Laravel Pint: configuration, rules and CI checks

Laravel Pint formats PHP code. Run ./vendor/bin/pint to apply fixes, or ./vendor/bin/pint --test to check formatting without changing files. Put project-specific presets and rules in a root-level pint.json file.

The Laravel Pint documentation covers the supported options. Pint formats PHP; it does not format Blade templates.

What is Laravel Pint?
Why Use Laravel Pint?
Installation
Configuration Explained
Rule Categories
Running Pint
Best Practices
Advanced Configuration

What is Laravel Pint?

Laravel Pint is a zero-configuration PHP code style fixer for minimalists. It's built on top of PHP-CS-Fixer and provides:

Opinionated defaults - Works out of the box with Laravel conventions
Customisable rules - Extensive configuration options for team preferences
Parallel mode - Optional experimental processing with --parallel
Laravel integration - Seamless integration with Laravel projects

Pint ensures your code follows consistent formatting standards without requiring complex configuration.

Why Use Laravel Pint?

1. Zero Configuration

Works immediately with sensible Laravel defaults:

No setup required for basic Laravel projects
Follows Laravel's official coding standards
Uses Laravel style by default; select the psr12 preset for PSR-12

2. Consistent Code Style

Eliminates style debates and inconsistencies:

Uniform formatting across the entire codebase
Automatic fixing of common style issues
Consistent indentation, spacing, and structure

3. Developer Productivity

Reduces mental overhead and code review time:

Developers focus on logic, not formatting
Automated formatting in CI/CD pipelines
Fewer style-related code review comments

4. Team Collaboration

Ensures consistent code across team members:

Eliminates "style wars" between developers
Consistent code regardless of IDE or editor
Onboarding new team members with established standards

Installation

Laravel Projects

Laravel includes Pint as a dev dependency, so it's likely already in your project:

Terminal

# Check if Pint is installed
./vendor/bin/pint --version

# If not installed, add it manually
composer require laravel/pint --dev

For Non-Laravel Projects

Terminal

composer require laravel/pint --dev

Configuration Explained

Here's the configuration file (pint.json) with detailed explanations:

JSON

{
    "preset": "laravel",
    "notPath": ["tests/TestCase.php"],
    "rules": {
        "array_push": true,
        "backtick_to_shell_exec": true,
        "date_time_immutable": true,
        "declare_strict_types": true,
        "lowercase_keywords": true,
        "lowercase_static_reference": true,
        "final_class": true,
        "final_internal_class": true,
        "final_public_method_for_abstract_class": true,
        "fully_qualified_strict_types": true,
        "global_namespace_import": {
            "import_classes": true,
            "import_constants": true,
            "import_functions": true
        },
        "mb_str_functions": true,
        "modernize_types_casting": true,
        "new_with_parentheses": false,
        "no_superfluous_elseif": true,
        "no_useless_else": true,
        "no_multiple_statements_per_line": true,
        "ordered_class_elements": {
            "order": [
                "use_trait",
                "case",
                "constant",
                "constant_public",
                "constant_protected",
                "constant_private",
                "property_public",
                "property_protected",
                "property_private",
                "construct",
                "destruct",
                "magic",
                "phpunit",
                "method_abstract",
                "method_public_static",
                "method_public",
                "method_protected_static",
                "method_protected",
                "method_private_static",
                "method_private"
            ],
            "sort_algorithm": "none"
        },
        "ordered_interfaces": true,
        "ordered_traits": true,
        "protected_to_private": true,
        "self_accessor": true,
        "self_static_accessor": true,
        "strict_comparison": true,
        "visibility_required": true
    }
}

Configuration Breakdown

1. Preset Configuration

JSON

"preset": "laravel"

Purpose: Uses Laravel's official coding standards as the base
Alternatives: "psr12", "symfony", "per"
Effect: Applies Laravel-specific formatting rules

2. Path Exclusions

JSON

"notPath": ["tests/TestCase.php"]

Purpose: Excludes specific files from formatting
Common exclusions: Generated files, third-party code, legacy files
Example: ["bootstrap/cache/*", "storage/*", "vendor/*"]

3. Rule Categories

Modern PHP Features:

JSON

"declare_strict_types": true,
"modernize_types_casting": true,
"date_time_immutable": true

Enforces strict typing declarations
Modernises type casting syntax
Prefers DateTimeImmutable over DateTime

Code Quality Rules:

JSON

"final_class": true,
"final_internal_class": true,
"protected_to_private": true

Makes classes final when possible
Reduces visibility scope when appropriate
Improves encapsulation

