Getting Started

Tier 0 · Story 10Complete

This guide walks you through creating your first Tyhp project, from initialization to running the compiled PHP output. Before proceeding, make sure you have Tyhp installed (see the Installation section).

Initializing a Project

mkdir my-tyhp-project
cd my-tyhp-project
tyhp init

This creates a tyhp.json configuration file, a root composer.json (with tyhp/php and tyhp/core pins), src/index.tyhp, and empty tyhpdef/ and build/ directories.

Project Structure

my-tyhp-project/
  tyhp.json          # Project configuration
  composer.json      # Pins tyhp/php and tyhp/core
  src/index.tyhp     # Sample entry file
  tyhpdef/           # Type definitions for external PHP code (.tyhpdef)
  build/             # Compiled PHP output (generated)

The tyhp.json Configuration File

{
    "include": ["src/**/*.tyhp"],
    "exclude": ["vendor/**", "node_modules/**"],
    "source": {
        "tagless": false
    },
    "output": {
        "path": "build/",
        "phpVersion": "8.4",
        "strictTypes": true,
        "comments": true
    }
}

Supported output.phpVersion values are "8.2", "8.3", "8.4", and "8.5".

Writing Your First .tyhp File

tyhp init writes src/index.tyhp. Tyhp files use the <?tyhp opening tag instead of <?php:

<?tyhp
namespace App;

echo 'Hello, World!';

Building Your Project

tyhp build

The compiler reads tyhp.json, runs parse / bind / check / emit, and writes PHP to the output directory. tyhp init already pins tyhp/php and tyhp/core in the project composer.json. tyhp build updates Composer metadata only when build.updateComposer is true (default false); otherwise it reports which packages the emit needs. Pins use output.phpVersion plus each package’s own X.Y ("8.4" + 0.0 → 804.0.0). See the Composer Runtime Packages page.

composer install
php build/src/index.php

Until Packagist lists the tyhp/* packages, use a compiler checkout so path repositories can resolve runtime/packages/.

The Compiled Output

The compiled PHP looks like standard PHP. Variable type annotations are erased — they were checked at compile time.

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App;

echo 'Hello, World!';

Checking Without Building

tyhp lint

Faster than a full build. Useful in development and CI.

Using PHP Libraries with Tyhpdef

Install tyhp/php for PHP builtin types (\strlen, DateTime, and so on). For other Composer packages, add .tyhpdef files under tyhpdef/ that describe the public API you call. Automatic tyhp generate_tyhpdef is not in this alpha — write tyhpdefs by hand or copy from existing stubs.

The Development Workflow

1. Write Tyhp code in .tyhp files
2. Run tyhp lint for type errors
3. Run tyhp build to compile to PHP
4. Run or deploy the compiled PHP

This alpha has no Language Server and no Xdebug/sourcemap debugging. Debug the emitted PHP, or iterate with tyhp lint.

Next Steps

• Read about strong typing and non-nullable types
• Learn about generics, structs, and type aliases
• Explore extension methods, operator overloading, and parsable lambdas