laravel-patterns

# Laravel Development Patterns

Production-grade Laravel architecture patterns for scalable, maintainable applications.

## When to Use

- Building Laravel web applications or APIs
- Structuring controllers, services, and domain logic
- Working with Eloquent models and relationships
- Designing APIs with resources and pagination
- Adding queues, events, caching, and background jobs

## How It Works

- Structure the app around clear boundaries (controllers -> services/actions -> models).
- Use explicit bindings and scoped bindings to keep routing predictable; still enforce authorization for access control.
- Favor typed models, casts, and scopes to keep domain logic consistent.
- Keep IO-heavy work in queues and cache expensive reads.
- Centralize config in `config/*` and keep environments explicit.

## Examples

### Project Structure

Use a conventional Laravel layout with clear layer boundaries (HTTP, services/actions, models).

### Recommended Layout

```
app/
├── Actions/            # Single-purpose use cases
├── Console/
├── Events/
├── Exceptions/
├── Http/
│   ├── Controllers/
│   ├── Middleware/
│   ├── Requests/       # Form request validation
│   └── Resources/      # API resources
├── Jobs/
├── Models/
├── Policies/
├── Providers/
├── Services/           # Coordinating domain services
└── Support/
config/
database/
├── factories/
├── migrations/
└── seeders/
resources/
├── views/
└── lang/
routes/
├── api.php
├── web.php
└── console.php
```

### Controllers -> Services -> Actions

Keep controllers thin. Put orchestration in services and single-purpose logic in actions.

```php
final class CreateOrderAction
{
    public function __construct(private OrderRepository $orders) {}

    public function handle(CreateOrderData $data): Order
    {
        return $this->orders->create($data);
    }
}

final class OrdersController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct(private CreateOrderAction $createOrder) {}

    public function store(StoreOrderRequest $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $order = $this->createOrder->handle($request->toDto());

        return response()->json([
            'success' => true,
            'data' => OrderResource::make($order),
            'error' => null,
            'meta' => null,
        ], 201);
    }
}
```

### Routing and Controllers

Prefer route-model binding and resource controllers for clarity.

```php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->group(function () {
    Route::apiResource('projects', ProjectController::class);
});
```

### Route Model Binding (Scoped)

Use scoped bindings to prevent cross-tenant access.

```php
Route::scopeBindings()->group(function () {
    Route::get('/accounts/{account}/egc-projects/{project}', [ProjectController::class, 'show']);
});
```

### Nested Routes and Binding Names

- Keep prefixes and paths consistent to avoid double nesting (e.g., `conversation` vs `conversations`).
- Use a single parameter name that matches the bound model (e.g., `{conversation}` for `Conversation`).
- Prefer scoped bindings when nesting to enforce parent-child relationships.

```php
use App\Http\Controllers\Api\ConversationController;
use App\Http\Controllers\Api\MessageController;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->prefix('conversations')->group(function () {
    Route::post('/', [ConversationController::class, 'store'])->name('conversations.store');

    Route::scopeBindings()->group(function () {
        Route::get('/{conversation}', [ConversationController::class, 'show'])
            ->name('conversations.show');

        Route::post('/{conversation}/messages', [MessageController::class, 'store'])
            ->name('conversation-messages.store');

        Route::get('/{conversation}/messages/{message}', [MessageController::class, 'show'])
            ->name('conversation-messages.show');
    });
});
```

If you want a parameter to resolve to a different model class, define explicit binding. For custom binding logic, use `Route::bind()` or implement `resolveRouteBinding()` on the model.

```php
use App\Models\AiConversation;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::model('conversation', AiConversation::class);
```

### Service Container Bindings

Bind interfaces to implementations in a service provider for clear dependency wiring.

```php
use App\Repositories\EloquentOrderRepository;
use App\Repositories\OrderRepository;
use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;

final class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function register(): void
    {
        $this->app->bind(OrderRepository::class, EloquentOrderRepository::class);
    }
}
```

### Eloquent Model Patterns

### Model Configuration

```php
final class Project extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $fillable = ['name', 'owner_id', 'status'];

    protected $casts = [
        'status' => ProjectStatus::class,
        'archived_at' => 'datetime',
    ];

    public function owner(): BelongsTo
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class, 'owner_id');
    }

    public function scopeActive(Builder $query): Builder
    {
        return $query->whereNull('archived_at');
    }
}
```

