Laravel Best Practices
LaravelOfficialCreated by laravel
- Skill
- Guidelines
- Software development
- MIT
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
Laravel best practices provides a structured set of guidelines for writing, reviewing, and refactoring Laravel applications. It emphasizes maintaining consistency with existing codebase patterns while offering standardized approaches for common concerns such as database performance, Eloquent usage, security, validation, and architectural design. The skill acts as a reference index, directing developers to specific rule files based on the task at hand.
What it does
- Provides a categorized index of rules for various Laravel components.
- Promotes consistency by prioritizing existing project patterns over new abstractions.
- Offers guidance on database performance, including eager loading and query optimization.
- Covers security, validation, routing, and error handling patterns.
- Advises on architectural decisions, service classes, and job management.
- Encourages the use of native framework features over custom helpers.
When to use it
- When writing new controllers, models, or service classes in Laravel.
- During code reviews to ensure alignment with established framework patterns.
- When refactoring existing code to improve maintainability or security.
- When addressing specific issues like N+1 queries or complex Eloquent relationships.
- When making architectural decisions regarding application structure.
Advantages
- Ensures architectural consistency across the codebase.
- Reduces technical debt by discouraging speculative abstractions.
- Provides clear, domain-specific guidance for common Laravel tasks.
- Helps prevent common pitfalls like hidden N+1 queries and security vulnerabilities.
Usage examples
- “How should I structure my Eloquent queries to avoid N+1 issues?”
- The agent will reference the database performance and Eloquent rule files to suggest eager loading strategies and proper relationship definitions.
- “Review this controller for security and validation best practices.”
- The agent will evaluate the code against the security and validation rule files, suggesting improvements for input handling and authorization.
- “Should I create a new helper function for this logic?”
- The agent will advise on whether to use existing framework features or if the logic warrants a new service class based on architectural guidelines.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/laravel/laravel-best-practices/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip laravel-best-practices.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by laravel
Laravel best practices
Best practices for Laravel, organized as an index of rule files. Each rule file teaches what to do and why. For exact API syntax, verify with search-docs.
Consistency first
Before applying any rule, check what the application already does. Laravel offers several valid approaches. The best choice is the one the codebase already uses, even if another pattern would be better in theory. Inconsistency is worse than a suboptimal pattern.
Check sibling files and related controllers, models, or tests for established patterns. If one exists, follow it. Don't introduce a second way. These rules are defaults for when no pattern exists yet, not overrides.
How to apply
Check the changed files, nearby code, project configuration, and relevant tests for established patterns. Deviate only for a correctness or security defect, and call the deviation out.
Map every affected concern to the rule index below. Read each mapped rule file before editing. Skip unrelated rule files.
Make the smallest coherent change. Keep the application's architecture and naming instead of introducing a second pattern for the same job.
Verify version-sensitive Laravel APIs for the installed version with
search-docs, or inspect the installed framework whensearch-docsis unavailable.Run the narrowest relevant tests first, then the project's formatting and static-analysis checks when the change warrants them.
Re-read the diff against every mapped rule before finishing.
Rule index
Cross-cutting changes often need more than one rule file.
| Concern | Read |
|---|---|
| Query count, eager loading, indexes, large datasets | rules/db-performance.md |
| Subqueries, aggregates, complex ordering and query plans | rules/advanced-queries.md |
| Models, relationships, scopes, casts | rules/eloquent.md |
| Authentication, authorization, input safety, secrets, uploads | rules/security.md |
| Form Requests and validation rules | rules/validation.md |
| Controllers, route binding, resources, middleware | rules/routing.md |
| Schema changes, columns, foreign keys, indexes | rules/migrations.md |
| Jobs, retries, uniqueness, batches, Horizon | rules/queue-jobs.md |
| Cache lifetime, invalidation, locks, memoization | rules/caching.md |
| Outbound requests, retries, timeouts, fakes | rules/http-client.md |
| Exceptions, reporting, rendering, log context | rules/error-handling.md |
| Events and notifications | rules/events-notifications.md |
| Mailables and mail assertions | rules/mail.md |
| Scheduled tasks and overlap protection | rules/scheduling.md |
| Collections, lazy iteration, bulk operations | rules/collections.md |
| Blade components, attributes, composers | rules/blade-views.md |
| Environment values and application configuration | rules/config.md |
| Tests: coverage, factories, fakes, and assertions | the testing-best-practices skill |
| Naming, helpers, file boundaries, PHP style | rules/style.md |
| Actions, services, dependencies, application structure | rules/architecture.md |
Decision rules
Prefer framework features and existing application abstractions over new helpers or dependencies.
