / prettier |
| Duplicate Line Down | Shift + Alt + Down | Duplicate current line or active selection |