Code Quality: Fix the return.unusedType PHPStan errors and remove the baseline

phpstan.neon.dist

@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ includes:
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/property.notFound.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/property.private.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/return.type.neon
-	- tests/phpstan/baselines/return.unusedType.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/varTag.noVariable.neon
 	- tests/phpstan/baselines/variable.undefined.neon
 	# phpstan:baselines end
@@ -116,6 +115,18 @@ parameters:
 			path: src/wp-includes/compat.php
 			reportUnmatched: false
 
+		# Level 4:
+		# wp_imagecreatetruecolor() returns whatever imagecreatetruecolor() returns: a resource on PHP 7.4 and a
+		# GdImage instance on PHP 8.0+. Its docblock lists both, which is correct for WP's 7.4+ range. Because
+		# `phpVersion.min` is 70400, PHPStan reads the function from its pre-8.0 map, sees only a resource, and
+		# reports GdImage as unused. Removing GdImage would make the docblock wrong on every PHP 8 install.
+		# `reportUnmatched: false` so this entry lapses quietly if PHPStan stops reporting it.
+		-
+			message: '#^Function wp_imagecreatetruecolor\(\) never returns GdImage so it can be removed from the return type\.$#'
+			identifier: return.unusedType
+			path: src/wp-includes/media.php
+			reportUnmatched: false
+
 		# Level 5:
 		# substr_compare()'s $length has always accepted null, meaning "compare the full length". PHP 7.4 spelled
 		# that `int $length = null`, where the null default makes the parameter implicitly nullable, and PHP 8.0

src/wp-admin/includes/plugin-install.php

@@ -223,9 +223,9 @@ function plugins_api( $action, $args = array() ) {
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.7.0
 	 *
-	 * @param object|WP_Error $res    Response object or WP_Error.
-	 * @param string          $action The type of information being requested from the Plugin Installation API.
-	 * @param object          $args   Plugin API arguments.
+	 * @param object|array|WP_Error $res    Response object or array, or WP_Error on failure.
+	 * @param string                $action The type of information being requested from the Plugin Installation API.
+	 * @param object                $args   Plugin API arguments.
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'plugins_api_result', $res, $action, $args );
 }

src/wp-admin/includes/post.php

@@ -1163,7 +1163,7 @@ function update_meta( $meta_id, $meta_key, $meta_value ) {
  * @access private
  *
  * @param int|WP_Post $post Post ID or post object.
- * @return void|int|WP_Error Void if nothing fixed. 0 or WP_Error on update failure. The post ID on update success.
+ * @return void|int Void if nothing fixed. 0 on update failure. The post ID on update success.
  */
 function _fix_attachment_links( $post ) {
 	$post    = get_post( $post, ARRAY_A );

src/wp-admin/includes/update.php

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
  *
  * @since 2.7.0
  *
- * @return object|array|false The response from the API on success, false on failure.
+ * @return object|false The response from the API on success, false on failure.
  */
 function get_preferred_from_update_core() {
 	$updates = get_core_updates();

src/wp-includes/category-template.php

@@ -1224,11 +1224,12 @@ function get_the_tag_list( $before = '', $sep = '', $after = '', $post_id = 0 )
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.3.0
 	 *
-	 * @param string $tag_list List of tags.
-	 * @param string $before   String to use before the tags.
-	 * @param string $sep      String to use between the tags.
-	 * @param string $after    String to use after the tags.
-	 * @param int    $post_id  Post ID.
+	 * @param string|false|WP_Error $tag_list A list of tags on success, false if there are no terms,
+	 *                                        WP_Error on failure.
+	 * @param string                $before   String to use before the tags.
+	 * @param string                $sep      String to use between the tags.
+	 * @param string                $after    String to use after the tags.
+	 * @param int                   $post_id  Post ID.
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'the_tags', $tag_list, $before, $sep, $after, $post_id );
 }

src/wp-includes/category.php

@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ function clean_category_cache( $id ) {
  * @since 4.4.0 The `$category` parameter now also accepts a WP_Term object.
  * @access private
  *
- * @param array|object|WP_Term $category Category row object or array.
+ * @param array|object|WP_Term|null $category Category row object or array. Null is left unchanged.
  */
 function _make_cat_compat( &$category ) {
 	if ( is_object( $category ) && ! is_wp_error( $category ) ) {

src/wp-includes/class-wp-recovery-mode-cookie-service.php

@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ private function generate_cookie() {
 	 * @since 5.2.0
 	 *
 	 * @param string $data Data to hash.
-	 * @return string|false The hashed $data, or false on failure.
+	 * @return string The hashed $data.
 	 */
 	private function recovery_mode_hash( $data ) {
 		$default_keys = array_unique(

src/wp-includes/general-template.php

@@ -4760,9 +4760,9 @@ function wp_get_code_editor_settings( $args ) {
 	 *
 	 * @since 4.9.0
 	 *
-	 * @param array $settings The array of settings passed to the code editor.
-	 *                        A falsey value disables the editor.
-	 * @param array $args {
+	 * @param array|false $settings The array of settings passed to the code editor.
+	 *                              A falsey value disables the editor.
+	 * @param array       $args {
 	 *     Args passed when calling `get_code_editor_settings()`.
 	 *
 	 *     @type string   $type       The MIME type of the file to be edited.

