: You typically verify your student status on GitHub first, then use that status to activate your JetBrains Educational License.

: This pack includes a free annual renewable license for all JetBrains IDEs, including PhpStorm.

For many, this is the "entry drug" into the JetBrains ecosystem. The smart code completion, refactoring tools, and built-in terminal make PHP development significantly faster than in VS Code.

This is the #1 error.

If your "GitHub work" isn't translating into an active license, check these common failure points:

[Bug]: License activated, but plugin sees it as expired #1081 - GitHub