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CodeIgniter 4 — Repository Guidelines

CodeIgniter 4 is a mature open-source PHP framework. Framework production code lives in system/; its tests mirror that structure under tests/system/.

Before making changes

Consult the relevant sections of:

  • contributing/pull_request.md
  • contributing/internals.md
  • contributing/styleguide.md
  • tests/README.md

Follow existing code and tests in the affected component. Search for an existing implementation before introducing a new abstraction or convention.

Target branch and compatibility policy

Compatibility is judged against the pull request's base branch, not the contributor's source or feature branch. When the base branch is unknown, apply the stricter develop policy.

Base branch develop

develop is the next patch-release line. Intentional backward-incompatible changes are not allowed.

  • Preserve public and protected APIs, documented behavior, configuration defaults, generated project files, exceptions, and observable side effects.
  • Do not remove deprecated items or change public/protected signatures, visibility, or interface/abstract requirements.
  • A bug or security fix may correct faulty behavior but must preserve the documented contract and ordinary valid usage.
  • If a fix necessarily breaks compatibility, target the appropriate minor branch instead.

Base branch 4.*

Minor-release lines (for example 4.9). Small, deliberate compatibility breaks may be accepted when they materially improve the framework or complete the documented deprecation lifecycle.

  • Keep each break narrow, explicit, and justified; never an incidental side effect of refactoring.
  • Deprecated APIs may be removed no earlier than the second subsequent minor release (deprecated in 4.6.x means removable in 4.8.0), with a supported replacement.
  • Every accepted break needs tests for the new behavior, a minor-version changelog entry, and migration instructions in the upgrading guide.

All base branches

  • Production code must run on PHP 8.2. Do not require a newer PHP version, even when a newer version is installed locally.
  • Signatures, properties, constants, default values, exceptions, side effects, configuration, and generated project files are all compatibility-sensitive.
  • Major-scale redesigns and ecosystem-wide migration requirements belong in a major release, not a patch or minor release.
  • Prefer the minimum useful abstraction and keep framework components as independent as practical.
  • Dependencies should be injectable. When a framework service is used as a default, preserve the ability for applications to replace it.
  • Do not add or update a Composer dependency unless the task explicitly requires it and the change is justified.
  • Do not modify code in system/ThirdParty/.

Coding standards

  • Do not add declare(strict_types=1) mechanically. Follow nearby code and check the DeclareStrictTypesRector exclusions in rector.php; PHP files use strict types unless excluded there. Treat the existing exclusions as intentional compatibility constraints. Do not remove an exclusion without dedicated justification and tests.
  • Every new class property must have a native type declaration. Use the most precise type supported by PHP 8.2; use mixed only when the property intentionally accepts unrelated types.
  • Do not add or change a type on an existing public or protected property mechanically. Property types affect inheritance and must follow the target-branch compatibility policy.
  • Add PHPDoc only when it contributes information that native types cannot express. Do not duplicate a parent or interface docblock.
  • Never suppress a static-analysis error or update a baseline to make a check pass.

FrankenPHP Worker Mode

In Worker Mode one process serves many requests. The entry point's source template is system/Commands/Worker/Views/frankenphp-worker.php.tpl; the worker:install command publishes it as public/frankenphp-worker.php.

  • For every change affecting application bootstrap, request handling, response sending, shutdown, superglobals, sessions, database or cache connections, services, factories, events, toolbar state, static state, or other request-lifecycle behavior, inspect the worker entry-point template even when it is not part of the diff.
  • Compare traditional per-process execution with worker execution, where the framework boots once and handles multiple requests in the same process.
  • Classify mutable state as process-lifetime, intentionally persistent, or request-specific. Request-specific state must be refreshed or reset for every request and must not leak into the next request.
  • Preserve the ordering requirements between per-request reconnection, framework reset, superglobal refresh, application execution, and post-request cleanup.
  • Treat the template as the source of truth. Do not edit a generated public/frankenphp-worker.php in place.
  • When a release changes the template in a way existing installations must receive, add an upgrading instruction telling Worker Mode users to republish it with php spark worker:install --force.

Tests

  • Every bug fix should include a regression test that fails without the fix.
  • Test failure paths, exceptions, boundary conditions, and state cleanup, not only the happy path.
  • Prefer strict and dedicated PHPUnit assertions as described in the project style guide.
  • Do not weaken or remove an existing test unless the documented behavior or specification changed.

Documentation

  • Public API, behavior, message, or default-value changes may require an update to the user guide and changelog.
  • Changes requiring user action, including configuration changes, may also require an upgrading-guide entry.
  • For a 4.* target, every intentional compatibility break must be documented in both the minor-version changelog and its upgrading guide.

Focused validation

GitHub Actions is the authoritative source for full validation. Do not reproduce the complete CI matrix locally.

  • Run only the narrowest PHPUnit test file or component that covers a code change, for example vendor/bin/phpunit tests/system/<Component>/<Class>Test.php.
  • Run a file-scoped analysis or formatting check only when it is quick and directly relevant.
  • Do not run the complete PHPUnit suite, composer phpstan:check, composer cs, Psalm, Structarmed, or a repository-wide Rector analysis by default.
  • Report which focused checks were executed and which validation was left to CI.