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.

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.

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.

Route::scopeBindings()->group(function () {
    Route::get('/accounts/{account}/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.

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.

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.

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

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.

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute;

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

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

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

Query Objects for Complex Filters

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

$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

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