PhpStorm hides directories in Project window

Question

I'm using PhpStorm 6.0.3, and it doesn't show any directories in the Project Tool Window. They were there just a minute ago but I managed to make them disappear by clicking or shortkey on accident.

They are there in the file system - I see them in Windows Explorer, but they just don't show up in PhpStorm. I have checked the Jetbrains documentation, checked the scope and tried deleting the project-settings (.idea-dir), but to no avail.

Does anybody have a suggestion on how to show them again? Or where I might have screwed up the settings? Thanks!

So ... what do you see there then? Just files? – LazyOne Jul 03 '13 at 11:13 — LazyOne, Jul 03 '13 at 11:13

score 136 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 02 '14 at 13:11

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removing the .idea folder, and restarting the app did the trick for me

answered Sep 02 '14 at 13:11

fallanic

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Fixed it for me, too. – Chuck Le Butt Nov 11 '14 at 15:13
thx - just slight variation - i used this for webstorm and it only worked when I opened it from inside the dir. ie. `wstorm . ` vs `wstorm mydir` - not sure reason - had to move on for now. cheers – jamie Apr 05 '15 at 06:10
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Really awkward, but this works. It really sucks that simply opening a project doesn't work without this crazy hack. – matanster Jun 22 '16 at 22:06
Works for me too. – Nadeem Latif Aug 20 '17 at 12:41
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This also resets all the other project settings, which might not be desirable. I would use it as a last resort. – Ynhockey Jan 28 '18 at 14:14
I agree with @Ynhockey. This is a drastic solution that should be a last resort. Before implementing it read below and try any of the other solution provided. – David Baucum Feb 07 '18 at 21:04

score 37 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 03 '13 at 10:06

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Have you changed the scope dropdown value by any chance?

scope dropdown

answered Jul 03 '13 at 10:06

deceze

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I have checked, it is on "project". By the way, if I look under project settings > deployment > directories then I see I have not excluded my dirs. – Jelmer Keij Jul 03 '13 at 10:46
@JelmerKeij I changed mine to "project files" and that showed me the files on mine. Thanks deceze – Eoin May 20 '20 at 14:47

score 34 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 18 '13 at 20:15

34

So, it's now a couple of months later and made the same mistake. Only this time I made 1 directory disappear and was accidentally pointed in the right direction by PhpStorm itself. I excluded the directory from the project, so it didn't show up anymore. Apparently exluded dirs are not saved in the project settings since re-creating the project didn't help.

Here is how I found it back: File > Settings > Project settings > Directories There I saw my dir flagged with a red icon, meaning excluded. Just right-click it and click 'exclude' once again. Tadaaaa it's back.

I can't believe I've overlooked it so many times...

answered Oct 18 '13 at 20:15

Jelmer Keij

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If anyone knows where these settings are hiding in webStorm, pls post. Thank you! – R Claven Oct 06 '14 at 17:44
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Isn't it in the same place as in PHPStorm? http://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/webhelp/configuring-folders-within-a-content-root.html – Jelmer Keij Oct 11 '14 at 08:49
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This helped me a lot. Just add a little comment so mac users can also find what they are looking for instead of file > settings > project settings > directories, mac users need to look for PHPStorm > preferences> project > directories. – Hiltje Dec 12 '15 at 15:15
I also had this issue and found it was a permissions issue. I couldn't track down the exact spot but giving everything full permission fixed it. I ended up just starting a fresh project though – doz87 Jul 24 '17 at 13:40
This was more-or-less my solution as well, except under `Directories` I ad not directories listed so I clicked "Added root directory" and selected my root folder and was back in business. Thanks for the direction. – David Baucum Feb 07 '18 at 21:03

score 14 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 26 '15 at 23:56

My USB flash drive decided to randomly disconnect itself while I was opening up the project, then I plugged it back in and no directories were showing up. Just the default files like all the .git files, .htaccess, and the index.php.

By going to File > Settings > Project: ProjectName > Directories. There was no longer any content root. I just had to click "Add Content Root" select my root folder and I was able to see everything again :)

Also it seems people have excluded directories like their content root or individual files which can be managed through the same settings.

score 7 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 16 '17 at 09:45

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Here is how i did it in PHPStorm 2016.

Open the Settings / Preferences Dialog by pressing ⌘, or by choosing File | Settings for Windows and Linux or WebStorm | Preferences for OS X. Click the Directories node.

Then:

answered Mar 16 '17 at 09:45

max4ever

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score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 17 '18 at 10:31

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My Folders got hidden by PHPStorm when I used the Project view:

All files are shown, when you switch to Project Files view:

answered Jan 17 '18 at 10:31

Sebastian Viereck

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 19 '20 at 11:01

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File -> Settings -> Directories -> + Add content root

Happy Coding!

answered Nov 19 '20 at 11:01

Tahseen Alaa

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Its helped for me. I displayed hidden attached project and removed it. Thanks! – Vito Bryliano Oct 19 '22 at 07:44

score 1 · Answer 8 · edited Dec 29 '18 at 05:59

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Go to PhpStorm setting(Ctrl+Alt+s) type and select 'file types' not 'other file types'!(Editor > File Types) in 'Ignore files and folders' remove all extension you need(i remove all!).

Apply it and you can see all your files in PhpStorm

edited Dec 29 '18 at 05:59

slava

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answered Dec 27 '18 at 22:09

Omid Ahmadyani

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered May 09 '15 at 13:45

I just solved a similar problem with Webstorm (Windows version 10.0.1) in a Cordova project. I created a new directory within the www folder, did not add any files and closed Webstorm. When I restarted Webstorm the next day, the new folder was invisible but existed as Webstorm refused to create a new one with an " ... already exists" error message and the file was listed as visible in the directories settings.

I solved the problem this way: Closed Webstorm -> Added a file to the empty folder with the Windows file browser -> Opened Web Storm -> The folder and the file was shown.

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Oct 11 '15 at 17:43

I just experienced this problem in phpStorm 9 where I was trying to create a project from existing files but phpstorm could not see the directory. Very weird.

So what I did was I instead went to "create new project" and manually put in the location box the path to an existing directory. On the next screen it asked something like "directory exists, do you want to create project from these files?" and that worked.

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Sep 14 '16 at 16:23

PHPStorm seems to do this in case of empty directories (at least if you actively delete a file inside of phpstorm).

As a temporary quick fix you can simply open the folder in explorer and create any empty file:

After you've done this, make sure you syncronize your project by right-clicking and selecting "Syncronize":

That should make your previously hidden folder visible and you can simply create your first actual file and just delete the empty file afterwards.

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Aug 10 '20 at 07:36

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You can delete .idea/workspace.xml file.

answered Aug 10 '20 at 07:36

Alper AKPINAR

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Dec 22 '22 at 07:45

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File -> Reload all from disk

I used rsync to sync files and they didn't appear in PhpStorm, this helped

answered Dec 22 '22 at 07:45

Alexander Z

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score -1 · Answer 14 · answered May 30 '17 at 18:56

The below methods showed they were successful but still failed to show some directories which were empty or had a few files

Synchronize the directory
No directories were excluded in the Directory tab.

What worked for me was closing the project having the issue and reopening it another project window and choosing open in the current window

PhpStorm hides directories in Project window

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