Laravel Ecosystem: All You Need to Know

Quick Summary

Table of Contents

An Overview of the Laravel Ecosystem

Laravel Ecosystem utilized to enhance the Laravel development workflow. The Laravel ecosystem is a dynamic and extensive collection of tools, libraries, and resources that complement the core functionalities of the Laravel PHP framework. It empowers your developers to develop modern web applications faster, more securely, and with a better overall experience.

We have broken down the Laravel ecosystem into different usage of tools, frameworks, and packages. Let’s understand each with features and benefits.

Rich Collection of Development Tools

The following Laravel tools help to enrich workflow and streamline the development process seamlessly.

1. Laravel Breeze

It is a pre-build tool that enables you to set up an authentication system for your application. It is a lightweight starter kit scaffolding applied for new applications to add features like login, password reset, registration, and verification.

In addition, it is built with Laravel Blade, which automates your Laravel application with routers, views, and controllers to authenticate the user’s registration. Moreover, Breeze provides scaffolding options on Livewire or Inertia. It also provides the choice of using Vue or React for the Inertia-based scaffolding, with customization. Breeze uses Tailwind CSS frameworks to execute sleek views and professional UI.

Moreover, Laravel Breeze is an upgraded version of Laravel UI that helps set up, restart, and verify functionality.

Best for: Authentication and Prototyping

2. Laravel Dusk

It is an easy-to-use automation browser for building your Laravel applications. Laravel Dusk is an expressive testing and automation browser framework that allows you to write automated tests that act as real users.

In simple words, Laravel Dusk will eliminate your manual testing work. For instance, it will help you fill out the form and run code wherever required. Moreover, it enables you to run testing consistently and ensure that your application operates per the requirements.

You don’t need to install JDK or Selenium on your system for Dusk. As a result, it enables your developers to test applications’ functionality and visual aspects in the real browser environment.

Best for: End-to-end testing and streamlined integration

3. Laravel Herd

It is a fast, native Laravel and PHP development environment based on macOS or iOS operation. Laravel Herd includes PHP and Nginx, which eliminates the need for dependency on third-party APIs or systems.

Moreover, the Herd does not need Homebrew installed on your system to develop Laravel applications. It also comes with its pre-compiled binaries, making it faster to use and install development in the system.

However, you must ensure that it is compatible with macOS only and won’t work with Linux or Windows. Moreover, you cannot install an additional extension.

Best for: Native macOS and static binaries for compiled PHP

4. Laravel Horizon

Laravel Horizon is the package that offers dynamic dashboards and real-time event notifications for your applications. It also provides API endpoints and code-driven configuration for your Laravel Redis queues.

Horizon’s monitoring helps streamline your task. For instance, you can analyze how long it will take to finish the job. By implementing Laravel Horizon, you can check job visibility and the stream of events in real-time. Moreover, you can utilize it to create dashboards that show information about applications and running functionality.

Popular applications like Trello and Slack have implemented Laravel Horizon to monitor numerous projects simultaneously. It is incorporated to run various applications or job processes in the background.

Best for: Monitor queue system and schedule tasks

5. Laravel Pint

Laravel Pint is an opinionated PHP code-style fixer that was recently added to the list of the Laravel ecosystem. It is for minimalists and can automate installation within new Laravel applications, which helps you develop faster and more rapidly.

Moreover, Pint is created with PHP-CS-Fixer, which can simplify your code style and allow you to maintain clean and consistent code. In addition, Laravel Pint is a package that fixes coding styles and assembles readable code for your developers.

With the opinionated coding style of Laravel, Pint helps to fix code style issues in your code. However, if you install it on a lower PHP version, you will get an error in the composer.

Best for: Fixing code styles and minimal setup

6. Laravel Prompts

Laravel Prompts is a PHP package designed to develop user-friendly forms for command-line applications. It allows developers to add beautiful web interfaces with browser-like features, including placeholder text and validation.

One of the core benefits of Laravel Prompts is that it is already updated or will get upgraded with the latest Laravel versions. Additionally, prompts support macOS, Linux, and Windows with WSL.

