LowFile-scopePHP Plug & play

Do Not Ignore Exceptions Without Handling

Avoid empty catch blocks. When you catch an exception, implement meaningful handling: log the error, perform a fallback action, or rethrow after processing. Do not catch exceptions generically just to suppress them.

Add to Mesrai Open workspace

Why this matters

Silencing exceptions hides failures that may leave the system in an inconsistent state or make debugging difficult. Proper exception handling (even just logging) ensures you’re aware of issues and handle them appropriately.

Bad vs. good

Side-by-side examples engineers can pattern-match during review.

Avoid

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    // do nothing
}
?>

Prefer

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    error_log('Failed to load config: ' . \$e->getMessage());
    throw \$e; // or throw a custom exception
}
?>

More snippets

Bad

<?php
try {
   \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    // do nothing
}
?>

Good

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    error_log('Failed to load config: ' . \$e->getMessage());
    throw \$e; // or throw a custom exception
}
?>

Related rules

From the same buckets as this rule.

Critical
Avoid equality operators in loop termination conditions
Check if loops use equality operators (== or !=) in termination conditions. These can lead to infinite loops if the condition is never met exactly. Instead, use relational operators like < or > for safer loop termination.
error-handlingreadability-refactor
Critical
Avoid Returning Null in Non-Async Task Methods
Returning null from a Task or Task<T> method causes a NullReferenceException if awaited. Use Task.CompletedTask or Task.FromResult<T>(null) instead.
error-handlingreadability-refactor+1
Critical
Avoid Using Boolean Expressions in `except` Statements
Detect `except` clauses that use `or` or `and` to catch multiple exceptions. This does not work as intended. Recommend using a tuple of exceptions instead.
error-handlingstack-python

Bad vs. good

Side-by-side examples engineers can pattern-match during review.

Avoid

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    // do nothing
}
?>

Prefer

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    error_log('Failed to load config: ' . \$e->getMessage());
    throw \$e; // or throw a custom exception
}
?>

More snippets

Bad

<?php
try {
   \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    // do nothing
}
?>

Good

<?php
try {
    \$data = file_get_contents('config.json');
} catch (Exception \$e) {
    error_log('Failed to load config: ' . \$e->getMessage());
    throw \$e; // or throw a custom exception
}
?>

Related rules

From the same buckets as this rule.

Critical

Avoid equality operators in loop termination conditions

Check if loops use equality operators (== or !=) in termination conditions. These can lead to infinite loops if the condition is never met exactly. Instead, use relational operators like < or > for safer loop termination.

error-handlingreadability-refactor

Critical

Avoid Returning Null in Non-Async Task Methods

Returning null from a Task or Task<T> method causes a NullReferenceException if awaited. Use Task.CompletedTask or Task.FromResult<T>(null) instead.

error-handlingreadability-refactor+1

Critical

Avoid Using Boolean Expressions in `except` Statements

Detect `except` clauses that use `or` or `and` to catch multiple exceptions. This does not work as intended. Recommend using a tuple of exceptions instead.

error-handlingstack-python