About this plugin
Before you upgrade PHP, check your plugins and themes. 4). It checks any plugin or theme installed on the site, including premium and custom ones.
It is a PHP compatibility checker built on PHP_CodeSniffer and the PHPCompatibility ruleset. 4 are covered.
2 stops receiving security fixes on 31 December 2026. 2 or older, now is a good time to check what an upgrade would break.
Where it runs
The free scanner runs on your own setup: LocalWP, XAMPP, MAMP, Docker, or any server where PHP’s exec() function is enabled. Many managed hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta, SiteGround and others) turn exec() off, and the free scanner needs it.
If your site is on one of those hosts, PHP Compatibility Scanner Pro runs the scan on a remote service instead, so it does not need exec() and the heavy work happens off your live server. dev.
How it works
PHP_CodeSniffer turns your code into PHP tokens instead of searching it as text. A function name inside a comment or a string is not reported, and each finding names the PHP version that deprecated or removed what your code uses.
How to Use:
- Open PHP Compatibility Scanner in the WordPress admin menu
- Review the System Check section to ensure your environment is compatible
- Select the plugins and/or themes you want to scan by checking their boxes
- Configure your scan options:
- Target PHP Version: Choose the PHP version you want to test against (7.4 – 8.4)
- Batch Size: Select how many files to process at once (default: 50 files)
- Skip Vendor Directory: Keep checked to skip third-party dependencies
- Click Start Scan to begin the compatibility check
- View results in real-time as each plugin/theme is scanned
- Review any errors (❌) or warnings (⚠️) found in your code
- Click on any target to expand and see detailed compatibility issues
Contributing
This plugin is actively developed for WordPress development environments. Contributions are welcome, especially:
- Additional PHP version compatibility rules
- Performance optimizations
- UI/UX improvements
- Hosted environment compatibility solutions
Technical Details
How the scan runs
- Bundled dependencies: PHP_CodeSniffer and the PHPCompatibility ruleset ship with the plugin
- Batch processing: files are scanned in configurable batches (10 to 100) to manage memory usage
- Command execution: PHPCS is invoked through PHP’s exec() function
- Server-side state: file lists are stored in WordPress options to keep AJAX requests small
- Progressive UI: batch results appear in real time, with stop and start controls
Dependencies
- PHP_CodeSniffer: ^3.13 (static analysis engine)
- PHPCompatibility: dev-develop (compatibility ruleset)
License
GPLv2 or later – same as WordPress core.