diff --git a/.coderabbit.yaml b/.coderabbit.yaml
index acd95a64..19befb6b 100644
--- a/.coderabbit.yaml
+++ b/.coderabbit.yaml
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 language: "en-US"
 early_access: false
 tone_instructions: >-
-  Expert PHP reviewer. Focus on type safety, PSR-12, PHP 7.2
-  compatibility, and security. XOOPS Core supports PHP 7.2-8.5;
-  avoid PHP 8.0+ language features.
+  Expert PHP reviewer. Focus on type safety, PSR-12, and security.
+  XOOPS Core 2.6 requires PHP 8.4 or later (composer.json.dist), so
+  PHP 8.x language features are allowed.
 
 reviews:
   profile: "assertive"
@@ -19,14 +19,12 @@ reviews:
   path_instructions:
     - path: "xoops_lib/**/*.php"
       instructions: >-
-        Review for PHP 7.2 compatibility (no union types, named arguments,
-        match expressions, enums, readonly, constructor promotion, fibers,
-        intersection types, never return type, or first-class callable syntax).
+        Code targets PHP 8.4+; do not flag PHP 7.x or 8.0-8.3 compatibility.
         Check for proper use of declare(strict_types=1), self:: for class
         constants, and PSR-12 code style.
     - path: "htdocs/kernel/**/*.php"
       instructions: >-
-        Review legacy kernel code for PHP 7.2 compatibility and security.
+        Review legacy kernel code for security.
         Check for SQL injection, XSS, and proper input sanitization.
     - path: "tests/**/*.php"
       instructions: >-
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
index 299f7849..5b61d18c 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ body:
   attributes:
     label: PHP Version
     description: Provide the PHP version that you are using.
-    options: ['7.2', '7.3', '7.4', '8.0', '8.1', '8.2', '8.3', '8.4', '8.5 (pre-release)']
+    options: ['8.4', '8.5']
     multiple: true
   validations:
     required: true
diff --git a/.github/copilot-instructions.md b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
index a4e97dff..aea82ab8 100644
--- a/.github/copilot-instructions.md
+++ b/.github/copilot-instructions.md
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Composer vendors install to `xoops_lib/vendor/` (non-standard path). PHPUnit con
 
 ## PHP Compatibility
 
-Code must run on PHP 7.2 through 8.5. Do not use language features introduced after PHP 7.2, including but not limited to PHP 7.3+ (trailing commas in function calls, flexible heredoc/nowdoc), PHP 7.4+ (typed properties, arrow functions, null coalescing assignment `??=`, numeric literal separators, spread operator in arrays), and PHP 8.0+ (named arguments, match expressions, union type hints in signatures, enums, fibers, readonly properties, intersection types, `never` return type, first-class callable syntax, constructor promotion). CI tests all versions in the matrix.
+Code must run on PHP 8.4 and later, the minimum in `composer.json.dist`. PHP 8.x language features are allowed; do not flag PHP 7.x or 8.0-8.3 compatibility. CI tests PHP 8.4.
 
 ## Coding Conventions
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ XOOPS 2.6 uses `\Xoops::getInstance()` for core access. Libraries check `class_e
 
 1. Code follows PSR-12 and passes code style checks.
 2. Static analysis passes with no new errors beyond the baseline.
-3. Tests pass on all supported PHP versions (7.2-8.5).
+3. Tests pass on PHP 8.4.
 4. New public methods have PHPDoc with `@param`, `@return`, and `@throws` tags.
 5. New functionality has corresponding unit tests in `tests/unit/`.
 6. Changes are documented in the changelog.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d2b32103..5c49ba73 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ It's under development currently. If you want to build a web site using XOOPS, v
 
 Here is an outline of what you need to participate in XOOPS development:
 
-You will need a development environment with at least PHP 7.2 and MySQL 5.6 or equivalent MariaDB.
+You will need a development environment with at least PHP 8.4 and MySQL 5.6 or equivalent MariaDB.
 
 You will need to interact with [GitHub.com](https://guides.github.com/)
 
diff --git a/htdocs/install/include/functions.php b/htdocs/install/include/functions.php
index c9d385a8..6bf36350 100644
--- a/htdocs/install/include/functions.php
+++ b/htdocs/install/include/functions.php
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ function xoDiagIfWritable($path)
  */
 function xoPhpVersion()
 {
-    if (version_compare(phpversion(), '7.1.0', '>=')) {
+    if (version_compare(phpversion(), '8.4.0', '>=')) {
         return xoDiag(1, phpversion());
     } else {
         return xoDiag(-1, phpversion());