B - PHP 8.0 to 8.5 at a Glance

One section per version, headline features only. Find your project’s version, then read down from there to see what you can use.

PHP 8.0, November 2020

• Named arguments: str_pad(string: 'a', length: 3).
• Attributes: #[Route('/home')] as structured metadata read by reflection.
• Constructor property promotion: public function __construct(private int $x) {}.
• Union types: int|string $id.
• match expression: strict comparison, no fallthrough, exhaustive.
• Nullsafe operator: $user?->address?->city.
• mixed and static as types.
• throw as an expression: $x = $y ?? throw new Exception();.
• str_contains(), str_starts_with(), str_ends_with().
• Stringable interface, implemented automatically by any class with __toString().
• WeakMap.
• JIT compiler, inside OPcache.
• Saner string-to-number comparisons: 0 == 'foo' is false.
• Trailing comma allowed in parameter lists.
• Internal functions throw TypeError and ValueError instead of warning and returning null or false.

PHP 8.1, November 2021

• Enums, pure and backed: enum Suit: string { case Hearts = 'H'; }.
• readonly properties: public readonly int $x.
• First-class callable syntax: strlen(...).
• Fibers: stackful coroutines, the building block of async libraries.
• new in initializers: public function __construct(private Logger $l = new NullLogger()) {}.
• Pure intersection types: Countable&Traversable.
• never return type.
• final class constants.
• Array unpacking with string keys: [...$defaults, ...$options].
• array_is_list().
• Explicit octal notation: 0o16.

PHP 8.2, December 2022

• readonly classes: final readonly class Point {}.
• Disjunctive normal form types: (A&B)|null.
• Standalone true, false and null types.
• Dynamic properties deprecated; #[\AllowDynamicProperties] opts a class back in.
• #[\SensitiveParameter] to redact an argument from stack traces.
• Constants in traits.
• Random\Randomizer and the random extension.
• Enum cases usable in constant expressions.

PHP 8.3, November 2023

• Typed class constants: const string NAME = 'x';.
• #[\Override] attribute: the engine checks that a parent method exists.
• json_validate().
• Dynamic class constant fetch: Foo::{$name}.
• readonly properties can be reinitialised inside __clone().
• Randomizer::getBytesFromString(), Randomizer::getFloat().
• Negative array indices behave consistently.
• mb_str_pad().

PHP 8.4, November 2024

• Property hooks: public string $name { get => ...; set => ...; }.
• Asymmetric visibility: public private(set) int $x.
• new without parentheses when chaining: new Foo()->bar().
• Lazy objects: ReflectionClass::newLazyGhost(), newLazyProxy().
• #[\Deprecated] attribute for your own code.
• array_find(), array_find_key(), array_any(), array_all().
• mb_trim(), mb_ltrim(), mb_rtrim(), mb_ucfirst(), mb_lcfirst().
• New DOM extension with an HTML5 parser: Dom\HTMLDocument.
• BCMath object API: BcMath\Number.
• PDO driver subclasses: Pdo\Sqlite, Pdo\Mysql, Pdo\Pgsql, via Pdo::connect().
• request_parse_body() for form bodies on any HTTP method.
• Implicitly nullable parameters (Foo $x = null without ?) deprecated.
• exit and die are now functions.

PHP 8.5, November 2025

• Pipe operator: $slug = $title |> trim(...) |> strtolower(...);.
• clone with property updates: clone($point, ['x' => 3]).
• #[\NoDiscard] attribute, warning when a return value is ignored; (void) cast to silence it on purpose.
• array_first(), array_last().
• Closures and first-class callables in constant expressions (attribute arguments, default values, constants).
• Attributes on constants.
• New uri extension: Uri\Rfc3986\Uri, Uri\WhatWg\Url.
• Fatal errors now include a backtrace.
• get_error_handler(), get_exception_handler().
• #[\DelayedTargetValidation].
• PHP_BUILD_DATE constant.
• The backtick shell-execution operator is deprecated.

Support policy

Each version gets two years of active support (bug fixes) followed by two years of security fixes only. A version released in November 2025 is therefore active until late 2027 and patched until late 2029. Dates move with each release; php.net/supported-versions has the current table. Running a version past its security window is a risk you take knowingly or not at all.

Finding your project’s version

php -v prints the interpreter you run locally. composer.json declares what the project supports under require.php ("php": "^8.3"), and config.platform.php pins the version Composer resolves against, which is the one to trust when the two differ. Production may run something else again; phpinfo() or php -v on the server settles it.