Import Organisation:

JSON

"global_namespace_import": {
    "import_classes": true,
    "import_constants": true,
    "import_functions": true
}

Organises use statements
Imports global functions and constants
Reduces fully qualified name usage

Class Structure:

JSON

"ordered_class_elements": {
    "order": [
        "use_trait",
        "case",
        "constant",
        "property_public",
        "property_protected",
        "property_private",
        "construct",
        "destruct",
        "magic",
        "phpunit",
        "method_public",
        "method_protected",
        "method_private"
    ]
}

Enforces consistent class member ordering
Improves code readability
Standardises class structure

Rule Categories

1. Safety and Type Safety

JSON

{
    "declare_strict_types": true,
    "strict_comparison": true,
    "fully_qualified_strict_types": true
}

Before:

PHP

<?php

class Calculator
{
    public function add($a, $b)
    {
        if ($a == null) {
            return $b;
        }
        return $a + $b;
    }
}

After:

PHP

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

class Calculator
{
    public function add(int $a, int $b): int
    {
        if ($a === null) {
            return $b;
        }
        return $a + $b;
    }
}

2. Code Organisation

JSON

{
    "ordered_class_elements": {
        "order": [
            "use_trait",
            "constant",
            "property_public",
            "property_protected",
            "property_private",
            "construct",
            "method_public",
            "method_protected",
            "method_private"
        ]
    }
}

Before:

PHP

class User
{
    public function getName(): string
    {
        return $this->name;
    }

    private string $name;

    public const STATUS_ACTIVE = 'active';

    public function __construct(string $name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

After:

PHP

class User
{
    public const STATUS_ACTIVE = 'active';

    private string $name;

    public function __construct(string $name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;
    }

    public function getName(): string
    {
        return $this->name;
    }
}

3. Modernisation Rules

JSON

{
    "modernize_types_casting": true,
    "mb_str_functions": true,
    "array_push": true
}

Before:

PHP

$string = (string) $value;
$length = strlen($text);
array_push($items, $newItem);

After:

PHP

$string = (string) $value;
$length = mb_strlen($text);
$items[] = $newItem;

4. Control Flow Improvements

JSON

{
    "no_superfluous_elseif": true,
    "no_useless_else": true,
    "no_multiple_statements_per_line": true
}

Before:

PHP

if ($condition1) {
    return 'A';
} elseif ($condition2) {
    return 'B';
} else {
    return 'C';
}

$x = 1; $y = 2;

After:

PHP

if ($condition1) {
    return 'A';
}

if ($condition2) {
    return 'B';
}

return 'C';

$x = 1;
$y = 2;

Running Pint

1. Basic Usage

Terminal

# Format all files
./vendor/bin/pint

# Format specific directory
./vendor/bin/pint app/

# Format specific file
./vendor/bin/pint app/Models/User.php

2. Preview Mode

Terminal

# See what would be changed without applying
./vendor/bin/pint --test

# Verbose output showing all changes
./vendor/bin/pint --test -v

3. Configuration Options

Terminal

# Use custom config file
./vendor/bin/pint --config=custom-pint.json

# Use specific preset
./vendor/bin/pint --preset=psr12

# Format only dirty files (git)
./vendor/bin/pint --dirty

4. CI/CD Integration

Terminal

# Test mode for CI (exits with error if formatting needed)
./vendor/bin/pint --test

# Combine with other tools
./vendor/bin/pint && ./vendor/bin/phpstan analyse

Best Practices

1. Pre-commit Hooks

Install a pre-commit hook to ensure code is formatted before commits:

Terminal

# Install pre-commit hook
echo '#!/bin/sh
./vendor/bin/pint --test
' > .git/hooks/pre-commit

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

2. IDE Integration

Configure your IDE to run Pint on save:

VS Code (.vscode/settings.json):

JSON

{
    "emeraldwalk.runonsave": {
        "commands": [
            {
                "match": "\\.php$",
                "cmd": "./vendor/bin/pint ${file}"
            }
        ]
    }
}

3. CI/CD Pipeline

YAML

# .github/workflows/pint.yml
name: Laravel Pint
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
    pint:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
            - uses: actions/checkout@v4
            - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
              with:
                  php-version: "8.3"
            - run: composer install --optimize-autoloader
            - run: ./vendor/bin/pint --test

4. Team Workflow

Terminal

# Developer workflow
git add .
./vendor/bin/pint
git add .
git commit -m "Your commit message"

# Or create alias
alias pint-commit="./vendor/bin/pint && git add . && git commit"

Advanced Configuration

Custom Preset

Create a custom preset for your organisation:

