This is a security release and all users are advised to update their WordPressCS install as soon as possible.

Changed

• The minimum required PHPCSUtils version to 1.2.3 (was 1.2.2). #2770
• The minimum required PHPCSExtra version to 1.5.1 (was 1.5.0). #2770
• Various housekeeping, including documentation improvements.

Fixed

• SECURITY FIX: Running the WordPress.WP.EnqueuedResourceParameters sniff over untrusted PHP code, for example, in a CI pipeline that lints pull requests, or on a developer machine reviewing third-party code, could lead to arbitrary command execution on the scanning host. #2771
  This affects users of the WordPress and WordPress-Extra rulesets. The WordPress-Core ruleset and the WordPress-Docs ruleset are not affected.
  For more details, see the security advisory
  Thanks to @FORIMOC for responsibly disclosing the vulnerability.

We're happy to welcome @rodrigoprimo as co-maintainer of WordPressCS as of this release.

Added

• WordPress.Arrays.ArrayDeclarationSpacing: new allow_single_item_single_line_explicit_key_arrays property to replace the, now deprecated, allow_single_item_single_line_associative_arrays property. #2696
• End-user documentation to the following existing sniffs: WordPress.Arrays.ArrayDeclarationSpacing (props @RafaelFunchal, @mattgaldino and @rodrigoprimo, #2489, #2593, #2682), WordPress.CodeAnalysis.AssignmentInTernaryCondition (props @Nic-Sevic and @rodrigoprimo, #2488, #2678), WordPress.DB.RestrictedClasses (props @paulgibbs and @rodrigoprimo, #2455, #2689), WordPress.DB.DirectDatabaseQuery (props @jaymcp and @rodrigoprimo, #2458, #2697), WordPress.DB.RestrictedFunctions (props @paulgibbs and @rodrigoprimo, #2453, #2676), WordPress.DB.SlowDBQuery (props @petitphp and @rodrigoprimo, #2464, #2699), WordPress.PHP.DevelopmentFunctions (props @gogdzl and @rodrigoprimo, #2490, #2690), WordPress.PHP.NoSilencedErrors (props @gogdzl and @rodrigoprimo, #2495, #2694), WordPress.PHP.PregQuoteDelimiter (props @tikifez and @rodrigoprimo, #2487, #2677), WordPress.PHP.RestrictedPHPFunctions (props @gogdzl and @rodrigoprimo, #2491, #2693), WordPress.Security.PluginMenuSlug (props @jasonkenison, #2592), WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions (props @pamprn09, @bhubbard and @rodrigoprimo, #2496, #2588, #2687), WordPress.WP.DiscouragedConstants (props @RafaelFunchal, @paulopmt1 and @rodrigoprimo, #2493, #2589, #2680), WordPress.WP.GlobalVariablesOverride (props @paulopmt1 and @rodrigoprimo, #2586, #2679).
  This documentation can be exposed via the PHP_CodeSniffer --generator=... command-line argument.

Changed

• The minimum required PHP_CodeSniffer version to 3.13.5 (was 3.13.4). #2761
• The minimum required PHPCSUtils version to 1.2.2 (was 1.1.0). #2761
• The default value for minimum_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 6.7. #2757
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals has been updated to recognize pluggable functions introduced in WP up to WP 7.0.0. #2747
• WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase has been updated to recognize classes introduced in WP up to WP 7.0.0. #2747
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions now detects functions deprecated in WordPress up to WP 7.0.0. #2747
• The ConstantsHelper::is_use_of_global_constant() method will no longer flag a constant alias created via an import use statement as it were the use of a global constant. #2579
• The ConstantsHelper::is_in_function_call() method will now act fully case-agnostic for the function names being checked. #2706
  Previously, the $valid_functions parameter would need to be passed with the function names as keys in lowercase.
• WordPress.PHP.NoSilencedErrors: error silencing is no longer accepted for the parse_url() function. #2701
• Improved the wording of the error message for WordPress.Arrays.ArrayDeclarationSpacing.AssociativeArrayFound. #2688
• Improved the wording of the error message for WordPress.PHP.RestrictedPHPFunctions. #2702
• Various housekeeping, including documentation and test improvements. Includes a contribution by @dd32.

