Install Sheath in Laravel Applications

Install Sheath in a Laravel application, publish its configuration, and enable the rules needed for day-to-day linting.

#Requirements

PHP 8.2+
Laravel 12 or 13

#Install the Package

composer require fortephp/sheath --dev

Laravel service discovery registers Sheath automatically. If you are experiencing issues after installation, please consult the Troubleshooting guide.

#Publish the Starter Config

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=sheath-config

This publishes config/sheath.php, which gives you:

default lint paths
default ignore patterns
a starter ruleset
package requirement behavior

The published config is a starting profile, not an exhaustive dump of every built-in rule. Sheath itself ships with a larger rule inventory than the starter config enables explicitly.

#Verify the Install

php artisan sheath:lint --print-config

If the command resolves and prints configuration, the package is installed correctly.

The printed configuration also includes a ruleStatus section showing which rules will actually run. See packageRequirementMode.

#Optional: Parallel Processing Support

Sheath can run in parallel with --parallel on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The underlying runtime support is optional, so install the suggested packages if you want multi-process linting:

composer require --dev react/event-loop react/child-process clue/ndjson-react fidry/cpu-core-counter

Then run:

php artisan sheath:lint --parallel

If the runtime pieces are unavailable, Sheath warns and falls back to sequential linting.

#First Run

# lint the configured default paths
php artisan sheath:lint

# apply safe fixes
php artisan sheath:lint --fix

# preview all available fixes without writing
php artisan sheath:lint --dry-run --dangerous

#Editor and Tooling Integration

For editor or CI integrations, use a structured reporter:

# JSON for custom tooling
php artisan sheath:lint --format=json

# Checkstyle XML for tools that explicitly accept the schema
php artisan sheath:lint --format=checkstyle --output=sheath-report.xml

Installation