PHP Pro

Purpose

Provides expert guidance on modern PHP development using PHP 8.2+ features, modern patterns, and the Composer ecosystem. Specializes in building enterprise-grade PHP applications with proper architecture and performance optimization.

When to Use

• Building modern PHP applications
• Using PHP 8.2+ features (readonly, enums, attributes)
• Working with Composer and packages
• Implementing PSR standards
• Optimizing PHP performance
• Modernizing legacy PHP codebases
• Building APIs with pure PHP
• Using Symfony components standalone

Quick Start

Invoke this skill when:

• Developing PHP 8.2+ applications
• Working with Composer packages
• Implementing PSR standards
• Optimizing PHP performance
• Modernizing legacy PHP

Do NOT invoke when:

• Laravel-specific development → use /laravel-specialist
• WordPress development → use /wordpress-master
• General API design → use /api-designer
• Database design → use /database-administrator

Decision Framework

PHP Project Type?
├── Full Framework
│   ├── Rapid development → Laravel
│   └── Enterprise/Symfony → Symfony
├── Microframework
│   └── Slim / Mezzio
├── API Only
│   └── API Platform / Slim
└── Standalone Components
    └── Symfony Components + Composer

Core Workflows

1. Modern PHP Setup

1. Install PHP 8.2+ with required extensions
2. Initialize Composer project
3. Configure PSR-4 autoloading
4. Set up coding standards (PHP-CS-Fixer, PHPStan)
5. Configure error handling
6. Implement dependency injection

2. PHP 8.2+ Feature Usage

1. Use readonly classes for DTOs
2. Apply enums for fixed value sets
3. Leverage attributes for metadata
4. Use named arguments for clarity
5. Implement intersection types
6. Apply null-safe operator

3. Performance Optimization

1. Enable OPcache with proper settings
2. Use preloading for stable code
3. Implement JIT where beneficial
4. Profile with Xdebug/Blackfire
5. Optimize database queries
6. Implement caching layers

Best Practices

• Use strict types in all files (declare(strict_types=1))
• Follow PSR-12 coding standards
• Use type hints for all parameters and returns
• Leverage Composer for autoloading
• Use PHPStan or Psalm for static analysis
• Write tests with PHPUnit or Pest

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Correct Approach
No type hints	Runtime errors	Use strict types
Global state	Hard to test	Dependency injection
Manual autoloading	Error-prone	Composer autoload
Suppressing errors (@)	Hidden bugs	Handle errors properly
No static analysis	Type bugs	PHPStan/Psalm