Specialized Commands

External Changelog CLI

Run the latest published independent Fast Forward Changelog CLI through cpx --skip-local . CPX and PHP 8.5 must be available on its execution path; the consumer's PHP 8.3 requirement stays unchanged.

cpx --skip-local fast-forward/changelog add "Fixes release-note rendering." --category=fixed --no-interaction
cpx --skip-local fast-forward/changelog check --no-interaction
cpx --skip-local fast-forward/changelog status --source=tags --no-interaction

Contributions use independent .changelog/*.md files. Inspect external command help for its options and output contracts. See External Fast Forward Changelog for runtime requirements and release-preview boundaries.

tests

Runs PHPUnit with the resolved phpunit.xml .

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" tests
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" tests --filter=EventTracerTest

Important details:

• local phpunit.xml is preferred over the packaged default;
• --coverage=<path> creates HTML, Testdox, Clover, and raw coverage output;
• --coverage-summary keeps coverage text output to PHPUnit's summary;
• cache stays enabled by default; --cache forces it on and --no-cache forces it off for a single run;
• when --cache-dir is omitted, PHPUnit keeps its default cache directory;
• --cache-dir only affects PHPUnit's result cache when caching is enabled;
• progress output is disabled by default;
• --progress re-enables PHPUnit progress output in text mode;
• --json and --pretty-json still suppress PHPUnit progress output automatically;
• --pretty-json stays valid JSON and does not add ANSI color escapes;
• in agent-driven runs, the command also captures PHPUnit output in structured mode automatically and stores the bundled PHPUnit agent-reporter payload in output . --json and --pretty-json therefore keep the same structured shape, with raw_output preserved under output when PHPUnit writes extra text before the final JSON;
• the packaged configuration registers the DevTools PHPUnit extension.

dependencies

Analyzes missing, unused, misplaced, and outdated Composer dependencies.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --max-outdated=10
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --max-outdated=-1
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --dev
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --dump-usage=symfony/console
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --show-shadow-dependencies
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dependencies --upgrade --dev

Important details:

• it ships shipmonk/composer-dependency-analyser and rector/swiss-knife as direct dependencies of fast-forward/dev-tools ;
• it uses composer-dependency-analyser for missing, unused, and misplaced dependency checks, with a packaged config that consumer repositories can override locally;
• --dump-usage=<package> forwards to composer-dependency-analyser --dump-usages <package> --show-all-usages ;
• --show-shadow-dependencies keeps shadow dependency findings visible for audits; without it, DevTools hides intentional Fast Forward dependency-group shadows so CI does not fail on ecosystem or meta packages that deliberately install related dependencies for consumers;
• it uses swiss-knife breakpoint --limit=<max-outdated> to fail when too many outdated dependencies accumulate;
• --max-outdated=-1 keeps the Rector Swiss Knife outdated report in the output but ignores Rector Swiss Knife's failure so only dependency-analyser findings fail the command;
• the packaged tests.yml workflow uses --max-outdated=-1 by default, so dependency health stays required in CI while outdated-package counts are reported without failing the workflow on their own;
• it previews swiss-knife raise-to-installed and swiss-knife open-versions before the analyzers;
• --upgrade runs swiss-knife raise-to-installed , swiss-knife open-versions , composer update -W , and composer normalize before the analyzers;
• it returns a non-zero exit code when missing, unused, misplaced, or too many outdated dependencies are found.

metrics

Analyzes code metrics with PhpMetrics.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" metrics
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" metrics --target=.dev-tools/metrics
FAST_FORWARD_WORKSPACE_DIR=.artifacts cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" metrics
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" --working-dir=packages/example metrics

Important details:

• it ships phpmetrics/phpmetrics as a direct dependency of fast-forward/dev-tools ;
• when invoked through Composer, you MAY use Composer's inherited --working-dir option to analyze another checkout without changing directories first;
• --target stores the HTML report plus report.json and report-summary.json in the same directory for CI artifacts or manual review;
• when --target is omitted, metrics output is written under the selected DevTools workspace, usually .dev-tools/metrics ;
• --json and --pretty-json keep the top-level DevTools response structured while forwarding JSON or quieter modes to the wrapped tools where available;
• it suppresses deprecation notices emitted by the PhpMetrics dependency itself so the command output stays readable;
• it keeps PhpMetrics' Composer analysis enabled so report generation includes root package metadata, while default exclusions keep nested fixture projects out of that Composer scan;
• it limits PhpMetrics' per-package Packagist socket wait so package freshness enrichment cannot leave report generation stuck indefinitely.

code-style

Runs Composer Normalize and ECS.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" code-style
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" code-style --fix

Important details:

