Getting Started

Installation Run composer require --dev shipmonk/coding-standard in your Laravel project to add the package to your devDependencies.
Configuration Create a phpcs.xml.dist file in your project root (if it doesn’t exist) and include the ShipMonk ruleset as shown in the README. Ensure the <rule ref="ShipMonkCodingStandard"/> line is present.
First Use Case Run vendor/bin/phpcs in your terminal to analyze your codebase for violations. Start with the src/ and tests/ directories to align with ShipMonk’s conventions.

Implementation Patterns

Pre-Commit Hooks Integrate phpcs into your Git workflow using a pre-commit hook to enforce standards before code is committed. Example:
```
# .git/hooks/pre-commit
#!/bin/sh
vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=ShipMonkCodingStandard src/ tests/ || exit 1
```
CI/CD Pipeline Add a step in your CI (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) to run phpcs and fail the build if violations are found. Example GitHub Actions snippet:
```
- name: Run PHP_CodeSniffer
  run: vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=ShipMonkCodingStandard --warning-severity=0 src/ tests/
```
Auto-Fixing Use phpcbf to automatically fix common issues (e.g., indentation, spacing) before code reviews:
```
vendor/bin/phpcbf --standard=ShipMonkCodingStandard src/
```

Custom Rulesets Extend the ShipMonk ruleset by creating a custom phpcs.xml file that overrides specific rules:

<ruleset>
    <rule ref="ShipMonkCodingStandard">
        <exclude name="PSR12.Methods.MethodDeclaration"/>
    </rule>
</ruleset>

Laravel-Specific Adjustments Exclude Laravel-specific files (e.g., vendor/, bootstrap/) from analysis by adding:
```
<exclude-pattern>vendor/</exclude-pattern>
<exclude-pattern>bootstrap/</exclude-pattern>
```
Team Onboarding Document the coding standard in your CONTRIBUTING.md and include a one-time phpcbf run for new contributors to align their codebase.
Partial Runs Target specific directories or files for faster feedback during development:
```
vendor/bin/phpcs src/Http/Controllers/
```

Rule Conflicts ShipMonk’s ruleset may conflict with other installed coding standards (e.g., slevomat/coding-standard). Ensure only ShipMonk’s ruleset is referenced in phpcs.xml.dist to avoid ambiguity.
False Positives Some rules (e.g., line length) may flag Laravel-specific constructs (e.g., long controller methods). Use <exclude> or <severity> tags to adjust:
```
<rule ref="ShipMonkCodingStandard">
    <severity name="PSR12.Files.FileOpeningComment.SpacingAfterComment" value="warning"/>
</rule>
```
Performance Caching (<arg name="cache" value="var/phpcs.cache"/>) speeds up repeated runs but may cause stale results if the ruleset updates. Clear the cache with:
```
rm -rf var/phpcs.cache
```
Auto-Fix Limitations phpcbf won’t fix all issues (e.g., semantic violations). Review output manually for unresolved warnings.

Verbose Output Use --verbose to debug rule application:

vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=ShipMonkCodingStandard --verbose src/

Rule Explanation Check the slevomat/coding-standard docs for details on individual rules, as ShipMonk’s ruleset builds on top of it.

Custom Rules Add project-specific rules by extending the ruleset:

<rule ref="ShipMonkCodingStandard">
    <config name="custom_rules" value="vendor/your-package/coding-standard"/>
</rule>

Severity Adjustments Temporarily lower severity for specific rules during refactoring:

<rule ref="ShipMonkCodingStandard">
    <severity name="PSR12.ControlStructures.SpaceAfterControlStructure" value="warning"/>
</rule>

Sniffs Configuration Fine-tune individual sniffs (e.g., line length) via the <config> tag:
```
<config name="line_ending" value="LF"/>
```