rectorphp/rector · error · ShouldNotHappenException

" " rule is deprecated, as splitting a single condition…

Error message

"%s" rule is deprecated, as splitting a single condition into multiple ifs makes the code longer and harder to read

What it means

Thrown when the deprecated ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector rule executes. Its refactor() unconditionally throws ShouldNotHappenException because splitting a single `if (A || B) continue;` condition into multiple if-continue statements was judged to make code longer and harder to read. The class remains only so that stale configs referencing it fail loudly instead of silently doing nothing.

Solutions

Delete the `ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector::class` line from your rector config and re-run.
Audit the config for the other deprecated EarlyReturn rules (ChangeNestedIfsToEarlyReturnRector, ReturnBinaryOrToEarlyReturnRector) and remove them together.
If you want that specific transformation, apply it by hand or implement a small custom Rector rule in your project.
As a stopgap, pin the previous Rector version that still shipped the working rule.

Example fix

// before - rector.php
$rectorConfig->rules([
    \Rector\EarlyReturn\Rector\If_\ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector::class,
]);

// after - registration removed; keep `if ($a || $b) { continue; }` as-is
// or split it manually where it genuinely reads better

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

$config = file_get_contents('rector.php');
if (strpos($config, 'ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector') !== false) {
    exit("Remove deprecated ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector from rector.php before running rector.\n");
}

Prevention

Register rules via sets instead of one-by-one class names so deprecations cannot linger.
Grep the config for 'EarlyReturn\\Rector' after upgrading rector; all three EarlyReturn rules in that namespace are deprecated throwers.
Run rector on a small sample directory first when upgrading versions, so a stale rule fails fast in a cheap place.

When it happens

Trigger: `rector process` with a config that still registers `\Rector\EarlyReturn\Rector\If_\ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector::class`. The rule declares getNodeTypes() = [If_::class], so the throw happens on the first `if` statement Rector visits in the analyzed codebase.

Common situations: Upgrading rector/rector across major versions with an unchanged rector.php that listed EarlyReturn rules one by one; reusing a legacy config file from another project; CI pipeline breaking right after a dependency update because the deprecated rule now throws instead of refactoring.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of rectorphp/rector@408fcb0ff1 (2026-08-21). Data as JSON: /api/errors/ab0a12d4806d5eaa. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at rules/EarlyReturn/Rector/If_/ChangeOrIfContinueToMultiContinueRector.php:69

        }
    }
}
CODE_SAMPLE
)]);
    }
    /**
     * @return array<class-string<Node>>
     */
    public function getNodeTypes(): array
    {
        return [If_::class];
    }
    /**
     * @param If_ $node
     */
    public function refactor(Node $node): ?Node
    {
        throw new ShouldNotHappenException(sprintf('"%s" rule is deprecated, as splitting a single condition into multiple ifs makes the code longer and harder to read', self::class));
    }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 408fcb0ff1)