• it does not refresh the lockfile or run dependency updates first;
• without --fix , Composer Normalize runs in --dry-run mode;
• ECS uses local ecs.php when present, otherwise the packaged fallback;
• progress output is disabled by default; --progress re-enables it for text mode;
• --json and --pretty-json forward JSON mode to ECS and suppress its progress bar.

refactor

Runs Rector against the current project.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" refactor --fix

Important details:

• without --fix , Rector runs in dry-run mode;
• local rector.php is preferred when present;
• the packaged default includes Fast Forward custom Rector rules plus shared Rector sets;
• progress output is disabled by default; --progress re-enables it for text mode;
• --json and --pretty-json forward --output-format json to Rector and disable its progress bar.

phpdoc

Coordinates PHP-CS-Fixer and a focused Rector pass for missing method PHPDoc.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" phpdoc
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" phpdoc --fix

Important details:

• it creates .docheader from the packaged template when the file is missing;
• it uses .php-cs-fixer.dist.php and rector.php through the same local-first fallback logic;
• the Rector phase explicitly runs FastForward\DevTools\Rector\AddMissingMethodPhpDocRector ;
• cache stays enabled by default; --cache forces it on and --no-cache forces it off for the PHP-CS-Fixer phase;
• when --cache-dir is omitted, PHP-CS-Fixer keeps its default cache directory;
• --cache-dir only affects PHP-CS-Fixer when caching is enabled;
• progress output is disabled by default; --progress re-enables it for text mode;
• --json and --pretty-json switch PHP-CS-Fixer to JSON output with progress disabled and run the Rector phase in JSON mode without its progress bar.

docs

Builds the HTML documentation site with phpDocumentor.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" docs --source=docs --target=.dev-tools

Important details:

• docs/ must exist unless you pass another --source directory;
• API pages are built from the PSR-4 paths declared in composer.json ;
• guide pages are built from the selected source directory;
• --template defaults to vendor/fast-forward/phpdoc-bootstrap-template ;
• cache stays enabled by default; --cache forces it on and --no-cache forces it off for a single run;
• when --cache-dir is omitted, phpDocumentor keeps its default cache directory;
• --cache-dir only affects phpDocumentor when caching is enabled;
• progress output is disabled by default; --progress re-enables it for text mode;
• --json and --pretty-json also disable phpDocumentor's progress output.

wiki

Builds Markdown API pages for a GitHub wiki.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" wiki

Important details:

• the default output directory is .github/wiki ;
• normal dev-tools:sync and the direct Wiki workflow explicitly use .dev-tools/wiki-generated without initializing a submodule;
• --init remains an explicit legacy option for submodule users;
• it uses the Markdown template from vendor/saggre/phpdocumentor-markdown/themes/markdown ;
• cache stays enabled by default; --cache forces it on and --no-cache forces it off for a single run;
• when --cache-dir is omitted, phpDocumentor keeps its default cache directory;
• --cache-dir only affects phpDocumentor when caching is enabled;
• it is especially useful together with the reusable wiki workflow.

reports

Runs the documentation and test-report pipeline used by GitHub Pages.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" reports

Important details:

• it calls docs , tests --coverage , and metrics with defaults rooted in the selected DevTools workspace;
• with the default workspace, that is equivalent to docs --target .dev-tools , tests --coverage .dev-tools/coverage --coverage-summary , and metrics --target .dev-tools/metrics --junit .dev-tools/coverage/junit.xml ;
• docs remains detached, while tests and metrics run in sequence so PhpMetrics can reuse the JUnit report generated by PHPUnit;
• cache stays enabled by default for the nested docs and tests steps; --cache forces that explicit intent on and --no-cache forces it off;
• when --cache-dir is omitted, nested tools keep their own default cache directories;
• progress output stays disabled by default across the nested steps, and --progress re-enables it for human-readable runs;
• --json and --pretty-json are propagated to each subprocess, while their progress output is suppressed where supported;
• human-readable runs keep nested command output grouped with concise local section boundaries, pass color-friendly environment variables to subprocesses, and forward explicit ANSI flags to Symfony Console tools;
• queued subprocesses run with XDEBUG_MODE=off when Xdebug is loaded but the command does not need Xdebug for coverage, or when PCOV can provide coverage instead;
• it is the reporting stage used by standards .