Deprecated

• WordPress.Arrays.ArrayDeclarationSpacing: the allow_single_item_single_line_associative_arrays property has been deprecated in favor of the new allow_single_item_single_line_explicit_key_arrays property. #2696
  This is a name change only. The functionality of these properties is the same.

Fixed

• WordPress.DB.PreparedSQL and WordPress.DB.PreparedSQLPlaceholders: false positive for static method calls to a non-global class named wpdb. #2753
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: false positive for get_search_query() when the $escaped parameter was passed as fully qualified or non-lowercase true. #2618
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: false negative for _deprecated_file() calls when the basename( __FILE__ ) pattern used non-standard casing for either basename() and/or __FILE__. #2729
• WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions: false negative when class functions/constants/properties use the same name as select global WP constants/functions. #2617
• WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions: false positive for fully qualified references to the global PHP stream constants \STDIN, \STDOUT, and \STDERR. #2617
• WordPress.WP.CronInterval: false positive when the callback function reference used a different case than the function declaration, even though they are in the same file. #2730

Added

• Support for attributes on anonymous classes (PHP 8.0) and readonly anonymous classes (PHP 8.3) to the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2559
• Support for handling "exit as a function call" (PHP 8.4) to the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff. #2563
• WordPress-Extra: the following sniffs have been added to the ruleset: Universal.Attributes.BracketSpacing and Universal.Attributes.DisallowAttributeParentheses. #2646

Changed

• The minimum supported PHP version is now PHP 7.2 (was PHP 5.4). #2614
• The minimum required PHP_CodeSniffer version to 3.13.4 (was 3.13.0). #2630
• The minimum required PHPCSExtra version to 1.5.0 (was 1.4.0). #2646
• The default value for minimum_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 6.6. #2656
• WordPress.DB.DirectDatabaseQuery will now recognize more caching functions, like the wp_cache_*_multiple() functions as added in WordPress 6.0 and the wp_cache_*_salted() functions as added in WordPress 6.9. #2654
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals has been updated to recognize pluggable functions introduced in WP up to WP 6.9.0. #2652
• WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase has been updated to recognize classes introduced in WP up to WP 6.9.0. #2652
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions now detects functions deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.9.0. #2652
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedParameters now detects parameters deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.9.0. #2652
• WordPress.Security.ValidatedSanitizedInput: improved the clarity of the error message for the InputNotValidated error code. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2642
• README: updated testVersion recommendations for PHPCompatibility. Props @johnjago. #2471
• Example ruleset: updated the minimum_wp_version and testVersion recommendations. #2608
• All sniffs are now also being tested against PHP 8.5 for consistent sniff results. #2649
• Various housekeeping, including documentation and test improvements. Includes contributions by @rodrigoprimo.

Deprecated

• The WordPress.PHP.POSIXFunctions sniff (as it is no longer relevant). #2616

Removed

• wp_kses_allowed_html() from the list of escaping functions. #2566
  This affects the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff.

Fixed

• WordPress.DB.DirectDatabaseQuery: false positive when function call to caching functions did not use the canonical function name. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2613
• WordPress.DB.DirectDatabaseQuery: potential false negative when a class property or constant would mirror the name of one of the caching functions. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2615
• WordPress.DB.PreparedSQL: false positive for correctly escaped SQL snippets when the function call did not use the canonical function name. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2570
• WordPress.DB.PreparedSQLPlaceholders: improved handling of fully qualified calls to global functions. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2569
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: expanded protection against false positives for *::class. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2605
• WordPress.Security.NonceVerification: false positive when nonce checking function call did not use the canonical function name. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2572
• WordPress.WP.EnqueuedResourceParameters: the sniff could cause a PHP 8.5 deprecation notice if the code under scan contained one of the deprecated type casts. #2573
• WordPress.WP.EnqueuedResourceParameters: improved recognition of non-lowercase and fully qualified true/false/null when passed as the $ver parameter value. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2630