Avoid speculative abstractions. Extract code when it creates a clear domain boundary, removes meaningful duplication, or makes behavior independently testable.
Keep database access out of Blade views and prevent hidden N+1 queries across controllers, resources, jobs, and serialization.
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer924 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
- SKILL.md4.5 KiB
- rules/advanced-queries.md4.2 KiB
- rules/architecture.md6.3 KiB
- rules/blade-views.md1.8 KiB
- rules/caching.md3.3 KiB
- rules/collections.md2.4 KiB
- rules/config.blade.phpScript2.1 KiB
- rules/db-performance.md5.5 KiB
- rules/eloquent.md3.9 KiB
- rules/error-handling.md3.1 KiB
- rules/events-notifications.blade.phpScript2.6 KiB
- rules/http-client.md4.4 KiB
- rules/mail.blade.phpScript2.0 KiB
- rules/migrations.blade.phpScript3.5 KiB
- rules/queue-jobs.md4.3 KiB
- rules/routing.md3.7 KiB
- rules/scheduling.blade.phpScript2.7 KiB
- rules/security.blade.phpScript5.8 KiB
- rules/style.md4.2 KiB
- rules/validation.md2.9 KiB
rules/mail.blade.php
@php
/** @var \Laravel\Boost\Install\GuidelineAssist $assist */
@endphp
# Mail best practices
## Queue slow mail delivery
Implement `ShouldQueue` on a mailable when delivery should normally happen in the background. Laravel queues that mailable even when the call site uses `Mail::send()`.
```php
class OrderShipped extends Mailable implements ShouldQueue
{
use Queueable, SerializesModels;
}
```
Keep mail synchronous when the caller must know immediately whether delivery was accepted, or when no queue worker is available.
## Dispatch queued mail after commit
A queue worker can process a queued mailable dispatched during a database transaction before the transaction commits. Call `afterCommit()` on the mailable, or enable the queue connection's `after_commit` option, when the mail depends on committed records.
```php
Mail::to($user)->send(
(new OrderShipped($order))->afterCommit()
);
```
If the transaction rolls back, Laravel does not dispatch an after-commit mailable. The after-commit setting affects only queued mail. It does not defer synchronous delivery.
## Assert the delivery mode
Use `Mail::assertQueued()` for queued mailables and `Mail::assertSent()` for synchronously sent mailables.
Incorrect for a mailable that implements `ShouldQueue`:
```php
Mail::assertSent(OrderShipped::class);
```
Correct:
```php
Mail::assertQueued(OrderShipped::class);
```
## Use Markdown mailables when they fit
Markdown mailables render HTML and plain-text versions from Laravel's mail components and support publishable themes. They suit conventional transactional messages. A custom HTML and text pair may fit a specialized design better.
```bash
{{ $assist->artisanCommand('make:mail OrderShipped --markdown=mail.orders.shipped') }}
```
## Separate content and delivery tests
Test rendered content by instantiating the mailable and using assertions such as `assertSeeInHtml()` and `assertSeeInText()`. Test delivery separately with `Mail::fake()` and `assertSent()` or `assertQueued()` so failures identify the affected behavior.
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Scripts that your agent may run
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Attribution and licence
- Created by
- laravel
- Publisher
- Laravel (Official)
- Source
- laravel/boost · .ai/laravel/skill/laravel-best-practices · commit 5f8d05d
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE.md)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by laravel or Laravel.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download laravel-best-practices.zip