Laravel Framework: AI-Optimized Technical Reference

Configuration Requirements

Production Environment

• PHP Version: 8.2+ (Laravel 12) - CRITICAL: Breaks most shared hosting
• Memory Usage: 25-40MB baseline (vs 5-10MB CodeIgniter, 15-25MB Symfony)
• Required Extensions: Composer requires 128MB+ memory (hangs on shared hosting)
• File Permissions: storage/ directory needs 775, not 755 (breaks everything otherwise)

Essential Production Commands

php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev

WARNING: Skip these = slow production performance

Critical Failure Modes

Database Performance Disasters

N+1 Query Problem - Most common production killer:

// DISASTER: Runs 1 + N queries
@foreach($users as $user)
    {{ $user->posts->count() }} posts
@endforeach

// SOLUTION: Eager loading
$users = User::with('posts')->get();

Impact: 500 users = 501 database queries = server crash
Error: SQLSTATE[HY000]: General error: 2006 MySQL server has gone away

Memory Exhaustion Patterns

• User::all() with large datasets = instant memory death (130k users = dead server)
• Mass assignment with 10,000+ records = 500MB+ RAM usage
• Error: Fatal error: Allowed memory size exhausted

Queue Worker Silent Failures

• Workers die without notification
• Lost background jobs without alerts
• Solution: Implement monitoring or use Laravel Horizon
• Supervisor config must include auto-restart

Performance Thresholds

Framework	Memory Usage	Speed	Use Case
Laravel	25-40MB	Decent with caching	Rapid development
Symfony	15-25MB	Fast when configured	Enterprise apps
CodeIgniter	5-10MB	Actually fast	Simple apps

Laravel Octane Performance Trade-offs

• Gains: 2-3x speed improvement
• Critical Issues:
  • Memory leaks kill server after 2-3 days
  • Debugging becomes nightmare (no request lifecycle)
  • Packages like Telescope/Debugbar completely broken
  • Session-based auth doesn't work properly

Version Upgrade Pain Points

Laravel 12 (February 2025)

• Low Risk: Minimal breaking changes (maintenance release)
• New Requirements: PHP 8.2+ still required
• Deprecated: Breeze and Jetstream (use new starter kits)

Laravel 11 → 12 Migration

• Time Investment: 1 day if lucky
• Major Changes: Configuration file structure completely changed
• Breaking: Custom middleware registration works differently

Laravel 10 → 12 Migration

• Time Investment: 1-2 weeks minimum
• High Risk: Many Artisan commands moved/removed
• Testing Required: Never upgrade production without extensive testing

Deployment Failure Scenarios

Shared Hosting Issues

• Composer install hangs (memory limit)
• Route caching breaks with closures: Serialization of 'Closure' is not allowed
• .env files accidentally committed with production credentials
• Artisan commands timeout (30+ seconds for config:cache)

Docker/Sail Problems

• Custom PHP extensions fail compilation (6+ hours for imagick on ARM64)
• MySQL 5.7 breaks on Apple Silicon (volume mount errors)
• Windows WSL2: file permissions break Composer (vendor/ becomes unreadable)
• Port 80 conflicts require manual nginx restart

Security Vulnerabilities

Common Mistakes

• Using {!! !!} for user input (XSS vulnerability)
• Disabling CSRF protection for convenience
• Mass assignment without proper fillable/guarded configuration
• Exposing .env files in production

Default Protection

• CSRF protection (if remembered to use)
• SQL injection prevention through Eloquent (raw queries bypass)
• XSS protection with {{ }} (not {!! !!})
• Secure password hashing by default

Resource Requirements

Learning Curve Reality

• PHP Experienced: 1-2 weeks productivity, 2-3 months production debugging
• PHP Newcomers: 4-6 weeks minimum (Laravel hides PHP complexity until it doesn't)
• Symfony Switchers: Magic methods and facades feel wrong, architectural differences

Team Expertise Requirements

• Understanding Eloquent N+1 problems
• Proper cache strategies
• Queue optimization
• Dependency injection container debugging

Ecosystem Tool Assessment

Production-Ready Tools

• Laravel Horizon: Queue monitoring that actually works
• Laravel Forge: $19/month, worth every penny (deployment, SSL, monitoring)
• Laravel Sanctum: Simple token auth (use instead of Passport)

Development Tools with Limitations

• Laravel Telescope: Great for development, KILLS production database
• Laravel Sail: Docker for Docker-afraid developers (breaks with custom needs)
• Laravel Dusk: Browser testing until Chrome updates break everything

Cost Analysis

• Laravel Vapor: Great for low traffic, expensive for high traffic (cold starts ruin real-time)
• Laravel Cloud: $20/month after free tier, handles scaling automatically
• Traditional VPS + Forge: More predictable costs, requires more management

Critical Warnings

Hidden Complexity

• Every convenience comes with performance implications
• Every abstraction hides complexity
• Annual breaking changes with version upgrades
• Package dependency hell during upgrades

When NOT to Use Laravel

• High-performance APIs (sub-10ms response times)
• Microservices requiring minimal footprint
• Maximum deployment flexibility needed
• Teams preferring explicit over magic/convention

Operational Intelligence

Package Maintenance Reality

• Many popular packages abandoned or single-maintainer
• First-party packages often solve non-existent problems
• Laravel Mix abandoned for Vite (broke everyone's build process)
• Community great for learning, terrible for package maintenance

Production Monitoring Requirements

• Queue worker health monitoring (silent failures common)
• Memory leak detection (especially with Octane)
• Database query monitoring (N+1 detection)
• Performance profiling (applications slow down over time)

Decision Criteria

Choose Laravel When

• Rapid MVP development needed
• Standard CRUD applications
• Team values speed over control
• Accepting annual upgrade costs

Choose Alternatives When

• Symfony: Enterprise applications needing architectural flexibility
• CodeIgniter: Simple applications with junior developers
• Microframeworks: APIs and microservices requiring minimal resources

Bottom Line Assessment

Laravel trades control for development speed. Perfect for shipping MVPs quickly and building standard CRUD applications. The ecosystem handles authentication, payments, and common features without reinventing wheels.

However, every convenience comes with hidden complexity. Every abstraction hides performance implications. Every major version breaks something. Success requires understanding Laravel's quirks and accepting its trade-offs.

Reality Check: When Laravel works, it works beautifully. When it breaks, it teaches you things about PHP you never wanted to know.