PHPStan Stubs Scaffold

Model note: File scaffolding from a fixed template — haiku handles end-to-end. Only reach for sonnet if the source plugin has complex namespace hierarchies needing stub organization decisions.

Scaffold a complete PHPStan stubs package from scratch, following the my-org/phpstan-freemius-stubs standard structure.

When to use

• "Create stubs for X", "new stubs package", "scaffold phpstan stubs", "add stubs for plugin/composer package".

Not for: Configuring phpstan.neon or generating baselines — use the official wp-phpstan skill. Adding PHPStan to a plugin that already has stubs installed.

References

• references/wp-org-api.md — WP.org plugin API, version listing, download URLs, cleanup patterns
• references/packagist-api.md — Packagist API, version filtering, source/composer.json update pattern
• references/common-errors.md — Known errors and fixes (jq \d, unzip prompt, find+set-e, git reset, missing source/composer.json)
• references/github-setup.md — Repo creation, branch rename trunk→main, topics, secrets, all 11 current repos

Gather Required Info

Before writing any files, collect (ask user if missing):

1. Plugin/package name — human-readable (e.g. "SureCart", "Action Scheduler")
2. Source type — one of:

• wp-plugin — downloadable from WordPress.org (slug known)
• composer — Composer package on Packagist (e.g. woocommerce/action-scheduler)
• paid — paid plugin, user places source manually

1. WP.org slug (if wp-plugin) — e.g. surecart, forminator
2. Packagist package (if composer) — e.g. woocommerce/action-scheduler
3. Source dir path inside package — where the plugin/package files land:

• wp-plugin: source/<slug>/
• composer: source/vendor/<vendor>/<package>/
• paid: source/<slug>/

1. Packagist name — my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs
2. GitHub repo name — phpstan-<slug>-stubs
3. Versions to release — for wp-plugin/composer: minor version series (e.g. 3.4 3.5 3.6); for paid: manual
4. GitHub assignee — default my-org

Standard Directory Layout

phpstan-<slug>-stubs/
├── bin/
│   ├── generate.sh
│   └── release-latest-versions.sh   # (not for paid)
├── configs/
│   ├── bootstrap.php
│   └── finder.php
├── source/
│   ├── composer.json                # only if wp-plugin or paid (no composer deps)
│   └── .gitignore
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       └── release.yml              # (not for paid)
├── .editorconfig
├── .gitattributes
├── .gitignore
├── composer.json
├── phpstan.neon
└── <slug>-stubs.php                 # empty placeholder (generated)
    <slug>-constants-stubs.php       # empty placeholder (generated)

File Contents

composer.json

{
    "name": "my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs",
    "description": "<PluginName> function and class declaration stubs for static analysis.",
    "type": "library",
    "keywords": [
        "<slug>",
        "wordpress",
        "static analysis",
        "phpstan",
        "stubs"
    ],
    "homepage": "https://github.com/my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs",
    "license": "MIT",
    "authors": [
        {
            "name": "Al Amin Ahamed",
            "homepage": "https://github.com/my-org"
        }
    ],
    "require": {
        "php": ">=7.4",
        "php-stubs/wordpress-stubs": "^5.3 || ^6.0"
    },
    "require-dev": {
        "php-stubs/generator": "^0.8.0",
        "phpstan/phpstan": "^2.0",
        "phpunit/phpunit": "^7.5 || ^8.5 || ^9.5",
        "squizlabs/php_codesniffer": "^3.7"
    },
    "minimum-stability": "stable",
    "prefer-stable": true,
    "config": {
        "allow-plugins": {
            "php-stubs/generator": true
        },
        "sort-packages": true,
        "optimize-autoloader": true,
        "preferred-install": "dist",
        "platform": {
            "php": "7.4.0"
        }
    },
    "scripts": {
        "post-install-cmd": [
            "@composer --working-dir=source/ update --no-interaction"
        ],
        "post-update-cmd": [
            "@composer --working-dir=source/ update --no-interaction"
        ],
        "generate": "bash bin/generate.sh",
        "release": "bash bin/release-latest-versions.sh"
    },
    "support": {
        "issues": "https://github.com/my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs/issues",
        "source": "https://github.com/my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs"
    }
}