Added

• New WordPress.WP.GetMetaSingle sniff to the WordPress-Extra ruleset. Props @rodrigoprimo! #2465
  This sniff warns when get_*_meta() and get_metadata*() functions are used with the $meta_key/$key param, but without the $single parameter as this could lead to unexpected behavior due to the different return types.
• WordPress-Extra: the following additional sniffs have been added to the ruleset: Generic.Strings.UnnecessaryHeredoc and Generic.WhiteSpace.HereNowdocIdentifierSpacing. #2534
• The rest_sanitize_boolean() functions to the list of known "sanitizing" functions. Props @westonruter. #2530
• End-user documentation to the following existing sniffs: WordPress.DB.PreparedSQL (props @jaymcp, #2454), WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidFunctionName (props @richardkorthuis and @rodrigoprimo, #2452, #2531), WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidVariableName (props @richardkorthuis, #2457), WordPress.PHP.DontExtract (props @aiolachiara #2456).
  This documentation can be exposed via the PHP_CodeSniffer --generator=... command-line argument.

Changed

• The minimum required PHP_CodeSniffer version to 3.13.0 (was 3.9.0). #2532
• The minimum required PHPCSUtils version to 1.1.0 (was 1.0.10). #2532
• The minimum required PHPCSExtra version to 1.4.0 (was 1.2.1). #2532
• Sniffs based on the AbstractFunctionParameterSniff will now call a dedicated process_first_class_callable() method for PHP 8.1+ first class callables. Props @rodrigoprimo, @jrfnl. #2518, #2544
  By default, the method won't do anything, but individual sniffs extending the AbstractFunctionParameterSniff class can choose to implement the method to handle first class callables.
  Previously, first class callables were treated as a function call without parameters and would trigger the process_no_parameters() method.
• The minimum required prefix length for the WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals sniff has been changed from 3 to 4 characters. Props @davidperezgar. #2479
• The default value for minimum_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 6.5. #2553
• WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidVariableName now allows for PHP 8.4 properties in interfaces. #2532
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals has been updated to recognize pluggable functions introduced in WP up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• WordPress.WP.Capabilities has been updated to recognize new capabilities introduced in WP up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase has been updated to recognize classes introduced in WP up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions now detects functions deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedParameters now detects parameters deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedParameterValues now detects parameter values deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.8.1. #2537
• Minor performance improvements.
• Developer happiness: prevent creating a composer.lock file. Thanks @fredden! #2443
• Various housekeeping, including documentation and test improvements. Includes contributions by @rodrigoprimo and @szepeviktor.
• All sniffs are now also being tested against PHP 8.4 for consistent sniff results. #2511

Removed

• The Generic.Functions.CallTimePassByReference has been removed from the WordPress-Extra ruleset. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2536
  This sniff was dated anyway and deprecated in PHP_CodeSniffer. If you need to check if your code is PHP cross-version compatible, use the PHPCompatibility standard instead.

Fixed

• Sniffs based on the AbstractClassRestrictionsSniff could previously run into a PHPCS Internal.Exception, leading to fixes not being made. #2500
• Sniffs based on the AbstractFunctionParameterSniff will now bow out more often when it is sure the code under scan is not calling the target function and during live coding, preventing false positives. Props @rodrigoprimo. #2518

Added

• WordPress-Core ruleset: now includes the Universal.PHP.LowercasePHPTag sniff.
• WordPress-Extra ruleset: now includes the Generic.CodeAnalysis.RequireExplicitBooleanOperatorPrecedence and the Universal.CodeAnalysis.NoDoubleNegative sniffs.
• The sanitize_locale_name() function to the list of known "escaping" functions. Props @Chouby
• The sanitize_locale_name() function to the list of known "sanitize & unslash" functions. Props @Chouby

