craft-php-guidelines

Craft CMS 5 PHP Guidelines

Complete PHP coding standards and conventions for Craft CMS 5 plugin and module development. These extend Craft's official coding guidelines with project-specific conventions.

Core principles: PHPDocs on everything — classes, methods, and properties — regardless of type hints. No declare(strict_types=1) in plugin source files (matching Craft core convention).

Companion Skills — Always Load Together

• craftcms — Architecture patterns, element lifecycle, controllers, events, migrations. Required for any Craft plugin or module development.
• ddev — All commands run through DDEV. Required for running ECS, PHPStan, scaffolding, and tests.

Documentation

• Official coding guidelines: https://craftcms.com/docs/5.x/extend/coding-guidelines.html
• Class reference: https://docs.craftcms.com/api/v5/
• Generator reference: https://craftcms.com/docs/5.x/extend/generator.html

When unsure about a convention, WebFetch the coding guidelines page for the authoritative answer.

Common Pitfalls

• addSelect() is the convention in beforePrepare() — safely additive when multiple extensions contribute columns.
• $_instances is not a Craft convention — private properties use underscore prefix but meaningful names like $_items, $_sections.
• Records use the same class name as models (namespace distinguishes). Alias when importing both: use ...\records\MyEntity as MyEntityRecord;.
• Queue jobs have no "Job" suffix — ResaveElements, not ResaveElementsJob.
• declare(strict_types=1) is NOT used in plugin source files. Only in standalone config files like ecs.php.
• @author goes on classes and methods only — never on properties. (Craft core puts @author at the class level only; placing it on methods too is this project's house convention, not core style.)
• Don't use string|null — use ?string (short nullable notation).
• Forget parent::defineRules() and you lose all inherited validation.
• Using [$this, '_validateFoo'] callable arrays or inline closures in defineRules() — Craft core uses string method names: [['attr'], 'validateAttr']. The validator method is public, no underscore — Yii invokes it by name.
• DateTimeHelper in elements/queries, Carbon in services — never mix in the same class.
• Missing @throws chains — document exceptions from called methods too, not just your own throws.
• Using magic property access ($plugin->settings, $app->view) instead of explicit getters ($plugin->getSettings(), $app->getView()) — PHPStan can't resolve __get() calls, so magic access passes at runtime but fails static analysis. Always use explicit getters for Yii2 components and Craft plugin properties.
• Calling Craft-specific methods directly on Craft::$app (Craft::$app->getConfig()) — PHPStan can't resolve them because the static type is Yii's base union. Narrow with a typed local: /** @var \craft\web\Application $app */ $app = Craft::$app;. Don't use @phpstan-ignore-line.
• Duplicating contract constants as private const across multiple classes with "keep in lockstep" comments — PHPStan can't detect drift. Declare public const on the owning service, reference as OwnerService::CONSTANT_NAME everywhere else.

Reference Files

Read the relevant reference file(s) for your task:

Task	Read
Writing PHPDocs, @author, @since, @throws, @var, @param, type references	references/phpdoc-standards.md
Class structure, section headers, ordering, enums, control flow, comments, whitespace	references/class-organization.md
Naming classes, methods, properties, files, services, events, migrations	references/naming-conventions.md
CP Twig templates, form macros, translations, file headers, validation	references/templates-and-patterns.md
ECS, PHPStan, scaffolding commands, commit messages	references/tooling.md

Critical Rules

1. PHPDocs on everything: classes, methods, properties. No exceptions.
2. @throws chains: document every exception including uncaught from called methods.
3. @author and @since at the bottom of class/method docblocks, after a blank line.
4. Section headers with // ========================================================================= on every class. (Craft core itself uses dash separators — // ---- — with functional/domain labels like // Statuses or // Events. The ===== separators and visibility labels below are a deliberate house convention for consistency across this project's plugins, not core style.)
5. declare(strict_types=1) is NOT used in plugin source files — Craft's internal type coercion depends on PHP's default weak typing mode.
6. Private methods/properties prefixed with underscore: _registerCpUrlRules(), $_items.
7. addSelect() convention in beforePrepare() — additive across extensions, prevents column conflicts.
8. DateTimeHelper in elements/queries, Carbon in services — separate concerns prevent mixing date APIs in the same class.
9. Always scaffold with ddev craft make <type> --with-docblocks, then customize.
10. ddev composer check-cs and ddev composer phpstan must pass before every commit.

PHP Standards

• Minimum PHP 8.2 (Craft CMS 5 requirement).
• PSR-12 baseline with Craft modifications (trailing commas, constant visibility).
• craftcms/ecs with SetList::CRAFT_CMS_4 preset (covers both Craft 4 and 5).
• Short nullable notation: ?string not string|null.
• Always specify void return types.
• Typed properties everywhere. No untyped public properties.
• Strict comparison always: $foo === null, in_array($x, $y, true).
• Casts over functions: (int)$foo not intval($foo).

Section Header Order

// Traits
// Const Properties
// Static Properties
// Public Properties
// Protected Properties
// Private Properties
// Public Methods
// Protected Methods
// Private Methods

Only include sections that have content. Blank line after the separator, before the first item.

Control Flow

• Happy path last. Handle error conditions first with early returns.
• Avoid else — use early returns instead.
• Prefer match over switch for value-mapping and returns. The official guideline is "don't use switch when a single if suffices"; switch remains acceptable where it reads more clearly (and is common in core).
• Always use curly brackets even for single statements.
• Separate compound conditions into nested if statements for readability.
• Named arguments when calling methods with 3+ parameters.

Date Handling

• Elements and element queries: craft\helpers\DateTimeHelper.
• Services (date arithmetic): Carbon\Carbon.
• Never mix both in the same class.

Database Conventions

• [[column]] quoting in Yii2 join conditions.
• addSelect() in beforePrepare() — safely additive.
• postDate and expiryDate in addSelect() and indexed on element tables.
• Db::parseParam() for query parameters. Db::parseDateParam() for dates.
• Foreign keys with explicit CASCADE / SET NULL behavior.

Naming Quick-Reference

Thing	Convention	Example
Services (resource)	Plural	Entries, Volumes, Users
Services (utility)	Domain noun	Auth, Search, Gc
Queue jobs	Action verb, no suffix	ResaveElements, UpdateSearchIndex
Records	Same name as model	Namespace distinguishes
Events	Three patterns	SectionEvent, RegisterUrlRulesEvent, DefineHtmlEvent
Element actions	Action verb, no suffix	Delete, Duplicate, SetStatus
Enums	PascalCase cases, string/int backed	PropagationMethod, CmsEdition

For the complete naming reference including file structure conventions, read references/naming-conventions.md.

Verification Checklist

Before every commit:

1. ddev composer check-cs passes
2. ddev composer phpstan passes
3. Tests green
4. PHPDocs complete on all new/modified code
5. @throws chains verified
6. Section headers present and correct
7. Imports flat alphabetical (ECS-enforced, not "PHP globals first")