oliverdavies.uk/content/node.9fe3fe14-044e-4dfa-bbcc-41dea612f05a.yml

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title:
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      Which PHPStan level should you use?
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      <p>Which PHPStan level should you use?</p>

      <p>PHPStan has different levels.</p>

      <p>When you run it on your code, the errors you see will depend on what level you set.</p>

      <p><a href="/daily/2023/11/27/finding-the-best-test-base">In yesterday's email</a>, the first example code block didn't generate an error until level 5 was used.</p>

      <p>So, how do you know which level to use?</p>

      <h2 id="for-greenfield-projects">For greenfield projects</h2>

      <p>For new (greenfield) code, install and configure PHPStan before you write any code and have and have it run automatically as part of a CI pipeline.</p>

      <p>If you work on a team, speak with the other members and decide how strict you want PHPStan to be.</p>

      <p>Read the rule levels and decide which are the most valuable for your team.</p>

      <p>If you haven't used PHPStan or static analysis before, maybe start with a lower level.</p>

      <p>For me, typehints and return type checking are a must, though I like to use as high a level as possible.</p>

      <p>The more information you can provide to PHPStan, the more it will understand your code, give better results and be more likely to find potential bugs or issues.</p>

      <h2 id="for-brownfield-projects">For brownfield projects</h2>

      <p>For existing (brownfield) code, start at the lowest level, which will give you the least number of errors.</p>

      <p>Fix any errors, exclude any rules you want to ignore or generate a baseline containing any existing errors.</p>

      <p>If you like, increase the level and repeat the process.</p>

      <p>Keep increasing the level as long as you feel comfortable, and PHPStan gives you meaningful results.</p>

      <p>Again, if you haven't used PHPStan or static analysis before, maybe stick with a lower level.</p>

      <p>If you start with a lower level, you can increase it later.</p>

              
    format: full_html
    processed: |
      <p>Which PHPStan level should you use?</p>

      <p>PHPStan has different levels.</p>

      <p>When you run it on your code, the errors you see will depend on what level you set.</p>

      <p><a href="/daily/2023/11/27/finding-the-best-test-base">In yesterday's email</a>, the first example code block didn't generate an error until level 5 was used.</p>

      <p>So, how do you know which level to use?</p>

      <h2 id="for-greenfield-projects">For greenfield projects</h2>

      <p>For new (greenfield) code, install and configure PHPStan before you write any code and have and have it run automatically as part of a CI pipeline.</p>

      <p>If you work on a team, speak with the other members and decide how strict you want PHPStan to be.</p>

      <p>Read the rule levels and decide which are the most valuable for your team.</p>

      <p>If you haven't used PHPStan or static analysis before, maybe start with a lower level.</p>

      <p>For me, typehints and return type checking are a must, though I like to use as high a level as possible.</p>

      <p>The more information you can provide to PHPStan, the more it will understand your code, give better results and be more likely to find potential bugs or issues.</p>

      <h2 id="for-brownfield-projects">For brownfield projects</h2>

      <p>For existing (brownfield) code, start at the lowest level, which will give you the least number of errors.</p>

      <p>Fix any errors, exclude any rules you want to ignore or generate a baseline containing any existing errors.</p>

      <p>If you like, increase the level and repeat the process.</p>

      <p>Keep increasing the level as long as you feel comfortable, and PHPStan gives you meaningful results.</p>

      <p>Again, if you haven't used PHPStan or static analysis before, maybe stick with a lower level.</p>

      <p>If you start with a lower level, you can increase it later.</p>

              
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