--- title: PHP Attributes: What, Why, How and When | daily.dev description: PHP attributes (introduced in PHP 8) are typed, structured metadata attached to classes, methods, properties, parameters, and more. They don't execute code... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: PHP Attributes: What, Why, How and When | daily.dev og:description: PHP attributes (introduced in PHP 8) are typed, structured metadata attached to classes, methods, properties, parameters, and more. They don't execute code... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/RtZv4eRAx.png og:image:alt: PHP Attributes: What, Why, How and When og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PHP Attributes: What, Why, How and When **[W endell Adriel](https://daily.dev/sources/wendelladriel)** · [@wendell_adriel](https://daily.dev/wendell_adriel) · 19 min read · 20 upvotes · 2 comments ## Summary PHP attributes (introduced in PHP 8) are typed, structured metadata attached to classes, methods, properties, parameters, and more. They don't execute code themselves — a consumer must read them via the Reflection API and turn them into behavior. The post covers how to define attributes with target restrictions and constructor arguments, how to build a practical webhook handler registry using reflection, performance best practices (reflect at boot, use plain data at runtime), Laravel examples like #[Scope] and #[Config], testing strategies, and a clear decision checklist for when attributes are appropriate versus when interfaces, configuration, or explicit code are better choices. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between PHP attributes and PHPDoc annotations? PHP attributes are native language constructs backed by a real class with a constructor, target restrictions, and a Reflection API, meant to be consumed by application or framework code at runtime. PHPDoc is documentation and static-analysis metadata read by tools like PHPStan or IDEs, but PHP itself never turns a docblock into a runtime object. _Comparing metadata approaches gets easier when developers track PHP ecosystem patterns like these on daily.dev._ ### How do I make a PHP attribute accept multiple values on the same declaration? Mark the attribute with Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE combined with its target, for example Attribute::TARGET_CLASS | Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE. This lets the same attribute be applied more than once to a single declaration, such as stacking multiple #[UsesMiddleware(...)] entries on a controller class, though the consumer still decides how to interpret the collected values. _Developers refining attribute-driven designs can follow more PHP metaprogramming coverage on daily.dev._ ### How does Laravel's #[Scope] attribute work on Eloquent models? The #[Scope] attribute, from Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Attributes\Scope, marks a protected model method as a local query scope so Laravel can register it while preparing the model's query API, enabling calls like Post::published()->get(). The method itself still contains the query logic; the attribute only tells Eloquent that the method should be exposed as a scope. _Teams adopting Laravel's newer attribute-based conventions can keep up with framework changes on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@mrtbg22** · 0 upvotes > Great article, very informative! Been wanting to get more familiar with attributes just never had time to dig into them but this summarized it really well. Great work! **@devmandan** · 0 upvotes > It is worth noting the handful of `attributes` that come predefined in PHP: [https://www.php.net/manual/en/reserved.attributes.php](https://www.php.net/manual/en/reserved.attributes.php) > > I've made it a force of habit to use the `#[Override]` attribute for interface and abstract implementations. The `#[SensitiveParameter]` attribute is also well worth knowing about. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How PHP Attributes Changed the Way I Write Livewire](https://daily.dev/posts/how-php-attributes-changed-the-way-i-write-livewire-3sw5lnfbr) · FREEK.DEV · 43 upvotes · 1 comments - [New in Symfony 7.4: Extending Validation and Serialization with PHP Attributes \(Symfony Blog\)](https://daily.dev/posts/new-in-symfony-7-4-extending-validation-and-serialization-with-php-attributes-symfony-blog--7xw05pews) · Symfony · 9 upvotes · 0 comments - [New in Symfony 8.1: Dynamic Controller Attributes \(Symfony Blog\)](https://daily.dev/posts/new-in-symfony-8-1-dynamic-controller-attributes-symfony-blog--p1eaqpp8q) · Symfony · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [New in Symfony 8.2: Attribute-based Forms \(Symfony Blog\)](https://daily.dev/posts/new-in-symfony-8-2-attribute-based-forms-symfony-blog--xu6v5qpn6) · Symfony · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#php](https://daily.dev/tags/php), [#laravel](https://daily.dev/tags/laravel) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"PHP Attributes: What, Why, How and When","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax"},"datePublished":"2026-07-20T11:58:30.438Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T09:00:44.154Z","description":"PHP attributes (introduced in PHP 8) are typed, structured metadata attached to classes, methods, properties, parameters, and more. 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Been wanting to get more familiar with attributes just never had time to dig into them but this summarized it really well. Great work!","datePublished":"2026-07-21T07:32:04.717Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/RtZv4eRAx#c-vc86I9c7h","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"mbg22","url":"https://daily.dev/mrtbg22","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/132388058?v=4"}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"It is worth noting the handful of attributes that come predefined in PHP: https://www.php.net/manual/en/reserved.attributes.php\nI’ve made it a force of habit to use the #[Override] attribute for interface and abstract implementations. The #[SensitiveParameter] attribute is also well worth knowing about.","datePublished":"2026-07-22T10:09:02.886Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/RtZv4eRAx#c-nNJzgmyhe","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel","url":"https://daily.dev/devmandan","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--ypn2TBF9--/f_auto/v1786619820/avatars/avatar_qDApMJOupymFKtjAmmtB4?_a=BAMAMicg0"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/php-attributes-what-why-how-and-when-rtzv4erax#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between PHP attributes and PHPDoc annotations?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"PHP attributes are native language constructs backed by a real class with a constructor, target restrictions, and a Reflection API, meant to be consumed by application or framework code at runtime. PHPDoc is documentation and static-analysis metadata read by tools like PHPStan or IDEs, but PHP itself never turns a docblock into a runtime object. Comparing metadata approaches gets easier when developers track PHP ecosystem patterns like these on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I make a PHP attribute accept multiple values on the same declaration?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Mark the attribute with Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE combined with its target, for example Attribute::TARGET_CLASS | Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE. This lets the same attribute be applied more than once to a single declaration, such as stacking multiple #[UsesMiddleware(...)] entries on a controller class, though the consumer still decides how to interpret the collected values. 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