Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner

⚠️ Important: Development Environment Only

This plugin is designed for development environments like LocalWP, XAMPP, or self-hosted servers. It will not work on most managed hosting providers (WP Engine, Kinsta, SiteGround, etc.) due to security restrictions that disable the exec() function and limit access to PHP binaries.

How It Works

This plugin leverages PHP_CodeSniffer with the PHPCompatibility standard to perform deep static analysis of your PHP code.

Core Components:

1. Bundled Dependencies: Includes PHP_CodeSniffer and PHPCompatibility ruleset
2. Batch Processing: Scans files in configurable batches (10-100 files) to manage memory usage
3. Command Execution: Executes PHPCS via PHP’s exec() function with specific parameters
4. Server-Side State: Stores file lists in WordPress options to optimize AJAX requests
5. Progressive UI: Real-time batch results with stop/start controls

How to Use:

1. Navigate to Tools → PHP Compatibility Scanner
2. Review the System Check section to ensure your environment is compatible
3. Select the plugins and/or themes you want to scan by checking their boxes
4. Configure your scan options:
   • Target PHP Version: Choose the PHP version you want to test against (7.4 – 8.4)
   • Batch Size: Select how many files to process at once (default: 50 files)
   • Skip Vendor Directory: Keep checked to skip third-party dependencies
5. Click Start Scan to begin the compatibility check
6. View results in real-time as each plugin/theme is scanned
7. Review any errors (❌) or warnings (⚠️) found in your code
8. Click on any target to expand and see detailed compatibility issues

Why It Requires Development Environments

• exec() Function: Required to run PHPCS binary – disabled on managed hosts
• PHP Binary Access: Needs access to PHP executable – restricted on shared hosting
• Composer Dependencies: Requires vendor directory with PHPCS installation
• File System Access: Creates temporary files for batch processing
• Memory/Time Limits: Long-running scans need relaxed execution limits

Supported Environments

• LocalWP (recommended)
• XAMPP/MAMP
• Docker WordPress setups
• Self-hosted VPS/dedicated servers
• Development environments with shell access

Unsupported Environments

• WP Engine (exec() disabled)
• Kinsta (security restrictions)
• SiteGround (managed hosting limitations)
• GoDaddy Managed WordPress (function restrictions)
• WordPress.com (no plugin uploads)
• Most shared hosting providers

Contributing

This plugin is actively developed for WordPress development environments. Contributions are welcome, especially:

• Additional PHP version compatibility rules
• Performance optimizations
• UI/UX improvements
• Hosted environment compatibility solutions

Technical Details

Dependencies

• PHP_CodeSniffer: ^3.13 (static analysis engine)
• PHPCompatibility: dev-develop (compatibility ruleset)

License

GPLv2 or later – same as WordPress core.