Easy Coding Standard focuses on easy setup, easy run, and easy use. Last year we simplified the config to a single fluent line.
Today we ship ECS 13.2 - a release that makes ECS lighter to install, smarter about docblocks, and more fun to integreate to a large project, step by step.
Let's look at what's new.
For years, the custom Symplify rules lived in a separate symplify/coding-standard package. To use them, you had to require both packages and keep their versions in sync:
composer require symplify/easy-coding-standard --dev
composer require symplify/coding-standard --dev
That's one dependency too many. In ECS 13.2, symplify/coding-standard is merged directly into ECS. All 26 custom fixers now ship with ECS out of the box.
The class names stay exactly the same, so your config keeps working without a single change:
use Symplify\CodingStandard\Fixer\LineLength\LineLengthFixer;
use Symplify\EasyCodingStandard\Config\ECSConfig;
return ECSConfig::configure()
->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/src', __DIR__ . '/tests'])
->withRules([
LineLengthFixer::class,
]);
If you already require symplify/coding-standard, you can drop it:
composer remove symplify/coding-standard --dev
composer require symplify/easy-coding-standard:^13.2 --dev
One package, one version to track, all the rules included.
ECS needs a dependency-injection container to wire up its checkers. Two years ago I replaced Symfony DI with the Laravel container to make the setup lighter.
In 13.2 we go one step further and replace illuminate/container with the tiny entropy/entropy container. The behavior and the checker registration order stay the same, but the install footprint shrinks.
ECS uses levels for gradual adoption. Instead of enabling 24 rules at once and drowning in errors, you start at level 0 and bump the number once your code is clean:
use Symplify\EasyCodingStandard\Config\ECSConfig;
return ECSConfig::configure()
->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/src', __DIR__ . '/tests'])
->withDocblockLevel(0);
Each level enables the next safe rule from a curated list, ordered from the safest to the most invasive. You move at your own pace - bump to 1, fix what comes up, commit, bump to 2 etc.
Docblocks are just one of four curated lists. ECS ships a level method for each area, so you can adopt them independently:
use Symplify\EasyCodingStandard\Config\ECSConfig;
return ECSConfig::configure()
->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/src', __DIR__ . '/tests'])
->withSpacesLevel(0)
->withArrayLevel(0)
->withControlStructuresLevel(0)
->withDocblockLevel(0);
withSpacesLevel() - spacing around operators, casts, and concatenationwithArrayLevel() - array syntax, trailing commas, and indentationwithControlStructuresLevel() - if/else, switch, and early returnswithDocblockLevel() - docblock noise covered belowIn 13.2 the withDocblockLevel() got 11 new rules - 24 in total. They clean up the most common docblock noise:
/**
- * @param string $name
- * @return string
+ * @param non-empty-string $name
*/
public function process(string $name): string
{
// ...
}
A @param name that no longer matches the argument gets corrected:
/**
- * @param string $value
+ * @param string $name
*/
public function process(string $name): string
{
// ...
}
A @param for an argument that no longer exists is dead weight and gets removed:
/**
* @param string $name
- * @param int $age
*/
public function process(string $name): string
{
// ...
}
And inline @var annotations get normalized to a single consistent format:
-/** @var $items array<int> */
+/** @var array<int> $items */
foreach ($items as $item) {
// ...
}
Inline @var normalization, @param name corrections, dead @param removal, and superfluous return and variable annotations - all behind one growing level. Perfect for onboarding a legacy codebase one level at a time, without a wall of red on day one.
If you're starting on a fresh project, or not on all sets, enable the levels and let them grow with you:
use Symplify\EasyCodingStandard\Config\ECSConfig;
return ECSConfig::configure()
->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/src', __DIR__ . '/tests'])
->withRootFiles()
->withDocblockLevel(0)
->withArrayLevel(0)
->withControlStructuresLevel(0)
->withDocblockLevel(0);
When the level is green, bump the number, commit, repeat. Your code get cleaner with every step, and you stay in control the whole time.
Once you reach the highest level, you can switch to the full set of rules:
use Symplify\EasyCodingStandard\Config\ECSConfig;
return ECSConfig::configure()
->withPaths([__DIR__ . '/src', __DIR__ . '/tests'])
->withRootFiles()
->withPreparedSets(psr12: true, common: true);
That's it for today. Update to ECS 13.2 and give the new levels a try.
Happy coding!