Changed

• The minimum required PHP_CodeSniffer version to 3.9.0 (was 3.7.2).
• The minimum required PHPCSUtils version to 1.0.10 (was 1.0.8).
• The minimum required PHPCSExtra version to 1.2.1 (was 1.1.0).
  Please ensure you run composer update wp-coding-standards/wpcs --with-dependencies to benefit from these updates.
• Core ruleset: the spacing after the use keyword for closure use statements will now consistently be checked. Props @westonruter for reporting.
• The default value for minimum_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 6.2.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals has been updated to recognize pluggable functions introduced in WP 6.4 and 6.5.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidPostTypeSlug has been updated to recognize reserved post types introduced in WP 6.4 and 6.5.
• WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase has been updated to recognize classes introduced in WP 6.4 and 6.5.
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedClasses now detects classes deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.5.
• WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions now detects functions deprecated in WordPress up to WP 6.5.
• The IsUnitTestTrait will now recognize classes which extend the new WP Core WP_Font_Face_UnitTestCase class as test classes.
• The test suite can now run on PHPUnit 4.x - 9.x (was 4.x - 7.x), which should make contributing more straight forward.
• Various housekeeping, includes a contribution from @rodrigoprimo.

Fixed

• WordPress.WP.PostsPerPage could potentially result in an Internal.Exception when encountering a query string which doesn't include the value for posts_per_page in the query string. Props @anomiex for reporting.

Added

• In WordPressCS 3.0.0, the functionality of the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff was updated to report unescaped message parameters passed to exceptions created in throw statements. This specific violation now has a separate error code: ExceptionNotEscaped. This will allow users to ignore or exclude that specific error code. Props @anomiex.
  The error code(s) for other escaping issues flagged by the sniff remain unchanged.

Changed

• Updated the CI workflow to test the example ruleset for issues.
• Funding files and updates in the Readme about funding the project.

Fixed

• Fixed a sniff name in the phpcs.xml.dist.sample file (case-sensitive sniff name). Props @dawidurbanski.

Important information about this release:

At long last... WordPressCS 3.0.0 is here.

This is an important release which makes significant changes to improve the accuracy, performance, stability and maintainability of all sniffs, as well as making WordPressCS much better at handling modern PHP.

WordPressCS 3.0.0 contains breaking changes, both for people using ignore annotations, people maintaining custom rulesets, as well as for sniff developers who maintain a custom PHPCS standard based on WordPressCS.

If you are an end-user or maintain a custom WordPressCS based ruleset, please start by reading the Upgrade Guide to WordPressCS 3.0.0 for ruleset maintainers which lists the most important changes and contains a step by step guide for upgrading.

If you are a maintainer of an external standard based on WordPressCS and any of your custom sniffs are based on or extend WordPressCS sniffs, please read the Upgrade Guide to WordPressCS 3.0.0 for Developers.

In all cases, please read the complete changelog carefully before you upgrade.

