Phpstan Rules Wrapper Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• Code Quality & Maintainability:

  • Adopt a standardized, pre-configured set of PHPStan rules to enforce consistent coding standards across the Laravel/PHP codebase, reducing technical debt and improving developer productivity.
  • Build vs. Buy: Avoid reinventing the wheel by leveraging this wrapper instead of manually configuring individual PHPStan rulesets (e.g., phpstan/phpunit, symplify/phpstan-extensions).

• Developer Experience (DX) & Onboarding:

  • Reduce friction for new engineers by providing a single dependency that auto-configures best-practice static analysis rules, accelerating onboarding and reducing context-switching.
  • Align with Laravel’s ecosystem by integrating seamlessly with tools like phpstan/extension-installer.

• Security & Compliance:

  • Enforce deprecation checks (phpstan-deprecation-rules) and PSR-3 compliance (staabm/phpstan-psr3) to mitigate risks from outdated dependencies or non-standard logging practices.
  • Use dead-code-detector to identify unused code, reducing attack surfaces and improving maintainability.

• Performance & Scalability:

  • Roadmap: Phase in stricter rules (e.g., phpstan-strict-rules) incrementally to avoid breaking changes, while tracking performance impact via type-coverage metrics.
  • Prioritize rules that catch common Laravel-specific issues (e.g., Mockery/PHPUnit integration) to improve test reliability.

• Cost Efficiency:

  • Eliminate the need for custom rule maintenance by relying on community-vetted, actively updated packages (e.g., symplify/phpstan-extensions for Laravel-specific optimizations).

When to Consider This Package

• Adopt if:

  • Your team uses Laravel/PHP and lacks a standardized static analysis setup.
  • You prioritize developer productivity over custom rule configurations (e.g., CI/CD pipelines, onboarding).
  • Your codebase is medium-to-large (5K+ lines) and benefits from automated dead-code detection or deprecation warnings.
  • You want low-maintenance static analysis with minimal configuration (works out-of-the-box with extension-installer).

• Look elsewhere if:

  • Your project requires highly customized PHPStan rules not covered by the included packages (e.g., domain-specific business logic checks).
  • You’re using PHP < 8.4 (wrapper requires PHP 8.4+).
  • Your team prefers manual control over static analysis rules (e.g., for gradual adoption or rule tuning).
  • You need enterprise-grade support (this is a community package with no dependents; consider commercial alternatives like Roave Security or ParagonIE’s PHPStan rules).

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives:

*"This package lets us enforce best-practice PHP code quality without hiring dedicated tooling engineers. By adopting this wrapper, we’ll:

• Reduce bugs with pre-configured rules for deprecations, dead code, and PSR compliance.
• Save 20+ hours/month in manual static analysis setup and maintenance.
• Improve onboarding by standardizing tooling for new hires.
• Future-proof our Laravel codebase with active community updates (e.g., PHP 8.4+ support). Cost: Zero (MIT-licensed, single Composer dependency). ROI: Immediate productivity gains with negligible risk."*

For Engineering Teams:

*"This is a zero-configuration PHPStan power-up for Laravel projects. Key benefits:

• One command (composer require wyrihaximus/phpstan-rules-wrapper) adds 8 battle-tested rule sets (e.g., PHPUnit, Mockery, strict rules).
• No vendor bloat: Uses extension-installer to auto-load rules without bloating your composer.json.
• Laravel-ready: Includes symplify/phpstan-extensions for framework-specific optimizations.
• Gradual adoption: Start with lenient rules, then enable stricter ones (e.g., strict-rules) via CI flags. Trade-off: Minimal customization, but ideal for teams that want consistency over control."*

For Developers:

*"Tired of configuring PHPStan rules manually? This wrapper gives you:

• Dead-code detection (find unused classes/methods).
• Deprecation warnings (catch outdated Laravel/PHP features early).
• Strict typing checks (e.g., phpstan-strict-rules) with toggleable severity.
• Zero setup: Works with your existing phpstan.neon or auto-generates one. How to use:

1. Install: composer require wyrihaximus/phpstan-rules-wrapper.
2. Run: ./vendor/bin/phpstan analyse.
3. Fix errors or adjust rules in phpstan.neon (if needed). Pro tip: Add to CI to catch issues pre-merge!"*