phpParser.nodeConnectingAttribute

Code example

<?php declare(strict_types = 1);

use PhpParser\Node;
use PHPStan\Analyser\Scope;
use PHPStan\Rules\Rule;

/** @implements Rule<Node\Stmt\Echo_> */
class MyRule implements Rule
{
	public function getNodeType(): string
	{
		return Node\Stmt\Echo_::class;
	}

	public function processNode(Node $node, Scope $scope): array
	{
		$parent = $node->getAttribute('parent');
		return [];
	}
}

Why is it reported?

The code accesses a PHP-Parser node attribute (parent, previous, or next) that was previously provided by the NodeConnectingVisitor but is no longer available. PHPStan no longer uses this visitor, so these attributes are not set on AST nodes.

Learn more: Preprocessing AST for Custom Rules

How to fix it

Use PHPStan's built-in node types that provide parent/sibling information instead of relying on node attributes:

-$parent = $node->getAttribute('parent');
+// Use PHPStan's custom node types that provide structural context

See the blog post Preprocessing AST for Custom Rules for the recommended approach to accessing parent and sibling nodes in PHPStan rules.