Skip to content

0002. Require PHP 7.4 and WordPress 6.7

Status: Accepted. Date: 2026-10-12.

Context

The plugin declared no PHP requirement. readme.txt still said Requires at least: 3.1 and Tested up to: 5.3, so WordPress.org showed its warning about plugins not tested with the latest three major releases. WordPress itself requires PHP 7.4 or later.

Decision

Version 2.0.0 requires PHP 7.4 (tested through 8.5) and WordPress 6.7. The plugin header, readme.txt and composer.json state the minimums. WordPress refuses to activate or update the plugin on older environments, so there is no runtime check.

WordPress 6.7 gives wp_get_wp_version() in place of the $wp_version global, and the 6.7 rules for loading translations at the right time. Everything else the plugin needs is older.

The code uses typed properties and ??, and avoids syntax newer than PHP 7.4 (match, union types, constructor promotion, the nullsafe operator, named arguments). This is a breaking change, so the commits use refactor! or feat! with a BREAKING CHANGE: footer, and the release is a major version.

Consequences

  • Good: modern syntax, and one supported range to test.
  • Good: WordPress.org no longer warns that the plugin is untested.
  • Bad: sites below the minimum stay on 1.6.0, because WordPress.org does not offer them the update.
  • Bad: CI has to test PHP 7.4 to 8.5 against WordPress 6.7, the current release and trunk.

References

  • #50: require PHP 7.4 and WordPress 6.7.