Tyhp is a strongly-typed superset of PHP that transpiles to standard, readable PHP code. It adds features like generics, type guards, structs, operator overloads, extension methods, async/await, and more while maintaining full compatibility with the PHP ecosystem. Think of it as what TypeScript is to JavaScript, but for PHP.
Tyhp is neither a separate language nor a PHP extension. It is a superset of PHP — every valid PHP file is also valid in a Tyhp project (processed as-is). Tyhp adds new syntax on top of PHP for strong typing and additional language features. The Tyhp compiler is a standalone tool that reads your source files and outputs standard PHP. No PHP extensions or runtime modifications are required.
Yes. Tyhp is designed for gradual adoption. You can include .php files alongside .tyhp files in the same project. PHP files are passed through to the output unchanged. To get type-checking benefits when calling into existing PHP code, you write tyhpdef files that describe the PHP code's types to the compiler.
Tyhp currently supports targeting PHP 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5. The target version is set via the output.phpVersion option in tyhp.json (default: "8.4"). The compiled output uses only features available in the targeted PHP version.
Yes. Tyhp is an open-source project. The compiler, runtime packages, and documentation are all freely available.
Most Tyhp features are compile-time only and add zero runtime overhead. Types, generics, type guards, and type aliases are all erased during compilation. The compiled PHP is clean, idiomatic code that performs the same as hand-written PHP. Some features like decimal arithmetic and async/await use lightweight Tyhp runtime Composer packages (tyhp/core, tyhp/decimal, tyhp/async) which are added as Composer dependencies automatically when needed.
PHPStan and Psalm analyze existing PHP code using annotations (PHPDoc comments) to find type errors. Tyhp takes a different approach: it is a superset language with first-class type syntax built into the grammar. This means types are part of the language itself, not comments. Tyhp can also add new language features (generics, structs, operator overloads, async/await) that static analyzers cannot provide because they cannot change PHP's syntax. Additionally, Tyhp's compile-time checking is mandatory — you cannot ignore or suppress type errors the way you can with analyzer baselines.
Yes. Since Tyhp compiles to standard PHP, Composer packages work exactly as they do in PHP. To get type-checking for a Composer package, you provide tyhpdef files that describe the package's types. Automatic generation via tyhp generate_tyhpdef is not in this alpha — write tyhpdefs by hand. PHP builtins come from the tyhp/php package.
Tyhp's own runtime packages (tyhp/core, tyhp/php, …) version independently of the compiler. Packagist MAJOR is the PHP target (804.x means PHP 8.4). See the Composer Runtime Packages page for composer.json constraints.
This alpha does not include a language server or Xdebug proxy. Use tyhp lint and tyhp build from the CLI, and debug the emitted PHP. LSP, sourcemaps, and tyhp xdebug_proxy are planned for later releases.
