Drupal 11.3 Prepares for PHP 8.5 Support with Updated CI Testing for Contributed Modules
The Drupal project has announced that version 11.3 is on track to support PHP 8.5, with the continuous integration (CI) infrastructure updated to enable PHP 8.5 testing for contributed modules. This signals a significant step toward broader compatibility and modernisation across Drupal core and contributed extensions.
CI Pipeline Now Supports PHP 8.5
Maintainers of contributed modules can now opt in to test under PHP 8.5 using updated GitLab CI templates. A merged update to the GitLab Templates project now allows projects to configure a test variant targeting PHP 8.5, which has also been added to the CORE_PHP_NEXT setting. The related issue #3513062 was closed as fixed following community testing and documentation updates.
According to Andy Postnikov, who reported and followed the issue, all Drupal core dependencies are now PHP 8.5 compatible. The updated documentation offers example setups for CI configuration, making it easier for maintainers to enable the variant manually if desired.
Aligning with Drupal 12’s Future
This move prepares the ecosystem for Drupal 12, which is expected to require PHP 8.5 by default. While Drupal 11.2 set the range between PHP 8.3 and 8.4, version 11.3 begins the shift toward next‑generation compatibility. Enabling tests now allows maintainers to proactively patch any breaking changes or deprecated features before Drupal 12 is released.
The CI integration supports PHPUnit and other linting tools like PHPStan, depending on variant setup. As noted in the GitLab issue, contributors have also suggested refining documentation examples to better reflect variant rule dependencies, especially for custom test targets.
Recommendation for Contributed Module Maintainers
Contributed module maintainers are strongly encouraged to begin testing their projects against PHP 8.5. Doing so will help surface compatibility issues early and reduce blockers ahead of Drupal 12’s development freeze. The PHP 8.5 Docker image is already available on Docker Hub, and can be used in local or CI environments.
As always, testing should first occur in staging or development environments to confirm hosting stack compatibility. Teams relying on older PHP features or dependencies may require additional patching or updates before full support is achieved.
For setup instructions, image references, and full CI examples, visit the official GitLab Templates issue on Drupal.org and track PHP 8.5 integration progress.
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