With VVV I just need to have xDebug enabled (manually, via “vagrant ssh” and then “xdebug_on” or automatically), start the listener in the IDE, and I’m good: no browser extensions required.
With the extension, we need an additional click which can be easily avoided.
Profiling and debugging is disabled by default for performance reasons. The browser extensions (or links from IDEs like PhpStorm) simply set a cookie that enables the debug/profile session.
If you’re using PhpStorm then you can go to Settings » Add-ons and enable the IntelliJ IDE + Xdebug add-on.
Once it’s enabled you can go to to the specific site in Local, then Utilities, and click the Xdebug button. This will create a run configuration to debug that specific site. The config will be in the public/.idea directory so you’ll need to use “public” as the project directory. Then, if you go to “Run” you should see “Local by Flywheel”
If you would like to change how Xdebug behaves entirely, you edit /conf/php/VERSION/php.ini in the site’s folder.