Skill installation

Use LLM Skills; see Installing Packaged Skills. DevTools no longer installs skill or agent links.

funding

Synchronizes supported funding metadata between Composer and GitHub formats.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" funding
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" funding --dry-run
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" funding --check

Important details:

• it keeps composer.json funding entries and .github/FUNDING.yml in sync for GitHub Sponsors and custom URLs;
• it preserves unsupported Composer funding providers and unsupported YAML keys instead of rewriting them;
• it creates .github/FUNDING.yml when Composer already declares supported funding metadata;
• it supports --dry-run , --check , and --interactive so funding drift can be surfaced in CI and reviewed locally.

codeowners

Generates managed CODEOWNERS files from repository metadata.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" codeowners
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" codeowners --dry-run
cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" codeowners --interactive

Important details:

• it inspects composer.json author homepages to infer GitHub handles for .github/CODEOWNERS ;
• when direct ownership cannot be inferred, it renders a commented fallback instead of copying hard-coded owners into the consumer repository;
• --interactive lets maintainers provide explicit owners before writing the catch-all * rule;
• dev-tools:sync runs codeowners automatically alongside the other consumer bootstrap steps.

dev-tools:sync

Synchronizes consumer-facing automation and defaults.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" dev-tools:sync

Important details:

• it updates composer.json scripts and removes only deprecated DevTools-managed extra.grumphp.config-default-path values;
• it calls funding so supported funding metadata stays aligned between composer.json and .github/FUNDING.yml ;
• it copies missing workflow stubs, .editorconfig , and dependabot.yml ;
• it calls codeowners to generate .github/CODEOWNERS from local metadata;
• in normal mode it generates local API Markdown in .dev-tools/wiki-generated without creating a Git submodule;
• it calls gitignore to merge the canonical .gitignore with the project's .gitignore;
• it calls gitattributes to manage export-ignore rules in .gitattributes;
• it copies a missing local grumphp.yml and refreshes hooks that prefer local GrumPHP, otherwise CPX phpro/grumphp-shim:2.26.0 ; temporary runtime/cache paths are not stored in hooks;

gitattributes

Manages .gitattributes export-ignore rules for leaner Composer package archives.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" gitattributes

Important details:

• it adds export-ignore entries for repository-only files and directories;
• it only adds entries for paths that actually exist in the repository;
• it respects the extra.gitattributes.keep-in-export configuration to keep specific paths in exported archives;
• it preserves existing custom .gitattributes rules;
• it deduplicates equivalent entries and sorts them with directories before files, then alphabetically;
• it uses CandidateProvider, ExistenceChecker, ExportIgnoreFilter, Merger, Reader, and Writer components from the GitAttributes namespace.

gitignore

Merges and synchronizes .gitignore files.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" gitignore --source=/path/to/source/.gitignore --target=/path/to/target/.gitignore

Important details:

• it reads the canonical .gitignore from dev-tools and merges with the project's existing .gitignore;
• by default, the source is the packaged .gitignore and the target is the project's root .gitignore;
• duplicates are removed and entries are sorted alphabetically;
• it uses the Reader, Merger, and Writer components from the GitIgnore namespace.

license

Generates a LICENSE file from composer.json license information.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" license

Important details:

• it reads the license field from composer.json ;
• it supports common open-source licenses (MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, BSD-3-Clause, GPL-3.0, LGPL-3.0, and MPL-2.0);
• it resolves placeholders such as [year] , [author] , and [project] using information from composer.json ;
• it uses template files from resources/license-templates/ ;
• it skips generation if a LICENSE file already exists.

copy-resource

Copies packaged or local resources into the consumer repository.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" copy-resource --source <path> --target <path> --overwrite

Important details:

• source is resolved using FileLocatorInterface ;
• target is resolved to an absolute path using FilesystemInterface ;
• both --source and --target are required options;
• without --overwrite , existing target files are skipped;
• supports both files and directories as sources.

git-hooks

Installs packaged Fast Forward Git hooks.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" git-hooks

Important details:

• copies hook files from source to target directory;
• sets executable permissions on copied hooks with 0o755 ;
• removes an existing drifted hook before recopying it so stale target permissions do not block replacements;
• --source defaults to resources/git-hooks ;
• --target defaults to .git/hooks ;
• --no-overwrite preserves existing hook files.

update-composer-json

Updates composer.json with Fast Forward dev-tools scripts and metadata.

cpx --skip-local "fast-forward/dev-tools:$DEV_TOOLS_VERSION" update-composer-json --file=composer.json

Important details:

• adds dev-tools script entrypoint to composer.json;
• adds dev-tools:fix script for automated fixing;
• removes only deprecated DevTools-managed extra.grumphp.config-default-path values;
• if the target file does not exist, exits silently with code 0;
• existing scripts with the same name are overwritten;
• preserves consumer-owned GrumPHP settings.

Normalization runtime

Composer Normalize executes as a plugin from the isolated runtime root against the consumer's absolute manifest path with --no-update-lock . The consumer does not need that plugin installed. An explicitly requested dependency upgrade may still update its Composer lockfile; normalization itself does not.