# Phase 5A — cPanel PHP Compatibility Patch

## Purpose

This patch fixes an installer failure where the server treated the PHP `mixed` type as a class name instead of a native type.

Observed error:

```text
INSTALL FAILED: Argument 2 passed to config_value() must be an instance of mixed or null, bool given
```

## Cause

The server/subdomain is likely running a PHP version older than PHP 8.0, or a runtime where `mixed` is not supported as a native type. The app now avoids PHP 8-only type declarations in shared helper functions.

## Changes

- Removed `mixed` type hints from helper function parameters/returns.
- Replaced `never` return types with `void` for compatibility.
- Removed PHP 8 union types from money helpers.

## Recommended server setting

Use PHP 8.1+ if available. PHP 8.2/8.3/8.4 is preferred. This patch makes the app friendlier to cPanel environments, but the project standard remains modern PHP.