# phpmd > A PHP mess detector that checks for common potential problems. - Display a list of available rulesets and formats: `phpmd` - Scan a file or directory for problems using comma-separated rulesets: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}}` - Specify the minimum priority threshold for rules: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}} --minimumpriority {{priority}}` - Include only the specified extensions in analysis: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}} --suffixes {{extensions}}` - Exclude the specified comma-separated directories: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}} --exclude {{directory_patterns}}` - Output the results to a file instead of stdout: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}} --reportfile {{path/to/report_file}}` - Ignore the use of warning-suppressive PHPDoc comments: `phpmd {{path/to/file_or_directory}} {{xml|text|html}} {{rulesets}} --strict`