For `composer` source type — source/ has its own composer.json, so omit post-install-cmd/post-update-cmd from root composer.json and add them pointing to the source subdir instead. The source/composer.json requires the actual package:

{
    "require": {
        "php": ">=5.6",
        "<vendor>/<package>": "<latest-stable-version>"
    },
    "minimum-stability": "stable"
}

For `wp-plugin` and `paid` — create source/composer.json:

{"minimum-stability": "stable"}

And source/.gitignore:

/vendor/
/composer.lock

configs/bootstrap.php

Standard WordPress constants file — copy verbatim from freemius, then append plugin-specific constants at bottom if needed:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// phpcs:disable Squiz.PHP.DiscouragedFunctions,NeutronStandard.Constants.DisallowDefine

define('ABSPATH', './');
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true);
define('WP_PLUGIN_DIR', './');
define('WPMU_PLUGIN_DIR', './');
define('EMPTY_TRASH_DAYS', 30 * 86400);
define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', false);
define('WP_LANG_DIR', './');
define('WP_CONTENT_DIR', './');

define('MINUTE_IN_SECONDS', 60);
define('HOUR_IN_SECONDS', 60 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS);
define('DAY_IN_SECONDS', 24 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS);
define('WEEK_IN_SECONDS', 7 * DAY_IN_SECONDS);
define('MONTH_IN_SECONDS', 30 * DAY_IN_SECONDS);
define('YEAR_IN_SECONDS', 365 * DAY_IN_SECONDS);

define('KB_IN_BYTES', 1024);
define('MB_IN_BYTES', 1024 * KB_IN_BYTES);
define('GB_IN_BYTES', 1024 * MB_IN_BYTES);
define('TB_IN_BYTES', 1024 * GB_IN_BYTES);

define('OBJECT', 'OBJECT');
define('OBJECT_K', 'OBJECT_K');
define('ARRAY_A', 'ARRAY_A');
define('ARRAY_N', 'ARRAY_N');

define('FS_CONNECT_TIMEOUT', 30);
define('FS_TIMEOUT', 30);
define('FS_CHMOD_DIR', 0755);
define('FS_CHMOD_FILE', 0644);

configs/finder.php

<?php

use StubsGenerator\Finder;

return Finder::create()
    ->in(array(
        '<source-dir-path>',
    ))
    ->sortByName(true)
;

Replace <source-dir-path> with the actual path (relative to project root):

• wp-plugin: source/<slug>
• composer: source/vendor/<vendor>/<package>
• paid: source/<slug>

Add ->notPath(...) calls to exclude test dirs, docs, or large asset dirs that bloat the stubs.

bin/generate.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# Generate <PluginName> stubs from the source directory.
#

SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
ROOT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"

HEADER=$'/**\n * Generated stub declarations for <PluginName>.\n * @see <homepage-url>\n * @see https://github.com/my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs\n */'

FILE="$ROOT_DIR/<slug>-stubs.php"
FILE_CONSTANTS="$ROOT_DIR/<slug>-constants-stubs.php"
GENERATOR_BIN="$ROOT_DIR/vendor/bin/generate-stubs"
FINDER_FILE="$ROOT_DIR/configs/finder.php"

set -e

test -f "$FILE" || touch "$FILE"
test -f "$FILE_CONSTANTS" || touch "$FILE_CONSTANTS"
test -d "$ROOT_DIR/<source-dir-path>"

"$GENERATOR_BIN" \
    --include-inaccessible-class-nodes \
    --force \
    --finder="$FINDER_FILE" \
    --header="$HEADER" \
    --functions \
    --classes \
    --interfaces \
    --traits \
    --out="$FILE"

