PHP Package Checklist

There's a lot that goes into a successful PHP package beyond simply having some useful code. The following checklist will help ensure that your package is taken seriously by the rest of the PHP community.

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Pick a name wisely
- Ensure the name isn't already used by another project.
- Maintain consistency between this name and your PHP namespace.
- Avoid using last names or personal handles in your PHP namespaces.
Host source openly
- GitHub is free to use for public projects.
- GitHub is helpful for managing issues, feature requests and pull requests.
- Alternatives: Bitbucket, GitLab.
Autoloader friendly
- Use a PSR-4 compatible autoloader namespace.
- Place code in the src folder.
Distribute via Composer
- Make your library available via Composer, the dependency manager for PHP.
- List on Packagist, the main Composer repository.
Framework agnostic
- Don't limit your project to just one framework.
- Offer framework specific support by supplying service providers.
Follow a coding style
- Highly recommended that you adhere to PSR-12 coding style guide.
- Do this quickly with an automated code fixer like PHP Coding Standards Fixer.
- Automatically check coding standards using PHP Code Sniffer.
Write unit tests
- Aim to cover the majority of your code.
- PHPUnit is the de facto PHP unit testing framework.
- Alternatives: phpspec, Behat, atoum, Codeception.
DocBlock your code
- DocBlock serve as inline documentation.
- They can also improve code completion in IDEs, like PhpStorm.
- Can be automatically converted into API documentation, see phpDocumentor.
Use semantic versioning
- Use Semantic Versioning to manage version numbers.
- Follow the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH system.
- Allows devs to upgrade safely, without worrying about breaking changes.
- Remember to tag releases in a timely manner!
Keep a changelog
- Show notable changes that have been made between releases.
- Consider following the Keep a CHANGELOG format.
Use continuous integration
- Use a service to automatically check coding standards and run tests.
- Great way to run tests on multiple versions of PHP.
- Can be automatically run when pull requests are submitted.
- See: Travis-CI, Scrutinizer, Circle-CI.
Write extensive documentation
- Good documentation is vital to the success of any package.
- At a minimum include a detailed README in your repository.
- Consider hosting documentation on GitHub Pages.
- Alternatives: Read the Docs.
Include a license
- Including a license is a simple step that can help protect the work you've done.
- See choosealicense.com. Most PHP projects use the MIT License.
- At a minimum, include a LICENSE file with your library.
- Also consider adding your license in the Docblocks.
Welcome contributions
- If you want help on your project, be sure to ask for it!
- Have a CONTRIBUTING file, welcoming contributions to the project.
- Use this file to explain any project requirements, such as tests.