### Custom Casts and Value Objects

Use enums or value objects for strict typing.

```php
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute;

protected $casts = [
    'status' => ProjectStatus::class,
];
```

```php
protected function budgetCents(): Attribute
{
    return Attribute::make(
        get: fn (int $value) => Money::fromCents($value),
        set: fn (Money $money) => $money->toCents(),
    );
}
```

### Eager Loading to Avoid N+1

```php
$orders = Order::query()
    ->with(['customer', 'items.product'])
    ->latest()
    ->paginate(25);
```

### Query Objects for Complex Filters

```php
final class ProjectQuery
{
    public function __construct(private Builder $query) {}

    public function ownedBy(int $userId): self
    {
        $query = clone $this->query;

        return new self($query->where('owner_id', $userId));
    }

    public function active(): self
    {
        $query = clone $this->query;

        return new self($query->whereNull('archived_at'));
    }

    public function builder(): Builder
    {
        return $this->query;
    }
}
```

### Global Scopes and Soft Deletes

Use global scopes for default filtering and `SoftDeletes` for recoverable records.
Use either a global scope or a named scope for the same filter, not both, unless you intend layered behavior.

```php
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;

final class Project extends Model
{
    use SoftDeletes;

    protected static function booted(): void
    {
        static::addGlobalScope('active', function (Builder $builder): void {
            $builder->whereNull('archived_at');
        });
    }
}
```

### Query Scopes for Reusable Filters

```php
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;

final class Project extends Model
{
    public function scopeOwnedBy(Builder $query, int $userId): Builder
    {
        return $query->where('owner_id', $userId);
    }
}

// In service, repository etc.
$projects = Project::ownedBy($user->id)->get();
```

### Transactions for Multi-Step Updates

```php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

DB::transaction(function (): void {
    $order->update(['status' => 'paid']);
    $order->items()->update(['paid_at' => now()]);
});
```

### Migrations

### Naming Convention

- File names use timestamps: `YYYY_MM_DD_HHMMSS_create_users_table.php`
- Migrations use anonymous classes (no named class); the filename communicates intent
- Table names are `snake_case` and plural by default

### Example Migration

```php
use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration
{
    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::create('orders', function (Blueprint $table): void {
            $table->id();
            $table->foreignId('customer_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
            $table->string('status', 32)->index();
            $table->unsignedInteger('total_cents');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        Schema::dropIfExists('orders');
    }
};
```

### Form Requests and Validation

Keep validation in form requests and transform inputs to DTOs.

```php
use App\Models\Order;

final class StoreOrderRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return $this->user()?->can('create', Order::class) ?? false;
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'customer_id' => ['required', 'integer', 'exists:customers,id'],
            'items' => ['required', 'array', 'min:1'],
            'items.*.sku' => ['required', 'string'],
            'items.*.quantity' => ['required', 'integer', 'min:1'],
        ];
    }

    public function toDto(): CreateOrderData
    {
        return new CreateOrderData(
            customerId: (int) $this->validated('customer_id'),
            items: $this->validated('items'),
        );
    }
}
```

### API Resources

Keep API responses consistent with resources and pagination.

```php
$projects = Project::query()->active()->paginate(25);

return response()->json([
    'success' => true,
    'data' => ProjectResource::collection($projects->items()),
    'error' => null,
    'meta' => [
        'page' => $projects->currentPage(),
        'per_page' => $projects->perPage(),
        'total' => $projects->total(),
    ],
]);
```

### Events, Jobs, and Queues

- Emit domain events for side effects (emails, analytics)
- Use queued jobs for slow work (reports, exports, webhooks)
- Prefer idempotent handlers with retries and backoff

### Caching

- Cache read-heavy endpoints and expensive queries
- Invalidate caches on model events (created/updated/deleted)
- Use tags when caching related data for easy invalidation

### Configuration and Environments

- Keep secrets in `.env` and config in `config/*.php`
- Use per-environment config overrides and `config:cache` in production