How to use the command PHP-CS-Fixer (with examples)

PHP-CS-Fixer is an automatic coding style fixer for PHP. It helps to automatically fix and format PHP code according to a specific coding style. This can be especially useful when working collaboratively on a project, as it ensures that the code base is consistent and adheres to the defined coding standards.

Use case 1: Execute code style fixing in the current directory

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix

Motivation: When you want to fix the code style of PHP files in the current directory, you can use this command. It will automatically detect and fix the coding style issues in the PHP files present in the current directory.

Explanation: The php-cs-fixer command is followed by the fix option, which indicates that we want to fix the code style. Since no specific directory is provided, it will fix the code style in the current directory.

Use case 2: Execute code style fixing for a specific directory

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix path/to/directory

Motivation: When you have PHP files in a specific directory that need their code style fixed, you can use this command. It will only fix the code style issues in the PHP files present inside the specified directory.

Explanation: The php-cs-fixer command is followed by the fix option and the path/to/directory argument, which indicates that we want to fix the code style in the specified directory.

Use case 3: Execute code style linting without applying changes

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix --dry-run

Motivation: If you want to check the code style issues in your PHP files without actually making any changes to the files, you can use this command. It will perform a dry run and provide a report of the code style issues.

Explanation: The --dry-run option instructs the php-cs-fixer command to only perform a linting check and not apply any fixes to the code. This is useful when you want to analyze the code style issues without modifying the files.

Use case 4: Execute code style fixes using specific rules

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix --rules=rules

Motivation: If you want to apply specific code style rules to your PHP files, you can use this command. It allows you to specify the rules that should be used to fix the code style issues.

Explanation: The --rules=rules option allows you to specify the specific set of rules to be used for fixing the code style. Replace rules with the name of the rule or ruleset you want to apply.

Use case 5: Display the rules that have been applied

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix --verbose

Motivation: If you want to see a detailed report of the rules applied while fixing the code style issues, you can use this command. It will display a verbose output that includes the rules that have been applied.

Explanation: The --verbose option instructs the php-cs-fixer command to provide a detailed output that includes information about the rules that have been applied during the code style fixing process.

Use case 6: Output the results in a different format

Code:

php-cs-fixer fix --format=txt|json|xml|checkstyle|junit|gitlab

Motivation: If you want to customize the output format of the code style fixing results, you can use this command. It allows you to choose from different formats, such as text, JSON, XML, Checkstyle, JUnit, and GitLab.

Explanation: The --format option followed by the desired output format (txt, json, xml, checkstyle, junit, or gitlab) instructs the php-cs-fixer command to generate the code style fixing results in the specified format.

Use case 7: Display files that require fixing

Code:

php-cs-fixer list-files

Motivation: If you want to get a list of PHP files that require code style fixing, you can use this command. It will provide a list of files that have code style issues.

Explanation: The list-files option instructs the php-cs-fixer command to output a list of PHP files that require code style fixing. This can be helpful when you want to get an overview of the affected files before performing the fixes.

Use case 8: Describe a rule or ruleset

Code:

php-cs-fixer describe rule

Motivation: If you want to get detailed information about a specific rule or ruleset used by PHP-CS-Fixer, you can use this command. It will provide a description of the specified rule or ruleset.

Explanation: The describe option followed by the name of the desired rule or ruleset (rule) instructs the php-cs-fixer command to display a description of the specified rule or ruleset. This can be useful for understanding the purpose and behavior of a particular rule.

Conclusion:

PHP-CS-Fixer is a powerful command-line tool that allows you to automatically fix and format PHP code according to coding style standards. It provides various options to customize the code style fixes, including specifying rules, output formats, and more. These examples demonstrate different use cases of the command, helping you understand how to effectively use PHP-CS-Fixer for code style fixing purposes.