---
name: "phpcs"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "php-codesniffer"
version: "3.7.1-2"
release: "Debian 12 (Bookworm)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/phpcs"
---

# phpcs(1)

PHP code sniffer CLI tool

## NAME

phpcs - PHP code sniffer CLI tool

## SYNOPSIS

**phpcs** \[**-nwlsaepqvi**\] \[**-d** *key*\[ **=***value* \]\] \[**--colors**\] \[**--no-colors**\] \[**--cache=** *cacheFile*\] \[**--no-cache**\] \[**--tab-width=** *tabWidth*\] \[**--report=** *report*\] \[**--report-file=** *reportFile*\] \[**--report-** *report***=** *reportFile*\] \[**--report-width=** *reportWidth*\] \[**--basepath=** *basepath*\] \[**--bootstrap=** *bootstrap*\] \[**--severity=** *severity*\] \[**--error-severity=** *severity*\] \[**--warning-severity=** *severity*\] \[**--runtime-set** *key value*\] \[**--config-set** *key value*\] \[**--config-delete** *key*\] \[**--config-show**\] \[**--standard=** *standard*\] \[**--sniffs=** *sniffs*\] \[**--exclude=** *sniffs*\] \[**--encoding=** *encoding*\] \[**--parallel=** *processes*\] \[**--generator=** *generator*\] \[**--extensions=** *extensions* \[**--ignore=** *patterns*\] \[**--ignore-annotations**\] \[**--stdin-path=** *stdinPath*\] \[**--file-list=** *fileList*\] \[**--filter=** *filter*\] *file* ...

## DESCRIPTION

*phpcs* (or PHP\_CodeSniffer) is a PHP5 script that tokenises PHP, JavaScript and CSS files to detect violations of a defined coding standard. It is an essential development tool that ensures your code remains clean and consistent. It can also help prevent some common semantic errors made by developers.

## PARAMETERS

*cacheFile*

-

  Use a specific file for caching (uses a temporary file by default)

*basepath*

-

  A path to strip from the front of file paths inside reports

*bootstrap*

-

  A comma separated list of files to run before processing starts

*encoding*

-

  The encoding of the files being checked (default is iso-8859-1)

*extensions*

-

  A comma separated list of file extensions to check. The type of the file can be specified using: ext/type e.g., module/php,es/js

*file*

-

  One or more files and/or directories to check

*fileList*

-

  A file containing a list of files and/or directories to check (one per line)

*filter*

-

  Use either the "gitmodified" or "gitstaged" filter, or specify the path to a custom filter class

*generator*

-

  Use either the "HTML", "Markdown" or "Text" generator (forces documentation generation instead of checking)

*patterns*

-

  A comma separated list of patterns to ignore files and directories

*processes*

-

  How many files should be checked simultaneously (default is 1)

*report*

-

  Print either the **full**, **xml**, **checkstyle**, **csv**, **json**, **junit**, **emacs**, **source**, **summary**, **diff**, **svnblame**, **gitblame**, **hgblame**, or **notifysend** report, or specify the path to a custom report class (the **full** report is printed by default)

*reportFile*

-

  Write the report to the specified file path

*reportWidth*

-

  How many columns wide screen reports should be printed or set to "auto" to use current screen width, where supported

*severity*

-

  The minimum severity required to display an error or warning

*sniffs*

-

  A comma separated list of sniff codes to include or exclude during checking (all sniffs must be part of the specified standard)

*standard*

-

  The name or path of the coding standard to use

*stdinPath*

-

  If processing STDIN, the file path that STDIN will be processed as

*tabWidth*

-

  The number of spaces each tab represents

## OPTION

**-n**

-

  Do not print warnings (shortcut for **--warning-severity=0**)

**-w**

-

  Print both warnings and errors (this is the default)

**-l**

-

  Local directory only, no recursion

**-s**

-

  Show sniff codes in all reports

**-a**

-

  Run interactively

**-e**

-

  Explain a standard by showing the sniffs it includes

**-p**

-

  Show progress of the run

**-q**

-

  Quiet mode; disables progress and verbose output

**-n**

-

  Stop error messages from being recorded (saves a lot of memory, but stops many reports from being used)

**-v**

-

  Print processed files

**-vv**

-

  Print ruleset and token output

**-vvv**

-

  Print sniff processing information

**-i**

-

  Show a list of installed coding standards

**-d**

-

  Set the *key* php.ini value to *value* or **true** if *value* is omitted

**--help**

-

  Print the help message

**--version**

-

  Print version information

**--colors**

-

  Use colors in output

**--no-colors**

-

  Do not use colors in output (this is the default)

**--cache**

-

  Cache results between runs

**--no-cache**

-

  Do not cache results between runs (this is the default)

**--ignore-annotations**

-

  Ignore all phpcs: annotations in code comments

## SEE ALSO

[**phpcbf**(1)](/phpcbf/1.md)