Best for: Interactive forms and command line apps

7. Laravel Sail

It is a lightweight and easy command-line interface designed for Laravel applications. Laravel Sail utilizes Docker for development environments and implements PHP, MySQL, and Redis to develop Laravel applications. With this robust database and Sail, you can build applications without requiring Docker experience.

Another brownie point is that it is installed automatically within all new Laravel applications, and you can start using it immediately, resulting in faster deployment. In addition, Linux, MacOS, and Windows support Laravel Sail.

As Laravel Sail facilitates Docker, you can customize applications or development as per your requirements. Moreover, the development environment relies on a configuration file named “docker-compose.yml.”

Best for: Integration with Artisan Command and development environment setup

Dynamic Frontend and UI tools

Laravel introduces an ecosystem that helps you empower your application with its innovative front-end frameworks and user experience tools.

8. Laravel Livewire

Laravel Livewire is a full-stack framework created for Laravel to generate an intuitive interface without leaving PHP or any JavaScript. It is precisely crafted for dynamic frontend user interfaces and maximizes server-side rendering capabilities and real-time updates.

Developers can use Laravel and Blade templates to develop UIs, through which you can respond to users’ actions like scrolling, movements, clicks, and submitting forms without reloading pages. Hence, you can experience smooth and fluid interaction with web applications.

Best for: Dynamic UI and balance between server-side rendering and decrease JavaScript

9. Laravel Telescope

The Laravel telescope is a debugging and monitoring assistant for the Laravel framework. It helps you to analyze insights for database queries, log entries, app requests, and notifications. Moreover, it can enable you to schedule tasks and optimize application performance with Laravel Telescope.

Simply put, it debugs your application using Laravel telescope debugging and insight UI. Moreover, with cache operations, Telescope enables you to monitor cache usage and detect potential risks, eventually impacting user interface updates.

Best for: Debugging and environment compatibility

10. Laravel Inertia

Interia is a robust blend of Laravel, PHP framework, and Interia JS, a JavaScript library. It creates dynamic and modern single pages using server-side routing. Moreover, Laravel Interia is more than just a framework designed to work with client- and server-side rendering.

Interia enables you to create SPAs without any complexity and streamlines front-end and back-end development for your Laravel application. Moreover, you can develop single-page React and Vue applications utilizing server-side routing.

Best for: SPAs and web UI

Secure Administration and Management Laravel Tools

Laravel fortifies allows you to create a secure authentication and well-managed administrative environment for your application.

11. Laravel JetStream

The popular Laravel Ecosystem is an advanced version of the Laravel authentication UI. Laravel JetStream helps to simplify complex authentication and scaffolding with rich-feature tools. It executes Tailwind CSS and can determine between Laravel Interia and Livewire.

Moreover, Laravel JetStream is free and provides robust library features to add modern and secure functionalities. In addition, you can facilitate Laravel JetStream as a pre-build solution for user authentication and other advanced features.

To Know More About it, Check Our Other Blog on- Top Laravel Packages

12. Laravel Nova

Laravel Nova is a relatively new admin panel for your application. It is a package that makes it easier to customize and handle the administrative side of your Laravel application. Moreover, it has a robust administration panel for developing web applications utilizing Laravel PHP frameworks.

In addition to enhancing the application, Laravel Nova offers tools and features that simplify the process of web application admin interfaces. The Laravel-based frameworks that enable you to create Vue SPAs. Another plus point is that developers can develop SPAs in a minute.

Best for: Administration panel and data management

13. Laravel Pulse

Laravel Pulse is an open-source and free package for the framework that helps your developer monitor numerous elements of their web application. The package is designed for real-time capabilities and delivers meaningful insights for your application usage and performance.

Implementing Pulse in your Laravel framework can help you identify bottlenecks like endpoints and slow jobs. Moreover, it allows developers to integrate innovative features into their projects from scratch without complexities. Also, the package uses WebSockets for two-way communication between the client and server.

Best for: Real-time insights and communication channels

Unique Deploy Packages in Laravel Ecosystem

Implementing the following Laravel ecosystem can streamline your deployment and enhance user experience with high-powered deploy packages.

