PhpStorm inspections ↔ IDE notifications: Per‑inspection balloon control

Question

PhpStorm inspections ↔ IDE notifications: Per‑inspection balloon control
The goal is to configure PhpStorm so that a chosen inspection (e.g., “Undefined variable”) produces a transient balloon notification while keeping the global “Show balloon” option disabled for all other IDE events.
Currently, inspection severity only influences editor highlighting and the Problems tool window; the Notifications settings expose groups such as “Version Control” and “Build” but no group for individual inspections, and there is no per‑inspection “Show notification” checkbox.
Because the inspection‑to‑notification pipeline does not expose a mapping from inspection results to balloon alerts, it is unclear whether a configuration exists within the IDE or requires a plugin that calls the Notification API.
Is there a hidden setting or registry key that maps an inspection severity to the existing “Code Analysis” notification group? Can a custom inspection profile be made to trigger a balloon via the Notification API without a third‑party plugin? Are any upcoming EAP builds planning to expose per‑inspection notification controls?

Tasadduq Burney · Answer

Answer to the question
In the current stable releases of PhpStorm (2026.1 and earlier) there is no hidden setting, registry key, or inspection profile option that maps an individual inspection to a balloon notification. The only notification group that covers code analysis is Code Analysis, which applies to all inspections together. To get a balloon for a single inspection you must write a small plugin that listens for the inspection result and emits a notification via the IDE’s Notification API.
Why this is the case

The Inspections UI only controls editor highlighting and the Problems tool window.
The Notifications page exposes only broad groups (Version Control, Build, Code Analysis, etc.) and no per‑inspection toggle.
Registry search shows no keys that bind a specific inspection to the Code Analysis notification group.

How to verify the limitation

Open Settings/Preferences | Editor | Inspections and enable Undefined variable.
Make a file that triggers the inspection and observe that the editor shows squiggles and the Problems tool window lists the issue, but no balloon appears.
Go to Settings/Preferences | Appearance & Behavior | Notifications.
Check the Code Analysis group; enabling Show balloon will show a balloon for any inspection that fails, but still cannot be limited to a single one.
Open Help | Find Action | Registry and search for inspection or notification – no relevant keys exist.

What you can do if you need per‑inspection balloons

Write a lightweight plugin: Use the InspectionTool API to register a listener for the inspection’s InspectionResult and call NotificationGroup.displayBalloon() when the result is produced. A minimal example is available in JetBrains’ plugin samples.
Use the global Code Analysis balloon: Accept that all inspections will share the same balloon if you enable Show balloon for the Code Analysis group.

Future releases
JetBrains has not publicly announced per‑inspection notification controls for any upcoming EAP builds. If such a feature is added, it will appear in the Notifications settings page as a new group or checkbox. Until then, the plugin path is the only reliable solution.
Missing diagnostic detail
Could you confirm which PhpStorm version you are using? The exact version number helps determine if a recent EAP might already expose the feature.

PhpStorm inspections ↔ IDE notifications: Per‑inspection balloon control