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Error Identifier: unionType.mixed

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);

function doFoo(mixed|string $value): void
{
}

Why is it reported? #

The mixed type cannot be part of a union type declaration in PHP. The mixed type already represents all possible types (int|string|float|bool|array|object|null|resource|callable), so combining it with other types in a union is redundant and not allowed by the PHP language. This is a compile-time error in PHP 8.0 and later.

The same applies to ?mixed (nullable mixed), because mixed already includes null.

How to fix it #

If the intention is to accept any type, use mixed alone:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);
 
-function doFoo(mixed|string $value): void
+function doFoo(mixed $value): void
 {
 }

If the intention is to accept only specific types, list them explicitly without mixed:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);
 
-function doFoo(mixed|string $value): void
+function doFoo(string|int $value): void
 {
 }

For nullable mixed, remove the ? since mixed already includes null:

 <?php declare(strict_types = 1);
 
-function doFoo(?mixed $value): void
+function doFoo(mixed $value): void
 {
 }

Non-ignorable error #

This error cannot be ignored using @phpstan-ignore or the ignoreErrors configuration. Non-ignorable errors indicate code that would cause a crash or a fatal error at runtime, or a fundamental problem in the analysed code that must be addressed.

Rules that report this error #

  • PHPStan\Rules\Types\InvalidTypesInUnionRule [1]

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