php-patterns

name	php-patterns
description	PHP 8.x architecture reference - frameworks, design patterns, Laravel/Symfony, WordPress, and production best practices for 2024-2025. Use when making architectural decisions, reviewing PHP code, or selecting packages.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[frameworks|patterns|architecture|practices|features|all]

PHP Patterns & Architecture Skill

Quick Navigation

• Frameworks & Libraries — Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, ORMs, testing, async runtimes
• Design Patterns — Builder, Factory, Repository, Strategy, Value Object, DTO, Result
• Architecture — Clean Architecture, Hexagonal, DDD, Vertical Slice, PSR standards
• Best Practices — Type safety, security, error handling, CI tooling
• Language Features — PHP 8.0-8.5 features with code examples

Decision Framework

Need	Recommendation
Web API (REST/GraphQL)	Laravel 12 + API Resources, or API Platform 4.2 (Symfony)
CMS / Content site	WordPress 6.8 (simple), Statamic 5 (Laravel-based), Drupal 11 (enterprise)
E-commerce	WooCommerce (WordPress), Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce, Sylius (Symfony)
CLI tool	Symfony Console, Laravel Zero, or Minicli
Enterprise / DDD	Symfony 7.4 + Doctrine + Messenger
High-performance / Async	FrankenPHP 1.8 + Laravel Octane, or Swoole / RoadRunner
Microservice	Slim 4, Mezzio (Laminas), or Symfony micro-kernel

Recommended Stacks 2025

Use Case	Stack
API development	Laravel 12 + Sanctum + Eloquent + Pest 3 + PHPStan
Enterprise platform	Symfony 7.4 + Doctrine + Messenger + PHPUnit 11 + Psalm
CMS / Marketing	WordPress 6.8 + ACF Pro + Gutenberg + WP-CLI
E-commerce	Magento 2.4 / Sylius 2.0 + Stripe SDK + Redis
CLI tooling	Laravel Zero / Symfony Console + PHP-CS-Fixer
High-performance	FrankenPHP + Laravel Octane + Swoole + Redis

PHP Version Reference

Version	Release	Status	Key Features
8.1	Nov 2021	Security fixes until Dec 2025	Enums, Fibers, intersection types, readonly properties, never type
8.2	Dec 2022	Active support	Readonly classes, DNF types, null/false/true standalone types
8.3	Nov 2023	Active support	Typed class constants, json_validate(), #[\Override], dynamic class const fetch
8.4	Nov 2024	Active support	Property hooks, asymmetric visibility, lazy objects, array_find(), #[\Deprecated]
8.5	Nov 2025	Upcoming	Pipe operator (|>), clone-with, #[\NoDiscard], array_first()/array_last()

Production Users

Company/Product	Scale	PHP Usage
WordPress	43% of all websites	Core CMS engine
Slack	42M+ daily active users	Backend services
Etsy	$13.2B GMV	Primary backend
Wikipedia (MediaWiki)	Top 10 global site	Core platform
Tumblr	500M+ blogs	Backend infrastructure
Facebook / Meta	3B+ users	Hack (PHP derivative), HHVM origin
Mailchimp	13M+ users	Backend services
Shopify (Liquid)	$236B GMV	Admin tooling

Minimum recommended version: PHP 8.2 for new projects (readonly classes, DNF types). PHP 8.4 preferred for property hooks and lazy objects.

Related Skills

• dev-patterns — Language-agnostic design principles
• qa-patterns — Testing strategies and quality gates
• devops-patterns — CI/CD, containers, and infrastructure