src/wp-includes/media.php

@@ -5587,7 +5587,9 @@ function get_post_galleries( $post, $html = true ) {
  *
  * @param int|WP_Post $post Optional. Post ID or WP_Post object. Default is global $post.
  * @param bool        $html Optional. Whether to return HTML or data. Default is true.
- * @return string|array Gallery data and srcs parsed from the expanded shortcode.
+ * @return string|array|false Gallery HTML or an array of gallery data and srcs parsed from
+ *                            the expanded shortcode, depending on `$html`. False if the post has
+ *                            no gallery.
  */
 function get_post_gallery( $post = 0, $html = true ) {
 	$galleries = get_post_galleries( $post, $html );
@@ -5598,9 +5600,10 @@ function get_post_gallery( $post = 0, $html = true ) {
 	 *
 	 * @since 3.6.0
 	 *
-	 * @param array       $gallery   The first-found post gallery.
-	 * @param int|WP_Post $post      Post ID or object.
-	 * @param array       $galleries Associative array of all found post galleries.
+	 * @param string|array|false $gallery   The first-found post gallery, or false if the post has no gallery.
+	 *                                      An HTML string when `$html` is true, otherwise an array.
+	 * @param int|WP_Post        $post      Post ID or object.
+	 * @param array              $galleries Associative array of all found post galleries.
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'get_post_gallery', $gallery, $post, $galleries );
 }

src/wp-includes/post.php

@@ -7773,10 +7773,10 @@ function wp_mime_type_icon( $mime = 0, $preferred_ext = '.png' ) {
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.1.0
 	 *
-	 * @param string $icon    Path to the mime type icon.
-	 * @param string $mime    Mime type.
-	 * @param int    $post_id Attachment ID. Will equal 0 if the function passed
-	 *                        the mime type.
+	 * @param string|false $icon    Path to the mime type icon, or false if no icon was found.
+	 * @param string       $mime    Mime type.
+	 * @param int          $post_id Attachment ID. Will equal 0 if the function passed
+	 *                              the mime type.
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'wp_mime_type_icon', $icon, $mime, $post_id );
 }

src/wp-includes/revision.php

@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ function wp_revisions_to_keep( $post ) {
  * @access private
  *
  * @param WP_Post $post
- * @return WP_Post|false
+ * @return WP_Post
  */
 function _set_preview( $post ) {
 	if ( ! is_object( $post ) ) {

src/wp-includes/taxonomy.php

@@ -1273,7 +1273,8 @@ function get_term_field( $field, $term, $taxonomy = '', $context = 'display' ) {
  *
  * @param int|object $id       Term ID or object.
  * @param string     $taxonomy Taxonomy name.
- * @return string|int|null|WP_Error Will return empty string if $term is not an object.
+ * @return WP_Term|string|WP_Error The term sanitized for editing, WP_Error if the taxonomy does not exist,
+ *                                 or an empty string if the term does not exist.
  */
 function get_term_to_edit( $id, $taxonomy ) {
 	$term = get_term( $id, $taxonomy );

src/wp-includes/user.php

@@ -5341,8 +5341,9 @@ function wp_is_password_reset_allowed_for_user( $user ) {
 	 *
 	 * @since 2.7.0
 	 *
-	 * @param bool $allow   Whether to allow the password to be reset. Default true.
-	 * @param int  $user_id The ID of the user attempting to reset a password.
+	 * @param bool|WP_Error $allow   Whether to allow the password to be reset, or a WP_Error to explain
+	 *                               why it is not allowed. Default true.
+	 * @param int           $user_id The ID of the user attempting to reset a password.
 	 */
 	return apply_filters( 'allow_password_reset', $allow, $user->ID );
 }

src/wp-signup.php

@@ -443,8 +443,8 @@ function signup_another_blog( $blogname = '', $blog_title = '', $errors = '' ) {
  * @global string   $domain     The new site's domain.
  * @global string   $path       The new site's path.
  *
- * @return null|bool True if site signup was validated, false on error.
- *                   The function halts all execution if the user is not logged in.
+ * @return bool True if site signup was validated, false on error.
+ *              The function halts all execution if the user is not logged in.
  */
 function validate_another_blog_signup() {
 	global $blogname, $blog_title, $errors, $domain, $path;

tests/phpstan/baselines/property.nonObject.neon

@@ -48,21 +48,6 @@ parameters:
 			identifier: property.nonObject
 			count: 1
 			path: ../../../src/wp-admin/includes/class-theme-upgrader.php
-		-
-			message: '#^Cannot access property \$current on array\|object\.$#'
-			identifier: property.nonObject
-			count: 3
-			path: ../../../src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-automatic-updater.php
-		-
-			message: '#^Cannot access property \$response on array\|object\.$#'
-			identifier: property.nonObject
-			count: 1
-			path: ../../../src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-automatic-updater.php
-		-
-			message: '#^Cannot access property \$version on array\|object\.$#'
-			identifier: property.nonObject
-			count: 1
-			path: ../../../src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-automatic-updater.php
 		-
 			message: '#^Cannot access property \$info on array\|object\.$#'
 			identifier: property.nonObject