Benjamin Crozat's blog community links

Refactoring Strings to Enums - Exakat

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

A journey to achieve Refactoring Strings to Enums: pre-requisite, unexpected consequences, and general recommendations.

PHP Enums Are Not Your Bottleneck (Here's Proof)

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

Real-world benchmark of PHP 8.1 enums in large Laravel exports with memory and GC profiling.

Mastering Laravel Streamed Responses: Boost Performance with Fast Data Delivery

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

Learn Laravel’s streamed responses—stream(), streamJson(), and eventStream()—to send data faster, save memory, and build real-time features like live dashboards

How to Add Laravel Passkeys to Laravel 11

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

Add secure, passwordless login to Laravel 11 using passkeys with Face ID, Touch ID, and biometrics via Spatie’s package.

Why I Avoid PHP Traits (And What I Use Instead)

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

Why PHP traits are a design smell and how to write cleaner, testable, and maintainable code using composition and dependency injection.

Landmark Artwork for Timeless Wall Decor | Lumina Art Hub

2026-03-15T06:51:58+00:00

Landmark artwork at Lumina Art Hub captures the beauty and meaning of iconic places through artistic expression. Our online gallery features original paintings by emerging artists who bring landmarks to life with unique styles and perspectives.

The State of Laravel Packages 2026

2026-01-22T07:15:03+00:00

I surveyed 200 Laravel developers on package discovery. 96% prefer existing packages, but 70% struggle with poor docs and abandoned tools. Here’s what the community wants, and why finding reliable Laravel packages is harder than it should be.

Scaling Laravel: Fixing N+1 Queries and Building an MCP Server for AI Agents

2026-01-21T09:12:49+00:00

When building for scale, technical debt eventually knocks on the door. This weekend, I optimized LaraPlugins.io to achieve sub-second search speeds by eliminating N+1 query bottlenecks. Also: I’m building an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server.

Running PHP 8.5 with Laravel Octane and FrankenPHP

2026-01-17T10:16:34+00:00

FrankenPHP uses a PHP-ZTS runtime rather than your system PHP, which is why version and extension mismatches happen with Octane setups.

Why Laravel Can't Guess Your Factory Relationships

2026-01-16T09:49:36+00:00

Explains why Laravel factories can’t guess relationships when multiple relations use the same model.

I built Laraplugins.io to cure your "Dependency Anxiety" 💊

2026-01-11T12:39:23+00:00

Stop wasting time vetting packages. See how I built Laraplugins.io using Laravel Octane & FrankenPHP to automate plugin health checks and safe-guard your stack.

Stop Flaky Tests: Freeze Time in Laravel Testing

2026-01-11T12:39:23+00:00

A short Laravel testing article on fixing flaky tests by freezing time with Date::setTestNow() and $this->freezeTime().

LaraPlugins.io Automated Health Scores for Laravel Packages

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

Stop wasting time to check if a package is abandoned. LaraPlugins.io calculates the health scores for over 1,9k plugins based on updates, testing, version support, and more. Identify reliable plugins in seconds and avoid building on unmaintained code.

whereHas() vs whereRelation(): Readability Over Shortcuts

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

A practical take on whereHas() vs whereRelation(): why shorter syntax isn’t always clearer in real-world Laravel code.

PHP 8.5 Pipe Operator (|>) – Is It Worth Using?

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

Testing PHP 8.5’s pipe operator with real examples: when it works, when it doesn’t, and the performance cost…

Formatting PHP Code with PHP CS Fixer

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

Read about how to use PHP CS Fixer to automate the formatting of your PHP code. We’ll also explore how to use PHP CS Fixer in parallel mode and create a GitHub Actions workflow which checks the code style on pull requests.

Pause and resume queue workers in Laravel

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

Pause and resume Laravel queues using artisan commands and in code. Learn how to control workers, pause with TTLs, and manage queue flow precisely.

Email Utilities for Laravel v1.1.0 Released!

2026-01-08T16:45:46+00:00

Email Utilities for Laravel v1.1.0 adds a console command which can be used to automatically update the disposable domains email list. It also includes updated lists and caching to improve performance.

Don't Let Your Staging Server Die: Separate Task Scheduling in Laravel

2025-11-30T21:01:32+00:00

Example code and article showing how to split Laravel scheduled tasks by environment (production vs staging) to prevent server overload and keep staging lightweight.

Laravel Config Validator v2.9.1 released!

2025-11-26T12:41:43+00:00

Laravel Config Validator v2.9.1 fixes a bug that sometimes caused non-array config values to be read as arrays.

The Difference Between ?: and ?? in PHP

2025-11-24T14:00:31+00:00

Learn about the difference between the ternary operator (?:) and the null coalescing operator (??) in PHP. We’ll also discuss a common gotcha that I see developers (myself included) run into when using these operators.

Gathering data for a "State of Laravel Packages" report

2025-11-23T17:40:07+00:00

I’m researching the state of the Laravel package ecosystem. I put together a 3-minute, zero-sales survey to gather some data Would love your input!

Phone number validation in Laravel: Comprehensive Guide

2025-11-23T17:40:07+00:00

Learn how to validate phone numbers in Laravel using built-in rules, regex patterns, and custom validation rules to handle local and international formats.

Saloon vs Guzzle vs SDK vs Http Facade for Laravel API Integrations

2025-11-20T18:02:43+00:00

Read about how to decide whether to use Salon, Guzzle, an SDK, or the Http Facade to build API integrations for your Laravel applications. This article is a snippet from my “Consuming APIs in Laravel” book.