"$GENERATOR_BIN" \
    --include-inaccessible-class-nodes \
    --force \
    --finder="$FINDER_FILE" \
    --header="$HEADER" \
    --constants \
    --out="$FILE_CONSTANTS"

bin/release-latest-versions.sh — WP.org plugin

Iterates minor version series (e.g. 2.0 2.1 ... 2.20), finds latest patch, skips if tag exists, downloads, unzips, generates, commits, tags:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
ROOT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
set -e

git -C "$ROOT_DIR" fetch --all
git -C "$ROOT_DIR" reset --hard origin/main

WP_JSON="$(wget -q -O- "https://api.wordpress.org/plugins/info/1.0/<slug>.json")"

for V in <minor-versions>; do
    printf -v JQ_FILTER '."versions" | keys[] | select(test("^%s\\.%s\\.[0-9]+$"))' "${V%.*}" "${V#*.}"
    LATEST="$(jq -r "$JQ_FILTER" <<<"$WP_JSON" | sort -t "." -k 3 -g | tail -n 1)"
    if [ -z "$LATEST" ]; then continue; fi
    if git -C "$ROOT_DIR" rev-parse "refs/tags/v${LATEST}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        echo "Tag exists for v${LATEST}, skipping..."
        continue
    fi
    rm -rf "$ROOT_DIR/source/<slug>" 2>/dev/null || true
    rm -f "$ROOT_DIR/source/<slug>."*.zip 2>/dev/null || true
    wget -q -P "$ROOT_DIR/source/" "https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/<slug>.${LATEST}.zip"
    unzip -q -o -d "$ROOT_DIR/source/" "$ROOT_DIR/source/<slug>.${LATEST}.zip"
    rm -f "$ROOT_DIR/source/<slug>.${LATEST}.zip"
    echo "Generating stubs for <PluginName> ${LATEST}..."
    "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate.sh"
    if git -C "$ROOT_DIR" diff-index --quiet HEAD --; then
        echo "No changes for ${LATEST}, skipping commit..."
    else
        git -C "$ROOT_DIR" commit --all -m "Generate stubs for <PluginName> ${LATEST}"
        git -C "$ROOT_DIR" tag "v${LATEST}"
    fi
done

git -C "$ROOT_DIR" push origin main --follow-tags
echo "Done."

Minor version list format: space-separated MAJOR.MINOR values, e.g. 1.0 1.1 1.2 ... 1.20 2.0 2.1. The jq filter selects all patch versions matching ^MAJOR.MINOR.[0-9]+$ then takes the latest.

CRITICAL jq regex note: In jq string literals, use [0-9] not \d. The printf -v JQ_FILTER approach above uses \\.[0-9]+ which renders correctly.

bin/release-latest-versions.sh — Composer package

#!/usr/bin/env bash
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
ROOT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
set -e

git -C "$ROOT_DIR" fetch --all
git -C "$ROOT_DIR" reset --hard origin/main

PACKAGIST_JSON="$(wget -q -O- "https://packagist.org/packages/<vendor>/<package>.json")"
VERSIONS=(<minor-versions>)

for V in "${VERSIONS[@]}"; do
    printf -v JQ_FILTER '."package"."versions" | keys[] | select(test("^%s\\.%s\\.[0-9]+$"))' "${V%.*}" "${V#*.}"
    LATEST="$(jq -r "$JQ_FILTER" <<<"$PACKAGIST_JSON" | sort -t "." -k 3 -g | tail -n 1)"
    if [ -z "$LATEST" ]; then continue; fi
    if git -C "$ROOT_DIR" rev-parse "refs/tags/v${LATEST}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        echo "Tag exists for v${LATEST}, skipping..."
        continue
    fi
    printf -v SED_EXP 's#\("<vendor>/<package>"\): "[^"]*"#\1: "%s"#' "${LATEST}"
    sed -i -e "$SED_EXP" "$ROOT_DIR/source/composer.json"
    composer --working-dir="$ROOT_DIR/source" update --no-interaction
    "$SCRIPT_DIR/generate.sh"
    if git -C "$ROOT_DIR" diff-index --quiet HEAD --; then
        echo "No changes for ${LATEST}, skipping commit..."
    else
        git -C "$ROOT_DIR" commit --all -m "Generate stubs for <PluginName> ${LATEST}"
        git -C "$ROOT_DIR" tag "v${LATEST}"
    fi
done

git -C "$ROOT_DIR" push origin main --follow-tags
echo "Done."

bin/release-latest-versions.sh — Paid plugin

Accept VERSION as first argument, source must be pre-placed at source/<slug>/:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
ROOT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
set -e

