MCP PHPStan Server

> A Model Context Protocol server that brings PHPStan static analysis into your AI coding workflow — analyze PHP for bugs and type errors, straight from any MCP client.

Implemented in pure PHP with zero Composer dependencies. Drop it into any project or run it standalone — it speaks JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio and works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and any other MCP-compatible client.

Tools

Both tools accept:

• `paths` (required) — array of absolute or project-relative paths to analyze
• `level` (optional) — override the configured rule level (e.g. `"max"` or `8`)

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• A `phpstan` binary available (project `vendor/bin/phpstan` or a global install)

Quick start

1. Clone the repository (or copy it into your project):

git clone https://github.com/larspohlmann/mcp-phpstan-server.git

2. Make the entrypoint executable:

chmod +x mcp-phpstan-server/bin/mcp-phpstan

3. Register it with your MCP client (see below).

Configuration

Configure via environment variables or `config/config.json`. Environment variables take precedence.

If no config path is provided, the server searches upward from the current working directory for `phpstan.neon` or `phpstan.neon.dist`.

Client setup

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add the server to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "phpstan": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/mcp-phpstan-server/bin/mcp-phpstan",
      "env": {
        "MCP_PHPSTAN_PATH": "/usr/local/bin/phpstan",
        "MCP_PHPSTAN_CONFIG": "/path/to/your/phpstan.neon",
        "MCP_PHPSTAN_LEVEL": "max",
        "MCP_PHPSTAN_MEMORY_LIMIT": "1G"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then ask your assistant something like *"Run PHPStan on the src directory and explain the errors."*

Example tool call

{
  "name": "phpstan_analyze",
  "arguments": {
    "paths": ["src", "tests"],
    "level": "max"
  }
}

Architecture

The server follows a light Domain-Driven Design layout:

• `src/Domain` — tool contracts and result value objects
• `src/Application` — JSON-RPC MCP server and tool registry
• `src/Infrastructure` — process runner, config, tool implementations
• `bin/mcp-phpstan` — stdio entrypoint

It implements the MCP methods `initialize`, `tools/list`, and `tools/call`.

Notes

• STDOUT carries only JSON-RPC messages; all logs go to STDERR.
• A non-zero exit code from `phpstan` can mean findings as well as failures — the server parses the output to determine the error state.

License

MIT