JSON

{
    "preset": "psr12",
    "rules": {
        "array_syntax": { "syntax": "short" },
        "binary_operator_spaces": {
            "default": "single_space"
        },
        "blank_line_after_namespace": true,
        "blank_line_after_opening_tag": true,
        "blank_line_before_statement": {
            "statements": ["return", "throw", "try"]
        },
        "class_definition": {
            "single_line": true,
            "single_item_single_line": true
        },
        "concat_space": { "spacing": "one" },
        "method_argument_space": {
            "on_multiline": "ensure_fully_multiline"
        },
        "no_unused_imports": true,
        "ordered_imports": {
            "sort_algorithm": "alpha"
        },
        "trailing_comma_in_multiline": {
            "elements": ["arrays", "arguments", "parameters"]
        }
    }
}

Environment-specific Configuration

JSON

{
    "preset": "laravel",
    "exclude": ["bootstrap/cache", "storage"],
    "notPath": ["tests/TestCase.php", "database/migrations"],
    "rules": {
        "declare_strict_types": true,
        "final_class": false,
        "php_unit_test_class_requires_covers": false
    }
}

Integration with Other Tools

Combined with Rector:

Terminal

#!/bin/bash
# Format and refactor script
./vendor/bin/rector process
./vendor/bin/pint
./vendor/bin/phpstan analyse

Package.json Scripts:

JSON

{
    "scripts": {
        "format": "./vendor/bin/pint",
        "format:test": "./vendor/bin/pint --test",
        "format:dirty": "./vendor/bin/pint --dirty"
    }
}

Common Configuration Examples

Laravel API Project

JSON

{
    "preset": "laravel",
    "rules": {
        "declare_strict_types": true,
        "final_class": true,
        "ordered_class_elements": {
            "order": [
                "use_trait",
                "constant",
                "property_public",
                "property_protected",
                "property_private",
                "construct",
                "method_public",
                "method_protected",
                "method_private"
            ]
        },
        "php_unit_test_class_requires_covers": false,
        "visibility_required": true
    }
}

Legacy Project Migration

JSON

{
    "preset": "psr12",
    "rules": {
        "declare_strict_types": false,
        "final_class": false,
        "modernize_types_casting": true,
        "no_superfluous_elseif": true,
        "no_useless_else": true,
        "protected_to_private": false,
        "strict_comparison": false
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Memory Issues with Large Files

Terminal

php -d memory_limit=512M ./vendor/bin/pint

Exclude Problematic Files

JSON

{
    "notPath": ["app/Legacy/*", "database/migrations/*"]
}

Rule Conflicts

JSON

{
    "rules": {
        "final_class": false,
        "final_internal_class": false
    }
}

Choosing a project configuration

Laravel Pint does a good job of balancing zero-configuration simplicity with the customisation options teams actually need. For new projects, you can drop it in and run it immediately. For teams with specific conventions, pint.json gives you enough control to enforce them without writing a wall of configuration.

The key is to get it into your workflow early. Add it to your CI pipeline, set up a pre-commit hook, and let it handle the formatting decisions so your team can focus on the code that actually matters.

Getting started

Check if Pint is already installed before reaching for Composer: ./vendor/bin/pint --version
Run ./vendor/bin/pint to format your code
Customise rules in pint.json as needed
Add it to your CI/CD pipeline with --test mode
Set up a pre-commit hook to catch issues before they reach the branch

Laravel Pint: configuration, rules and CI checks

Table of Contents

What is Laravel Pint?

Why Use Laravel Pint?

1. Zero Configuration

2. Consistent Code Style

3. Developer Productivity

4. Team Collaboration

Installation

Laravel Projects

For Non-Laravel Projects

Configuration Explained

Configuration Breakdown

1. Preset Configuration

2. Path Exclusions

3. Rule Categories

Rule Categories

1. Safety and Type Safety

2. Code Organisation

3. Modernisation Rules

4. Control Flow Improvements

Running Pint

1. Basic Usage

2. Preview Mode

3. Configuration Options

4. CI/CD Integration

Best Practices

1. Pre-commit Hooks

2. IDE Integration

3. CI/CD Pipeline

4. Team Workflow

Advanced Configuration

Custom Preset

Environment-specific Configuration

Integration with Other Tools

Common Configuration Examples

Laravel API Project

Legacy Project Migration

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Choosing a project configuration

Getting started

Related

Next in Laravel