VERSION="${1:?Usage: $0 <version>}"

if git -C "$ROOT_DIR" rev-parse "refs/tags/v${VERSION}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "Tag v${VERSION} already exists. Skipping."
    exit 0
fi

if [ ! -d "$ROOT_DIR/source/<slug>" ]; then
    echo "ERROR: Place <PluginName> ${VERSION} source at source/<slug>/ first."
    exit 1
fi

"$SCRIPT_DIR/generate.sh"
git -C "$ROOT_DIR" commit --all -m "Generate stubs for <PluginName> ${VERSION}"
git -C "$ROOT_DIR" tag "v${VERSION}"
git -C "$ROOT_DIR" push origin main --follow-tags
echo "Done."

.github/workflows/release.yml

name: Release new version

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - ".github/workflows/release.yml"
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 * * * *'

jobs:
  release-new-stubs:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          extensions: json zip xdebug
          coverage: none
          tools: composer

      - name: Get Composer cache directory
        id: composer-cache
        run: echo "dir=$(composer config cache-files-dir)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

      - name: Cache Composer dependencies
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: ${{ steps.composer-cache.outputs.dir }}
          key: "${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/composer.lock') }}"
          restore-keys: ${{ runner.os }}-composer-

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install --prefer-dist --no-suggest --no-progress --no-interaction --ignore-platform-reqs

      - name: Set up Git user
        run: |
          git config user.name 'github-actions'
          git config user.email '[email protected]'

      - name: Release new stubs from latest version
        run: bash bin/release-latest-versions.sh

      - name: Create Pull Request
        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.PERSONAL_TOKEN }}
          commit-message: Generate stubs from latest version
          committer: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
          author: ${{ github.actor }} <${{ github.actor_id }}+${{ github.actor }}@users.noreply.github.com>
          signoff: false
          delete-branch: true
          title: 'Generate stubs from latest version'
          body: |
            This PR updates stubs from the latest available version.
          labels: |
            update
            automated pr
          assignees: my-org
          draft: false

Omit this workflow entirely for paid source type.

phpstan.neon

parameters:
    paths:
        - <slug>-stubs.php
    scanFiles:
        - <slug>-constants-stubs.php
    bootstrapFiles:
        - configs/bootstrap.php
    level: 5
    ignoreErrors:
        - '#but return statement is missing\.$#'
        - '#has an unused parameter#'
        - '#^(Property|Static property|Method|Static method) \S+ is unused\.$#'
        - '#is never read, only written\.$#'
        - '#has invalid (return )?type (WP_Error|WP_Customize_Manager|WP_Theme|WP_User|WP_Site|WP_Upgrader)#'

.gitignore

/vendor/
/composer.lock
/report.txt

.gitattributes

/.gitattributes     export-ignore
/.gitignore         export-ignore
/.travis.yml        export-ignore
/source             export-ignore

.editorconfig

root = true

[*]
charset = utf-8
indent_size = 4
indent_style = space
insert_final_newline = true
trim_trailing_whitespace = true

[*.yml]
indent_size = 2

Execution Steps

After writing all files:

1. Init git and make first commit:

   cd /path/to/phpstan-<slug>-stubs
   git init
   git branch -m trunk main
   git add .
   git commit -m "chore: initial scaffold for <PluginName> stubs"

1. Create GitHub repo (public):

   gh repo create my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs \
     --public \
     --description "<PluginName> function and class declaration stubs for static analysis." \
     --source=. \
     --remote=origin \
     --push

Then ensure default branch is main:

   gh repo edit my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs --default-branch main

1. Add GitHub topics:

   gh repo edit my-org/phpstan-<slug>-stubs \
     --add-topic phpstan \
     --add-topic php \
     --add-topic stubs \
     --add-topic wordpress \
     --add-topic <slug>

1. Install local dependencies:

   composer install --ignore-platform-reqs

1. Run first release (if not paid):

   bash bin/release-latest-versions.sh

For paid: instruct user to place source at source/<slug>/ then run bash bin/release-latest-versions.sh <VERSION>.

Common Mistakes to Avoid