Added

• Dependencies on the following packages: PHPCSUtils, PHPCSExtra and the [Composer PHPCS plugin].
• A best effort has been made to add support for the new PHP syntaxes/features to all WordPressCS native sniffs and utility functions (or to verify/improve existing support).
  While support in external sniffs used by WordPressCS has not be exhaustively verified, a lot of work has been done to try and add support for new PHP syntaxes to those as well.
  WordPressCS native sniffs and utilities have received fixes for the following syntaxes:
  • PHP 7.2
    • Keyed lists.
  • PHP 7.3
    • Flexible heredoc/nowdoc (providing the PHPCS scan is run on PHP 7.3 or higher).
    • Trailing commas in function calls.
  • PHP 7.4
    • Arrow functions.
    • Array unpacking in array expressions.
    • Numeric literals with underscores.
    • Typed properties.
    • Null coalesce equals operator.
  • PHP 8.0
    • Nullsafe object operators.
    • Match expressions.
    • Named arguments in function calls.
    • Attributes.
    • Union types // including supporting the false and null types.
    • Constructor property promotion.
    • $object::class
    • Throw as an expression.
  • PHP 8.1
    • Enumerations.
    • Explicit octal notation.
    • Final class constants
    • First class callables.
    • Intersection types.
  • PHP 8.2
    • Constants in traits.
• New WordPress.CodeAnalysis.AssignmentInTernaryCondition sniff to the WordPress-Core ruleset which partially replaces the removed WordPress.CodeAnalysis.AssignmentInCondition sniff.
• New WordPress.WhiteSpace.ObjectOperatorSpacing sniff which replaces the use of the Squiz.WhiteSpace.ObjectOperatorSpacing sniff in the WordPress-Core ruleset.
• New WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase sniff to the WordPress-Core ruleset, to check that any class name references to WP native classes and classes from external dependencies use the case of the class as per the class declaration.
• New WordPress.WP.Capabilities sniff to the WordPress-Extra ruleset. This sniff checks that valid capabilities are used, not roles or user levels. Props, amongst others, to [@grappler] and [@khacoder].
  Custom capabilities can be added to the sniff via a custom_capabilities ruleset property.
  The sniff also supports the minimum_wp_version property to allow the sniff to accurately determine how the use of deprecated capabilities should be flagged.
• The WordPress.WP.CapitalPDangit sniff contains a new check to verify the correct spelling of WordPress in namespace names.
• The WordPress.WP.I18n sniff contains a new EmptyTextDomain error code for an empty text string being passed as the text domain, which overrules the default value of the parameter and renders a text untranslatable.
• The WordPress.DB.PreparedSQLPlaceholders sniff has been expanded with additional checks for the correct use of the %i placeholder, which was introduced in WP 6.2. Props [@craigfrancis].
  The sniff now also supports the minimum_wp_version ruleset property to determine whether the %i placeholder can be used.
• WordPress-Core: the following additional sniffs (or select error codes from these sniffs) have been added to the ruleset: Generic.CodeAnalysis.AssignmentInCondition, Generic.CodeAnalysis.EmptyPHPStatement (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Generic.VersionControl.GitMergeConflict, Generic.WhiteSpace.IncrementDecrementSpacing, Generic.WhiteSpace.LanguageConstructSpacing, Generic.WhiteSpace.SpreadOperatorSpacingAfter, PSR2.Classes.ClassDeclaration, PSR2.Methods.FunctionClosingBrace, PSR12.Classes.ClassInstantiation, PSR12.Files.FileHeader (select error codes only), PSR12.Functions.NullableTypeDeclaration, PSR12.Functions.ReturnTypeDeclaration, PSR12.Traits.UseDeclaration, Squiz.Functions.MultiLineFunctionDeclaration (replaces part of the WordPress.WhiteSpace.ControlStructureSpacing sniff), Modernize.FunctionCalls.Dirname, NormalizedArrays.Arrays.ArrayBraceSpacing (replaces part of the WordPress.Arrays.ArrayDeclarationSpacing sniff), NormalizedArrays.Arrays.CommaAfterLast (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Universal.Classes.ModifierKeywordOrder, Universal.Classes.RequireAnonClassParentheses, Universal.Constants.LowercaseClassResolutionKeyword, Universal.Constants.ModifierKeywordOrder, Universal.Constants.UppercaseMagicConstants, Universal.Namespaces.DisallowCurlyBraceSyntax, Universal.Namespaces.DisallowDeclarationWithoutName, Universal.Namespaces.OneDeclarationPerFile, Universal.NamingConventions.NoReservedKeywordParameterNames, Universal.Operators.DisallowShortTernary (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Universal.Operators.DisallowStandalonePostIncrementDecrement, Universal.Operators.StrictComparisons (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Universal.Operators.TypeSeparatorSpacing, Universal.UseStatements.DisallowMixedGroupUse, Universal.UseStatements.KeywordSpacing, Universal.UseStatements.LowercaseFunctionConst, Universal.UseStatements.NoLeadingBackslash, Universal.UseStatements.NoUselessAliases, Universal.WhiteSpace.CommaSpacing, Universal.WhiteSpace.DisallowInlineTabs (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Universal.WhiteSpace.PrecisionAlignment (replaces the WordPressCS native sniff), Universal.WhiteSpace.AnonClassKeywordSpacing.
• WordPress-Extra: the following additional sniffs have been added to the ruleset: Generic.CodeAnalysis.UnusedFunctionParameter, Universal.Arrays.DuplicateArrayKey, Universal.CodeAnalysis.ConstructorDestructorReturn, Universal.CodeAnalysis.ForeachUniqueAssignment, Universal.CodeAnalysis.NoEchoSprintf, Universal.CodeAnalysis.StaticInFinalClass, Universal.ControlStructures.DisallowLonelyIf, Universal.Files.SeparateFunctionsFromOO.
• WordPress.Utils.I18nTextDomainFixer: the load_script_textdomain() function to the functions the sniff looks for.
• WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions: the following PHP native functions have been added to the sniff and will now be flagged when used: unlink() (in a new unlink group) , rename() (in a new rename group), chgrp(), chmod(), chown(), is_writable() is_writeable(), mkdir(), rmdir(), touch(), fputs() (in the existing file_system_operations group, which was previously named file_system_read). Props [@sandeshjangam] and [@JDGrimes].
• The PHPUnit_Adapter_TestCase class to the list of "known test (case) classes".
• The antispambot() function to the list of known "formatting" functions.
• The esc_xml() and wp_kses_one_attr() functions to the list of known "escaping" functions.
• The wp_timezone_choice() and wp_readonly() functions to the list of known "auto escaping" functions.
• The sanitize_url() and wp_kses_one_attr() functions to the list of known "sanitizing" functions.
• Metrics for blank lines at the start/end of a control structure body to the WordPress.WhiteSpace.ControlStructureSpacing sniff. These can be displayed using --report=info when the blank_line_check property has been set to true.
• End-user documentation to the following new and pre-existing sniffs: WordPress.DateTime.RestrictedFunctions, WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals (props [@Ipstenu]), WordPress.PHP.StrictInArray (props [@marconmartins]), WordPress.PHP.YodaConditions (props [@Ipstenu]), WordPress.WhiteSpace.ControlStructureSpacing (props [@ckanitz]), WordPress.WhiteSpace.ObjectOperatorSpacing, WordPress.WhiteSpace.OperatorSpacing (props [@ckanitz]), WordPress.WP.CapitalPDangit (props [@NielsdeBlaauw]), WordPress.WP.Capabilities, WordPress.WP.ClassNameCase, WordPress.WP.EnqueueResourceParameters (props [@NielsdeBlaauw]).
  This documentation can be exposed via the PHP_CodeSniffer --generator=... command-line argument.
  Note: all sniffs which have been added from PHPCSExtra (Universal, Modernize, NormalizedArrays sniffs) are also fully documented.

