phpstan-baseline-triage

name	phpstan-baseline-triage
description	Use when PHPStan reports new errors and you're considering whether to fix them or baseline them. Triggers include "PHPStan errors", "phpstan baseline", "level 8 errors", "fix phpstan", "phpstan-baseline.neon". Project policy is fix-first, baseline-last; this skill enforces that triage order.

PHPStan Baseline Triage

The repo's CRITICAL rule (from AGENTS.md): treat baseline updates as the last option, not the first. If we commit baseline-only changes for issues that have a real fix, future contributors inherit a less-typed codebase. The baseline exists for genuine PHPStan limitations, not as a blanket suppressor.

When suppression is unavoidable, prefer an inline @phpstan-ignore-next-line (or @phpstan-ignore-line) with a reason comment over a baseline entry. Inline ignores live next to the code they justify, get reviewed in the same diff, and are removed as soon as the surrounding code changes — baseline entries are silent and easy to forget.

Procedure

1. Run the analyzer:

   npm run phpstan
   

   The build fails if any error isn't already in phpstan-baseline.neon.

2. For each new error, classify by category:

   Category	Action
   Real null / false handling missing	Fix the code
   Wrong type annotation that lies about the actual return	Fix the annotation
   Untyped WP/WC hook return (mixed, etc.)	Add a defensive check at the boundary
   Stripe SDK type that genuinely allows multiple shapes	Narrow with explicit assertion or fix the call site
   Genuine PHPStan limitation (intersection types, generic variance)	Add an inline @phpstan-ignore comment with a specific error type to ignore as well as descriptive text

3. Fix legitimate issues first. Most level 8 errors indicate real null/false paths that production hasn't hit yet — the type checker is doing its job.

4. For genuine PHPStan limitations, prefer an inline ignore over the baseline:

   // @phpstan-ignore function.alreadyNarrowedType (This is the output of a filter that may return other data types.)
   $foo->bar();
   

   Reach for npm run phpstan:baseline only when an inline ignore is impossible (e.g., the error is reported on generated code or a file you cannot annotate). Inspect the resulting phpstan-baseline.neon diff; if the diff added entries you didn't intend to baseline, fix or inline-ignore those instead and re-run.

5. Don't mix baseline churn with feature work in the same commit (CRITICAL rule from AGENTS.md). Either:

   • Commit the feature without any baseline drift (preferred), or
   • Split into a baseline-only commit and a feature commit.

What "untyped boundary" means in this codebase

WordPress and WooCommerce APIs return mixed constantly. PHPStan flags this aggressively. The right pattern at the boundary is an explicit guard, not a baseline:

$order = wc_get_order( $order_id );
if ( ! $order instanceof WC_Order ) {
    return;
}
// $order is now narrowed for the rest of the function

A bare if ( ! $order ) is not enough — wc_get_order() can return a WC_Order_Refund or false. Use instanceof checks where shape matters. The same applies to wp_get_current_user(), WC()->cart, subscription/pre-order objects, and Stripe SDK responses.

What NOT to baseline

• Errors in code you just touched (fix first).
• Errors whose message mentions null or false — those are usually real.
• Errors in critical paths: payment processing, webhook handling, intent controller, customer linking. A type error here is the kind of thing that becomes a fatal in production.

When baseline is the right answer

• Genuine PHPStan limitations (intersection types it can't follow).
• WP/WC core types that are wrong upstream and will be fixed there.
• Stripe SDK return types that PHPStan over-narrowed.

Prefer the inline @phpstan-ignore comment form whenever the file is editable — the reason lives next to the code instead of in a sibling file.

Verifying after the change

After fixes and any baselining, re-run:

npm run phpstan

Confirm no remaining errors. Then run the smallest relevant test suite for the touched code so a real-fix-versus-paper-fix gets caught:

npm run test:php -- --filter <ClassNameTest>