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WP HealthKit

PHPStan / Psalm vs WP HealthKit

PHPStan catches type errors. WP HealthKit catches WordPress security errors. Run both.

PHPStan / PsalmWP HealthKit
What it doesPHP type checking and taint analysisWordPress-specific security, quality, and accessibility audit
Who it's forPHP developers (any framework)WordPress plugin and theme developers
How it worksAST analysis + type inference + taint tracking49 verification layers: 45 deterministic + 4 AI engines
Price rangeFree (open source)Free – £499/mo

What PHPStan / Psalm does well

  • Free, open source, battle-tested on massive PHP codebases
  • PHPStan: 9 strictness levels, catches type inconsistencies and undefined references
  • Psalm: taint analysis tracks untrusted data through code to dangerous sinks
  • Both integrate into CI/CD pipelines
  • Work on any PHP codebase, not just WordPress
  • Large extension ecosystems including WordPress-specific extensions

What WP HealthKit does differently

  • Understands WordPress's security model natively: wp_verify_nonce(), current_user_can(), $wpdb->prepare(), REST API permission callbacks
  • PHPStan sees $_POST['action'] as untrusted input — WP HealthKit checks whether wp_verify_nonce() was called correctly
  • Covers non-PHP concerns: GDPR, plugin lifecycle hygiene, multisite safety, WooCommerce patterns, accessibility
  • Generates human-readable reports for stakeholders, not CI output
  • No configuration required — upload a ZIP, get results
  • MCP Server lets Claude, Cursor, and other AI tools trigger audits and read findings via the Model Context Protocol
  • WP-CLI plugin runs full audits directly from the terminal — same engine, scriptable from any CI runner
  • GitHub Action drops into existing workflows for audit-on-push and audit-on-PR with severity-gated checks
  • WordPress Playground activation matrix tests real plugin activation across WP 7.0/6.8 and PHP 8.1/8.2/8.3 — catches fatals PHPStan cannot model
  • Companion plugin for continuous site monitoring — auto re-audit when plugins update

Where they overlap

Both catch some PHP issues: type errors, undefined variables, unreachable code. PHPStan/Psalm do this with deeper PHP-level precision. WP HealthKit trades PHP depth for WordPress breadth.

When to use both

  • Use PHPStan/Psalm in your CI pipeline for continuous type safety on every commit
  • Use WP HealthKit before major releases for a comprehensive WordPress-aware audit covering GDPR, lifecycle, multisite, WooCommerce, and accessibility
  • They're complementary: PHPStan catches 'Argument #2 of update_option expects string, int given'. WP HealthKit catches 'you're storing emails without a privacy policy disclosure.'

Decision framework

If you need...Use...
PHP type safety in CI/CDPHPStan / Psalm
WordPress-specific security auditWP HealthKit
Taint analysis for data flowsPsalm
GDPR, accessibility, WooCommerce checksWP HealthKit
Maximum code quality coverageUse both

PHPStan / Psalm pricing

Free (open source)

WP HealthKit pricing

Free (2 audits/mo), £4.99 single, £29/mo Pro, £149/mo Agency, £499/mo Enterprise

Run a free audit on your plugin

See what WP HealthKit finds in your code — 2 free tokens, no credit card required.

Start Free Audit

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PHPStan / Psalm vs WP HealthKit | WP HealthKit