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PHP 8.5 introduces the ability to override object properties during cloning by passing an associative array to the clone operator (function):

$copy = clone($object, ['property' => 'new value']);

This provides straightforward support for the "wither" pattern, especially for immutable and read-only classes.

The Kenny1911\CloneWith\clone_with function does the same thing, but starting from PHP 7.1:

use function Kenny1911\CloneWith\clone_with;

$copy = clone_with($object, ['property' => 'new value']);

It works with public, protected, and private properties, correctly invokes the __clone() method in the target class (if defined), and requires no additional boilerplate code. This allows you to write immutable code today — maintaining compatibility with modern PHP versions and making future migration to native syntax easy.

Installation

composer require kenny1911/php-clone-with

PHP 8.5 Compatibility

Starting from version 2.0.0, the function is fully compatible with the native PHP 8.5 clone function.