Windows Native Support

This page covers the Windows-native execution path of PhpStormCopilot: how the package detects a Windows environment, where it writes mcp.json, and how mcpConfigPath() constructs the Windows-specific file path. This page applies only when both PHP and PhpStorm run directly on Windows — no WSL layer is involved. For the WSL pipeline (PHP inside WSL, PhpStorm on Windows), see WSL Support. For macOS and Linux, see macOS and Linux Support.

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Detection on Windows

When boost:install runs on Windows, the laravel/boost framework calls systemDetectionConfig(Platform::Windows) on the PhpStormCopilot agent to determine whether this agent is applicable to the current system.

Windows detection paths (src/PhpStormCopilot.php58-65):

Path	Indicates
%LOCALAPPDATA%\github-copilot\intellij	GitHub Copilot plugin data directory — strongest signal
%ProgramFiles%\JetBrains\PhpStorm*	System-wide PhpStorm installation
%LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\Toolbox\apps\PhpStorm\ch-*	JetBrains Toolbox installation
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PhpStorm	User-level PhpStorm installation

The laravel/boost framework expands the %LOCALAPPDATA% and %ProgramFiles% environment variable tokens before testing these paths on disk. If any path exists, the agent is treated as installed and selectable.

Detection flow diagram:

Sources: src/PhpStormCopilot.php39-67

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mcp.json Write Location

On Windows native, the MCP configuration file is written to:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\github-copilot\intellij\mcp.json

For a default Windows installation with username Alice, this expands to:

C:\Users\Alice\AppData\Local\github-copilot\intellij\mcp.json

This path is returned by mcpConfigPath() in PhpStormCopilot (src/PhpStormCopilot.php104-114):

Platform::Windows → '%LOCALAPPDATA%\\github-copilot\\intellij\\mcp.json'

The %LOCALAPPDATA% token is left as a literal string in the return value; path expansion is handled by the laravel/boost parent class (Agent::installFileMcp) when it performs the actual file write on Windows.

Note that on Darwin and Linux, mcpConfigPath() uses getenv('HOME') to construct the path at runtime, producing a fully resolved string. On Windows, the %LOCALAPPDATA% token is passed through because getenv('LOCALAPPDATA') returns an absolute path only within a native Windows PHP process, and the parent class handles environment variable expansion in the path string.

Sources: src/PhpStormCopilot.php104-114

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Installation Flow

When installFileMcp is called on Windows native (no WSL, no Testbench), the logic is straightforward:

installFileMcp dispatch for Windows native (src/PhpStormCopilot.php119-132):

The key distinction from WSL: on Windows native, no powershell.exe subprocess is used to write the file. The parent::installFileMcp (from laravel/boost's Agent base class) writes the file directly using PHP's standard file I/O.

Sources: src/PhpStormCopilot.php119-132 src/PhpStormCopilot.php141-162

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Resulting mcp.json Structure

After a successful boost:install --mcp on Windows native, the file at %LOCALAPPDATA%\github-copilot\intellij\mcp.json will contain:

Key points:

• mcpConfigKey() returns "servers" — this is the top-level key (src/PhpStormCopilot.php99-101).
• useAbsolutePathForMcp() returns true (src/PhpStormCopilot.php29-32), so the laravel/boost framework substitutes absolute Windows paths for both the PHP binary and the artisan file.
• The file is system-wide, not per-project. The absolute paths bake in the current project location. Re-run boost:install when switching projects. See Multi-Project Workflow for details.

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Class and Method Map

Sources: src/PhpStormCopilot.php1-187 src/Concerns/WithWSL.php11-14

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Platform Comparison Summary

Aspect	Windows Native	WSL	macOS / Linux
Platform::current()	Platform::Windows	Platform::Linux	Platform::Darwin / Platform::Linux
isWSL()	false	true	false
mcp.json location	%LOCALAPPDATA%\github-copilot\intellij\mcp.json	Windows side via PowerShell	~/.config/github-copilot/intellij/mcp.json
File write mechanism	parent::installFileMcp (PHP direct I/O)	installMcpViaWsl via powershell.exe	parent::installFileMcp (PHP direct I/O)
HOME env used	No	No	Yes
LOCALAPPDATA env used	Yes (token in path string)	Yes (via wslvar LOCALAPPDATA)	No

Sources: src/PhpStormCopilot.php104-114 src/Concerns/WithWSL.php16-76 README.md122-124