The never return type in PHP 8.1 indicates that a function will not return a value, commonly used for functions that throw exceptions or terminate execution. 1. It clarifies that execution won't continue past the function call, improving static analysis and API documentation. 2. It's applied to functions like exception throwers, exit/die wrappers, and assertion helpers. 3. It enhances type safety by eliminating impossible logic branches and reducing redundant checks. 4. Benefits include cleaner code, better IDE support, and stronger guarantees about program behavior.
The never
return type in PHP 8.1 is used to indicate that a function or method will never return a value under normal circumstances. This could be because the function always throws an exception, exits the script, or otherwise halts execution — like using die()
or exit()
. It’s a way to make your code more expressive and help tools like IDEs or static analyzers understand your intent better.

Indicating That Execution Won't Continue
One of the most common uses for never
is in functions that throw exceptions consistently. Before never
, developers often used void
or didn’t specify a return type at all, but those don’t fully capture the idea that execution won’t continue past the function call.

For example:
function fail(string $message): never { throw new Exception($message); }
Declaring it as never
makes it clear: this function doesn’t return anything, ever.

This helps with:
- Static analysis tools catching unreachable code
- Making APIs more self-documenting
- Reducing ambiguity in how a function behaves
Marking Functions That Terminate Script Execution
Another valid use case is for functions that terminate the script, such as wrappers around exit()
or die()
.
function terminate(): never { exit("Goodbye!"); }
Again, this signals to both tooling and other developers that any code after calling this function is unreachable.
You might see this used in:
- Error handling libraries
- CLI scripts that need to cleanly exit
- Assertion helpers that halt on failed checks
Improving Type Safety and Code Clarity
Using never
can also improve type safety by helping the engine and static analyzers eliminate impossible branches in logic.
Imagine a validation helper that throws an exception if something goes wrong:
function assertPositive(int $number): never { if ($number <= 0) { throw new InvalidArgumentException("Number must be positive."); } }
In this case, once you call assertPositive
, the analyzer understands that if execution continues, the number must be positive. That gives you stronger guarantees without extra checks.
Some benefits include:
- Cleaner conditional logic
- Fewer redundant checks
- Better auto-completion and error detection in IDEs
That’s basically what never
is for in PHP 8.1 — not complicated, but definitely useful when you want to be precise about a function's behavior.
The above is the detailed content of What is the never return type used for in PHP 8.1?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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