Added (internal/dev-only)

• New Helper classes:
  • ArrayWalkingFunctionsHelper
  • ConstantsHelper *
  • ContextHelper *
  • DeprecationHelper *
  • FormattingFunctionsHelper
  • ListHelper *
  • RulesetPropertyHelper *
  • SnakeCaseHelper *
  • UnslashingFunctionsHelper
  • ValidationHelper
  • VariableHelper *
    ...

Added

• The WordPress.WP.I18n sniff contains a new check for translatable text strings which are wrapped in HTML tags, like <h1>Translate me</h1>. Those tags should be moved out of the translatable string.
  Note: Translatable strings wrapped in <a href..> tags where the URL is intended to be localized will not trigger this check.

Changed

• The default value for minimum_supported_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 5.1.
• The WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions sniff will now detect functions deprecated in WP 5.4.
• Improved grammar of an error message in the WordPress.WP.DiscouragedFunctions sniff.
• CI: The codebase is now - preliminary - being tested against the PHPCS 4.x development branch.

Fixed

• All function call detection sniffs: fixed a bug where constants with the same name as one of the targeted functions could inadvertently be recognized as if they were a called function.
• WordPress.DB.PreparedSQL: fixed a bug where the sniff would trigger on the namespace separator character \\.
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: fixed a bug with the variable replacement in one of the error messages.

Added

• Metrics to the WordPress.Arrays.CommaAfterArrayItem sniff. These can be displayed using --report=info.
• The sanitize_hex_color() and the sanitize_hex_color_no_hash() functions to the escapingFunctions list used by the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff.

Changed

• The recommended version of the suggested DealerDirect PHPCS Composer plugin is now ^0.6.

Fixed

• WordPress.PHP.NoSilencedErrors: depending on the custom properties set, the metrics would be different.
• WordPress.WhiteSpace.ControlStructureSpacing: fixed undefined index notice for closures with use.
• WordPress.WP.GlobalVariablesOverride: fixed undefined offset notice when the treat_files_as_scoped property would be set to true.
• WordPress.WP.I18n: fixed a Trying to access array offset on value of type null error when the sniff was run on PHP 7.4 and would encounter a translation function expecting singular and plural texts for which one of these arguments was missing.

Note: The repository has moved. The new URL is https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress-Coding-Standards.
The move does not affect the package name for Packagist. This remains the same: wp-coding-standards/wpcs.

Added

• New WordPress.DateTime.CurrentTimeTimestamp sniff to the WordPress-Core ruleset, which checks against the use of the WP native current_time() function to retrieve a timestamp as this won't be a real timestamp. Includes an auto-fixer.
• New WordPress.DateTime.RestrictedFunctions sniff to the WordPress-Core ruleset, which checks for the use of certain date/time related functions. Initially this sniff forbids the use of the PHP native date_default_timezone_set() and date() functions.
• New WordPress.PHP.DisallowShortTernary sniff to the WordPress-Core ruleset, which, as the name implies, disallows the use of short ternaries.
• New WordPress.CodeAnalysis.EscapedNotTranslated sniff to the WordPress-Extra ruleset which will warn when a text string is escaped for output, but not being translated, while the arguments passed to the function call give the impression that translation is intended.
• New WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidPostTypeSlug sniff to the WordPress-Extra ruleset which will examine calls to register_post_type() and throw errors when an invalid post type slug is used.
• Generic.Arrays.DisallowShortArraySyntax to the WordPress-Core ruleset.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals: the PHP prefix has been added to the prefix blacklist as it is reserved by PHP itself.
• The wp_sanitize_redirect() function to the sanitizingFunctions list used by the WordPress.Security.NonceVerification, WordPress.Security.ValidatedSanitizedInput and WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniffs.
• The sanitize_key() and the highlight_string() functions to the escapingFunctions list used by the WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput sniff.
• The RECOVERY_MODE_COOKIE constant to the list of WP Core constants which may be defined by plugins and themes and therefore don't need to be prefixed (WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals).
• $content_width, $plugin, $mu_plugin and $network_plugin to the list of WP globals which is used by both the WordPress.Variables.GlobalVariables and the WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals sniffs.
• Sniff::is_short_list() utility method to determine whether a short array open/close token actually represents a PHP 7.1+ short list.
• Sniff::find_list_open_close() utility method to find the opener and closer for list() constructs, including short lists.
• Sniff::get_list_variables() utility method which will retrieve an array with the token pointers to the variables which are being assigned to in a list() construct. Includes support for short lists.
• Sniff::is_function_deprecated() static utility method to determine whether a declared function has been marked as deprecated in the function DocBlock.
• End-user documentation to the following existing sniffs: WordPress.Arrays.ArrayIndentation, WordPress.Arrays.ArrayKeySpacingRestrictions, WordPress.Arrays.MultipleStatementAlignment, WordPress.Classes.ClassInstantiation, WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidHookName, WordPress.PHP.IniSet, WordPress.Security.SafeRedirect, WordPress.WhiteSpace.CastStructureSpacing, WordPress.WhiteSpace.DisallowInlineTabs, WordPress.WhiteSpace.PrecisionAlignment, WordPress.WP.CronInterval, WordPress.WP.DeprecatedClasses, WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions, WordPress.WP.DeprecatedParameters, WordPress.WP.DeprecatedParameterValues, WordPress.WP.EnqueuedResources, WordPress.WP.PostsPerPage.
  This documentation can be exposed via the PHP_CodeSniffer --generator=... command-line argument.

