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Error Identifier: new.privateConstructor

Every error reported by PHPStan has an error identifier. Here’s a list of all error identifiers. In PHPStan Pro you can see the error identifier next to each error and filter errors by their identifiers.

Code example #

<?php declare(strict_types = 1);

class Singleton
{
	private function __construct()
	{
	}

	public static function create(): self
	{
		return new self();
	}
}

new Singleton(); // ERROR: Cannot instantiate class Singleton via private constructor Singleton::__construct().

Why is it reported? #

A class with a private constructor is being instantiated from outside the class (or from a context that does not have access to the private constructor). A private constructor restricts instantiation to within the class itself, which is a common pattern for singletons, factory methods, or named constructors. Attempting to call new on such a class from outside will cause a fatal error at runtime.

How to fix it #

Use the provided factory method or named constructor instead of calling new directly:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);
 
-new Singleton();
+Singleton::create();

Or if the constructor should be accessible from outside the class, change its visibility:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);
 
 class Singleton
 {
-	private function __construct()
+	public function __construct()
 	{
 	}
 }

How to ignore this error #

You can use the identifier new.privateConstructor to ignore this error using a comment:

// @phpstan-ignore new.privateConstructor
codeThatProducesTheError();

You can also use only the identifier key to ignore all errors of the same type in your configuration file in the ignoreErrors parameter:

parameters:
	ignoreErrors:
		-
			identifier: new.privateConstructor

Rules that report this error #

• PHPStan\Rules\Classes\InstantiationRule [1]

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