Immutable and Mutable Dates in PHP

2025-11-20T18:02:42+00:00

Read about the difference between immutable and mutable dates in PHP. We’ll also look at a common gotcha I’ve experienced when using mutable dates and how to avoid it.

Email Utilities for Laravel v1.0 Released! 🎉

2025-11-17T15:45:04+00:00

Read about my latest package: Email Utilities for Laravel. It’s a small package which can be used to check and validate whether an email address is disposable or role-based.

Service Pattern in Laravel: Why it is meaningless

2025-11-10T16:59:36+00:00

The service pattern promised clarity but delivered chaos. Learn the better, simpler way to structure Laravel applications.

Working with PHP and Laravel on VSCode

2025-11-10T12:37:25+00:00

After a lot of years working with PHP and Laravel on PHPStorm, I am trying to use VSCode and this is how I configured it for the task.

Pest vs PHPUnit: How Pest modernizes PHP testing

2025-11-06T17:44:57+00:00

Discover how Pest modernizes PHP testing with expressive syntax, plugins, and fluent APIs, offering features PHPUnit never had, yet full compatibility.

Returning HTTP 404 Responses Instead of 403 for Unauthorised Access

2025-11-06T04:52:49+00:00

Read about how and when to use HTTP 404 responses instead of HTTP 403 when a user is unauthorised to access a resource. We’ll also discuss some things to consider when using this approach.

Laravel Validation after() - After What, Exactly?

2025-11-06T04:52:49+00:00

Understanding how Laravel’s after() method really works. A quick, real-world deep dive into why it runs even when validation fails - and how to keep your Form Requests clean, fast, and crash-free.

Run PHPUnit and Pest Tests Without Vite Assets in Laravel

2025-10-29T08:34:49+00:00

Read about how to use the “withoutVite” method in your Laravel apps to disable Vite during your PHPUnit and Pest tests.

Laravel Actions and Services

2025-10-21T17:12:54+00:00

Honestly, organizing business logic in Laravel sometimes feels like herding cats. Controllers, jobs,…

How to check your composer version

2025-10-21T17:12:54+00:00

Learn how to check your Composer version on Windows, macOS, and Linux, verify the latest release, and update it, all with simple, accurate commands.

Log File in Laravel: Location and Common Fixes

2025-10-16T13:51:59+00:00

Learn everything about Laravel log files; their location, fixes for permission errors, daily rotation setup, and best practices for clean logging.

A Production-Ready Laravel Architecture with Traefik and FrankenPHP

2025-10-15T06:17:06+00:00

A practical guide to deploying a high-performance Laravel stack using Octane, FrankenPHP, and a fully automated Docker Compose workflow

The Dangers of Dynamic Method Calls in PHP

2025-10-06T08:10:35+00:00

Read about the potential dangers of using dynamic method calls in PHP. We’ll discuss the issues of using them, and potential alternatives which could be used.

Multi-Domain Management in Laravel and Traefik: Dynamic Configuration

2025-10-05T12:14:13+00:00

Automate dynamic multi-domain routing with Laravel and Traefik using dynamic YAML configs. Simplify management, boost scalability, and secure your setup

Http::batch with hooks in Laravel 12.32

2025-10-01T12:42:47+00:00

Laravel 12.32 introduces Http::batch, a clean way to send concurrent HTTP requests with lifecycle hooks for progress, success, failure, and finalization.

Redactable Models v1.1.0 released!

2025-09-30T06:15:12+00:00

Redactable Models v1.1.0 adds the ability to specify the hashing algorithm that should be used to redact model fields.

The `match` Expression in PHP

2025-09-30T06:15:07+00:00

Read about how to use the “match” expression in your PHP applications. We’ll also discuss how to use them with PHP enums to write clean, concise code.

Check If a String is Valid JSON in PHP

2025-09-28T08:32:06+00:00

Read about how to use the “json_validate” function in PHP to check whether a string is valid JSON. We’ll also discuss the difference between “json_validate” and “json_decode”.

Session Cache in Laravel 12.29

2025-09-23T15:47:59+00:00

Laravel 12.29 introduces Session Cache, letting you store user-specific data per session using familiar cache methods, cleared when the session ends.

A Guide to Serialization in PHP

2025-09-17T08:27:25+00:00

Learn about serialization and how it works in PHP. We’ll discuss serialized data formats, how to use serialization in PHP, and how to write tests for your serialization logic.

Laravel: whereBetween vs whereValueBetween vs whereBetweenColumns

2025-09-16T16:57:17+00:00

Confused about Laravel’s whereBetween, whereBetweenColumns, and whereValueBetween? Discover their hidden differences with real SQL examples!

Estilo for Laravel

2025-09-15T20:28:54+00:00

Manage your CSS in PHP and easily use it on Blade.

Composer: Check PHP package versions

2025-09-12T16:50:54+00:00

Learn how to check composer package versions in PHP using CLI, lock files, installed.json file, or the InstalledVersions class.

Inside the Laravel Service Container

2025-09-11T12:26:19+00:00

Explore Laravel’s Service Container from the ground up: resolution, binding, scopes, contextual dependencies, auto-wiring, and more, and demystify how your app runs.

Redactable Models v1.0 is Now Available!

2025-09-09T13:06:27+00:00

Read about the new v1.0 release of the Redactable Models for Laravel package. The article covers the new “mass redaction” feature and the Composer dependency changes.

Fetching Favicons using the DuckDuckGo Icons API in Laravel

2025-09-09T11:35:25+00:00

Read about how to use the Favicon Fetcher package in your Laravel projects to retrieve websites’ favicons via the DuckDuckGo API.