Title: PHPCS for WordPress VIP
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: September 23, 2020
Last modified: December 31, 2025

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#  PHPCS for WordPress VIP

Scanning code locally with [PHP_CodeSniffer (PHPCS)](https://github.com/PHPCSStandards/PHP_CodeSniffer)
provides useful feedback on code quality based on a defined set of coding standards.

Refer to [the PHP_CodeSniffer Wiki](https://github.com/PHPCSStandards/PHP_CodeSniffer/wiki/Reporting)
for more comprehensive guidance on using PHPCS.

 * 
   ### 󠀁[Install PHPCS in a locally cloned repository](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/phpcs-xml-dist/)󠁿
   
 * Install PHPCS in a locally cloned wpcomvip GitHub repository using the configurations
   defined in .phpcs.xml.dist.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Installed standards](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/installed-standards/)󠁿
   
 * By following the instructions for installing PHPCS for WordPress VIP, a Composer
   plugin package will also be installed in the background that allows standards
   to be automatically registered with PHPCS.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[PHPCS errors](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/errors/)󠁿
   
 * PHPCS scans that are run against WordPress application code either manually or
   by the VIP Code Analysis Bot will run with identical standards that include the
   WordPress-VIP-Go standard.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[PHPCS warnings](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/warnings/)󠁿
   
 * Common issues that are reported as PHPCS warnings and should not be pushed to
   a production environment unless a specific use case requires it.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Run PHPCS against code](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/run-against-code/)󠁿
   
 * Running a PHPCS scan against code, particularly third-party plugins and themes,
   can provide useful and actionable feedback on existing warnings and errors within
   the code.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Install PHPCS globally](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/install-globally/)󠁿
   
 * Install PHPCS globally so that PHPCS is available from anywhere on the local 
   machine.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Install PHPCS at the project level](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/install-at-project-level/)󠁿
   
 * Install PHPCS at the project level so that PHPCS is available only when working
   within that project directory.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Interpreting a PHPCS report](https://docs.wpvip.com/php_codesniffer/phpcs-report/)󠁿
   
 * PHP_CodeSniffer (PHPCS) scans that are run against WordPress application code
   will return an itemized report of all identified errors and warnings and categorizes
   them by severity.

Last updated: December 31, 2025