Laravel Patterns

Laravel Patterns

When to Use

Building or reviewing a Laravel application: controllers, Eloquent models, form requests, service providers, jobs, or authorization policies.

Core Patterns

Thin Controllers, Form Requests for Validation

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

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

final class OrderController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct(private readonly CreateOrder $createOrder)
    {
    }

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

        return OrderResource::make($order)->response()->setStatusCode(201);
    }
}

Service/Action Classes Over Fat Models

Push business logic out of controllers and models into single-purpose action classes.

final class CreateOrder
{
    public function __construct(
        private readonly OrderRepository $orders,
        private readonly InventoryService $inventory,
    ) {
    }

    public function handle(array $data): Order
    {
        return DB::transaction(function () use ($data) {
            $this->inventory->reserve($data['items']);
            return $this->orders->create($data);
        });
    }
}

Eloquent: Avoid N+1 with Eager Loading

// BAD: N+1 query — one query per order for its customer
$orders = Order::all();
foreach ($orders as $order) {
    echo $order->customer->name;
}

// GOOD: eager load the relation
$orders = Order::with('customer', 'items.product')->get();

// Enforce it in local development
Model::preventLazyLoading(! app()->isProduction());

Query Scopes Instead of Repeated where()

final class Order extends Model
{
    public function scopePending(Builder $query): Builder
    {
        return $query->where('status', OrderStatus::Pending);
    }

    public function scopeForCustomer(Builder $query, Customer $customer): Builder
    {
        return $query->where('customer_id', $customer->id);
    }
}

Order::pending()->forCustomer($customer)->get();

Policies for Authorization

final class OrderPolicy
{
    public function view(User $user, Order $order): bool
    {
        return $user->id === $order->customer_id || $user->isAdmin();
    }
}

// In a controller or Blade template
$this->authorize('view', $order);
@can('view', $order) ... @endcan

Events and Listeners for Side Effects

final class OrderShipped
{
    public function __construct(public readonly Order $order)
    {
    }
}

final class SendShippingNotification
{
    public function handle(OrderShipped $event): void
    {
        Mail::to($event->order->customer)->send(new OrderShippedMail($event->order));
    }
}

event(new OrderShipped($order));

Checklist

• Validation lives in FormRequest classes, not inline in controllers
• Business logic in action/service classes, not in controllers or models
• Model::preventLazyLoading() enabled outside production
• Authorization goes through Policies/Gates, not manual if ($user->id === ...) checks scattered in controllers
• Queries use scopes for reused filters
• Mass-assignment protected via $fillable (never $guarded = [])
• Migrations are reversible (down() implemented)

Anti-Patterns

// BAD: raw SQL fragments with interpolated variables
DB::select("SELECT * FROM orders WHERE status = '$status'");

// GOOD: query builder / Eloquent, parameter binding
Order::where('status', $status)->get();

// BAD: business logic and cross-cutting concerns in the model
class Order extends Model {
    public function ship() {
        $this->update(['status' => 'shipped']);
        Mail::to($this->customer)->send(new OrderShippedMail($this));
        Log::info('order shipped');
    }
}

// GOOD: model stays a thin persistence layer; orchestration in an action class

Quick Reference

See Also

• skills/php-ecosystem/php-patterns.md
• skills/php-ecosystem/php-database.md
• skills/php-ecosystem/php-testing.md