Changed

• The default value for minimum_supported_wp_version, as used by a number of sniffs detecting usage of deprecated WP features, has been updated to 5.0.
• The WordPress.Arrays.ArrayKeySpacingRestrictions sniff has two new error codes: TooMuchSpaceBeforeKey and TooMuchSpaceAfterKey. Both auto-fixable.
  The sniff will now check that there is exactly one space on the inside of the square brackets around the array key for non-string, non-numeric array keys. Previously, it only checked that there was whitespace, not how much whitespace.
• WordPress.Arrays.ArrayKeySpacingRestrictions: the fixers have been made more efficient and less fixer-conflict prone.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals: plugin/theme prefixes should be at least three characters long. A new ShortPrefixPassed error has been added for when the prefix passed does not comply with this rule.
• WordPress.WhiteSpace.CastStructureSpacing now allows for no whitespace before a cast when the cast is preceded by the spread ... operator. This pre-empts a fixer conflict for when the spacing around the spread operator will start to get checked.
• The WordPress.WP.DeprecatedClasses sniff will now detect classes deprecated in WP 4.9 and WP 5.3.
• The WordPress.WP.DeprecatedFunctions sniff will now detect functions deprecated in WP 5.3.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidHookName now has "cleaner" error messages and higher precision for the line on which an error is thrown.
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: if an error refers to array access via a variable, the array index key will now be included in the error message.
• The processing of the WordPress ruleset by PHP_CodeSniffer will now be faster.
• Various minor code tweaks and clean up.
• Various minor documentation fixes.
• Documentation: updated the repo URL in all relevant places.

Deprecated

• The WordPress.WP.TimezoneChange sniff. Use the WordPress.DateTime.RestrictedFunctions instead.
  The deprecated sniff will be removed in WPCS 3.0.0.

Fixed

• All sniffs in the WordPress.Arrays category will no longer treat short lists as if they were a short array.
• The WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidFunctionName and the WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals sniff will now ignore functions marked as @deprecated.
• Both the WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals sniff as well as the WordPress.WP.GlobalVariablesOverride sniff have been updated to recognize variables being declared via (long/short) list() constructs and handle them correctly.
• Both the WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals sniff as well as the WordPress.WP.GlobalVariablesOverride sniff will now take a limited list of WP global variables which are intended to be overwritten by plugins/themes into account.
  Initially this list contains the $content_width and the $wp_cockneyreplace variables.
• WordPress.NamingConventions.ValidHookName: will no longer examine a string array access index key as if it were a part of the hook name.
• WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput: will no longer trigger on the typical basename( __FILE__ ) pattern if found as the first parameter passed to a call to _deprecated_file().
• WordPress.WP.CapitalPDangit: now allows for the .test TLD in URLs.
• WPCS is now fully compatible with PHP 7.4.
  Note: PHP_CodeSniffer itself is only compatible with PHP 7.4 from PHPCS 3.5.0 onwards.