14. Laravel Envoyer

It is famous for its zero-downtime deployment feature. Laravel Envoyer is a valuable tool for executing primary server tasks, including remote. The tool helps to set up tasks easily using Artisan commands and simplifies the deployment process with zero downtime.

Moreover, it ensures continuous application availability and access during deployment without affecting the system’s functionality. Soon, because of such features, it gained popularity among developers for deployment tasks for Laravel-built applications. However, Envoy only supports the MacOS and Linux operating systems. Using WSL2 can support Windows systems.

Best for: Deployment workflow and Zero downtime

15. Laravel Forge

It is a server management tool designed to deploy Laravel and PHP web applications. Laravel Forge simplifies application deployment and configuration by automating server, maintenance, and software installation. Moreover, it offers features such as Secure Socket Shell and firewall authentication for application security.

The tool provides a simple user interface dashboard for app deployment, including the complexity of servers. Laravel Forge allows developers to operate on multiple cache and database servers. Also, it provides flexibility, so you can switch providers without hampering server configuration.

Best for: Application deployment and server management

Other Laravel Ecosystem Packages and Tools

The following are the Laravel ecosystem packages and tools to enhance your development workflow, add new functionality, and integrate seamlessly with third-party services or other ecosystems.

16. Laravel Cashier

It is an official PHP framework that helps manage and streamline subscription billing processes like invoicing for your web application. Laravel Cashier interface is similar to Braintree and Stripe billing subscription services. Moreover, it can handle all the boilerplate subscription code developers write to generate billing code.

Laravel Cashier can efficiently manage subscription services like coupons, cancellations, swapping subscriptions, invoices, PDFs, and subscription quantities.

Best for: Billing and subscription

17. Laravel Echo

Its JavaScript library provides a simple method to subscribe to channels and lists for event broadcasts. Laravel Echo implements the WebSocket protocol using pusher-js NPM packages for subscriptions, messages, and channels.

As a result, it allows your application to push updates to the browser without reloading the full page.

Best for: Subscription channel and event listing

18. Laravel Sanctum

Laravel Sanctum offers featherweight authentication systems for SPAs, token-based APIs, and mobile applications. It enables developers to create various API tokens in their accounts; these tokens can specify which actions they should perform.

Also, Sanctum possesses simple packages that help implement simple and secure authentication API. Moreover, it can secure routes in your Laravel applications.

Best for: RESTful APIs and microservices communication

19. Laravel Scout

It is a driver-based solution for adding full-text search to Eloquent models in Laravel applications. Laravel Scout is simple and uses model observers to automate the search index. As a result, it automatically maintains your search indexes in sync with Eloquent records.

However, Laravel Scout helps to provide a seamless database, which includes a collection driver to keep local development usage. Also, with Scout, you do not need extra dependencies on third-party services; you can simply write custom drivers for search implementation.

Best for: Full-text support and configuration searchable data

20. Laravel Socialite

Laravel Socialite package enables developers to add social logins to their applications easily. It simplifies by integrating social login functionality into applications like login with Google, Facebook, GitHub, and more.

Laravel Socialite offers an intuitive interface to operate with OAuth 1 and OAuth 2 libraries for popular providers like X (Formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, GitLab, and Slack. It helps to make social media authentication easier and integrate with social APIs.

Best for: Social media integration and user registration

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the ecosystem in Laravel?

It’s a vast collection of tools and packages extending Laravel’s core features, speeding up development, enhancing security, and boosting the developer experience.

Is Laravel Reverb a part of the Laravel ecosystem?

No, not really; Laravel Reverb was introduced in Laravel 11 recently. It seamlessly integrates with the existing event broadcasting channel suite and allows developers to communicate directly with the WebSocket community.

How does Laravel Vapor contribute to Laravel ecosystems?

Laravel Vapor simplifies serverless deployments on AWS Lambda. It also offers automatic scaling and decreases infrastructure overhead.

What are essential packages in the Laravel ecosystem?

The following is the list of critical Laravel ecosystem packages and tools:

• Authentication and Authorization: Laravel Sanctum, Laravel breeze
• Social Logins: Laravel Socialite
• Admin Panel: Laravel Nova, Laravel Dusk
• Asset Management: Laravel Mix, Laravel Pennant, and Laravel Octone