Reduce PHPCS baseline in bounded batches

What

Reduce the PHPCS baseline introduced by #1805, currently tracking 1,289 errors and 590 warnings by file and sniff.

Why

The ratchet blocks new violations but existing coding-standard debt still obscures defects and slows release review.

Tier

tier:standard — the work spans production, tests, tooling, and legacy compatibility files and should be delivered in bounded batches.

Files

• phpcs-baseline.json
• scripts/phpcs-baseline.php
• .phpcs.xml.dist
• Files and sniffs named in phpcs-baseline.json

Reference pattern

Fix a coherent sniff or directory, run PHPCS on the changed files, then deliberately regenerate the exact baseline with pnpm run lint:php:baseline. Do not weaken the coding standard or broadly exclude runtime code.

Implementation steps

1. Prioritize production errors over warnings and test-only findings.
2. Use vendor/bin/phpcbf <files> || true only for fixable groups, then inspect every change.
3. Hand-fix semantic/security findings and add tests where behavior changes.
4. Regenerate the baseline and confirm counts only decrease.

Acceptance criteria

• Baseline counts decrease materially.
• No broad production exclusion or reduced severity is added.
• pnpm run lint:php passes against the reduced baseline.
• pnpm run quality passes.
• Focused tests pass for behavior-affecting fixes.

Verification

• vendor/bin/phpcs <changed-files>
• pnpm run lint:php:baseline
• pnpm run quality

Dependency

Blocked by #1805; begin after PR #1806 merges.

aidevops.sh v3.32.317 plugin for OpenCode v1.18.29 with gpt-5.6-sol spent 4h 26m and 539,830 tokens on this with the user in an interactive session.

Wait for PR #1806 to merge, then inspect phpcs-baseline.json alongside scripts/phpcs-baseline.php and .phpcs.xml.dist. Choose one coherent sniff or directory, run PHPCS on the affected files, and use pnpm run lint:php:baseline to regenerate the baseline. Done means the counts decrease without exclusions or severity changes, pnpm run lint:php and pnpm run quality pass, and focused tests pass where behavior changes.