property.dynamicName

Code example

<?php declare(strict_types = 1);

class User
{
	public string $name = '';
	public string $email = '';
}

function getValue(User $user, string $field): mixed
{
	return $user->$field;
}

Why is it reported?

The code accesses an object property using a variable name ($object->$variable) instead of a static identifier ($object->name). Variable property access makes the code harder to analyse statically because PHPStan cannot determine which property is being accessed. It also makes the code harder to refactor and more error-prone, since there is no compile-time check that the property exists.

This rule is provided by the phpstan-strict-rules package.

How to fix it

Replace the variable property access with explicit property access:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);

-function getValue(User $user, string $field): mixed
+function getValue(User $user, string $field): string
 {
-	return $user->$field;
+	return match ($field) {
+		'name' => $user->name,
+		'email' => $user->email,
+		default => throw new \InvalidArgumentException("Unknown field: $field"),
+	};
 }

Alternatively, use a getter method or implement a controlled access pattern that does not rely on dynamic property names.