What’s New in PHP 8.5? Pipe Operator, array_first/last, URI Extension & More

Dear developers, PHP 8.5 is scheduled for release on November 20 2025. It will include a pipe operator, a new URI extension, native array_first() and array_last() functions, among other enhancements.

Pipe operator

Native array_first() and array_last() functions

New URI extension

Retrieving the currently executing closure

Fatal error backtraces

INI diff option

https://php.watch/versions/8.5/rfcs

Pipe Operator

For developers who want to chain multiple callable functions and pass values left‑to‑right, the pipe operator offers an exciting prospect.

// Using the pipe operator in PHP 8.5
$result = "Hello World"
    |> htmlentities(...)
    |> str_split(...)
    |> fn($x) => array_map(strtoupper(...), $x)
    |> fn($x) => array_filter($x, fn($v) => $v != 'O');

Native array_first() and array_last() Functions

PHP 8.5 introduces native array_first() and array_last() functions. Although user‑space polyfills exist, these functions have long deserved native support.

In PHP 7.3 we used array_key_first() and array_key_last() to obtain the first and last keys, but there was no way to get the first and last values directly.

// Function signatures
function array_first(array $array): mixed {}
function array_last(array $array): mixed {}

// Examples
array_first(["single element"]); // "single element"
array_last(["single element"]); // "single element"
array_first([]); // NULL
array_last([]); // NULL
array_first([1=>'a', 0=>'b', 3=>'c', 2=>'d']); // 'a'
array_last([1=>'a', 0=>'b', 3=>'c', 2=>'d']); // 'd'

$str = "hello";
array_first([&$str, false]); // "hello" (no ref)
array_last([false, &$str]); // "hello" (no ref)

New URI Extension

PHP 8.5 adds a standards‑compliant URI extension that implements both RFC 3986 and the WHATWG URL specification, always available as part of the standard library.

use Uri\Rfc3986\Uri;

$url = new Uri('HTTPS://thephp.foundation:443/sp%6Fnsor/');

$defaultPortForScheme = match ($url->getScheme()) {
    'http' => 80,
    'https' => 443,
    'ssh' => 22,
    default => null,
};

// Remove default ports from URLs.
if ($url->getPort() === $defaultPortForScheme) {
    $url = $url->withPort(null);
}

// Getters normalize the URL by default. The `Raw` variants return the input unchanged.
echo $url->toString(), PHP_EOL; // https://thephp.foundation/sponsor/
echo $url->toRawString(), PHP_EOL; // HTTPS://thephp.foundation/sp%6Fnsor/

Retrieving the Currently Executing Closure

PHP 8.5 adds Closure::getCurrent(), allowing a closure to obtain a reference to itself for recursive calls.

$fibonacci = function (int $n) {
    if (0 === $n || 1 === $n) {
        return $n;
    }
    $fn = Closure::getCurrent();
    return $fn($n - 1) + $fn($n - 2);
};

echo $fibonacci(10) . "
";

Fatal Error Backtraces

The new fatal_error_backtraces ini setting controls whether backtraces are shown for fatal errors. In PHP 8.5 the default is 1, so backtraces appear without additional configuration.

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare class B (previously declared in /srv/app/index.php:11) in /srv/app/b.php on line 3
Stack trace:
#0 /srv/app/index.php(6): require()
#1 /srv/app/index.php(21): A->loadClassB()
#2 {main}

INI Diff Option

PHP 8.5 adds an INI diff option to the php --ini command, making it easy to spot configuration changes.

$ php --ini=diff
Non-default INI settings:
allow_url_include: "0" -> ""
auto_append_file: (none) -> ""
auto_prepend_file: (none) -> ""
display_errors: "1" -> ""
display_startup_errors: "1" -> ""
enable_dl: "1" -> ""
error_reporting: (none) -> "22527"
...

Release Schedule

PHP 8.5 follows a typical release cadence: three alphas (Alpha 1 – Alpha 4, with Alpha 3 skipped), a feature freeze, three betas (Beta 1 – Beta 3), and four release candidates (RC 1 – RC 4) before the final GA release on 20 November 2025.

For the full list of RFCs, download the source, or check the deprecation list for early adopters.