A queued job that manually builds an expensive service is painful to test. Let's see how to leverage Laravel's container to make this a lot nicer. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

The right place to inject a service into a queued job | Mastering Laravel

And why it's the better choice

masteringlaravel.io

Ever notice that some Docker containers stop instantly while others hang for ten seconds? I'll explain why and show how to fix it. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Why are some Docker containers slower to restart? | Mastering Laravel

And how do you fix it?

masteringlaravel.io

Laravel doesn't require a primary key on a pivot table, and the relationship works fine without one. Here's why I add one anyway, and the replication problem it avoids. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Why I always add a primary key to many-to-many tables | Mastering Laravel

Even when Laravel doesn't require it

masteringlaravel.io

After adding Compose watch to a project, every rebuild paused for ten seconds before the new container came up. If your restarts drag like that, here's a workaround that may help improve speed. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

A quick fix for slow Docker container restarts | Mastering Laravel

Compose may be waiting on a signal your dev server never handles

masteringlaravel.io

When another site loads your built JS assets, Laravel never sees the request, so its CORS config can't help. Here's how to add the headers in Nginx for just those files, without slowing down everything else. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

How to set CORS headers for built assets | Mastering Laravel

And do it efficiently

masteringlaravel.io

I joined a project where the Vue front end was built into the Docker image with no bind mount, so every change meant a manual rebuild. One addition to the compose file turned that back into a normal dev loop. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Stop rebuilding your Docker image after every front-end change | Mastering Laravel

A Compose feature for projects that skip the bind mount

masteringlaravel.io

Ever handed off a feature request with barely any detail and expected the developer to just figure it out? In this week's podcast, Aaron and I make the case for writing requirements before development starts, and why letting AI write them for you is a trap. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Write better requirements or pay for it later | Mastering Laravel

Even imperfect requirements beat none at all

masteringlaravel.io

If another site loads a script built by your Laravel app, switching to Vite can quietly break it. Here's the CORS gotcha we hit and how we fixed it. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Something to know if serving scripts for other sites | Mastering Laravel

Especially if you moved to Vite

masteringlaravel.io

Laravel serializes a model's loaded relationships when you queue a job, but not when you queue a collection of models. Here's the right way to load relationships inside the job. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Loading relationships inside a queued job | Mastering Laravel

Do it the Laravel way

masteringlaravel.io

Sometimes multiple controller actions need the same guard logic, but it doesn't belong in a policy or form request. Here's a clean way to share redirect logic without messy hacks. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Sharing redirect logic between controller actions | Mastering Laravel

Without resorting to messy hacks

masteringlaravel.io

Pennant defaults to the database driver, but not every feature flag needs a table row and a query. Today's tip shows when the array driver is the lighter choice. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

You don't always need to put Pennant in the database | Mastering Laravel

The array driver keeps simple toggles lightweight

masteringlaravel.io

Pennant defaults to the database driver, but not every feature flag needs a table row and a query. Today's tip shows when the array driver is the lighter choice. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

You don't always need to put Pennant in the database | Mastering Laravel

The array driver keeps simple toggles lightweight

masteringlaravel.io

Converting an Eloquent casts property to the newer casts method looks like a pure style choice for which syntax you prefer, but here's a real-world example where the two behave differently. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

When new syntax is not actually equivalent functionality | Mastering Laravel

New syntax, same behavior. Usually.

masteringlaravel.io

Dropping an index in a down migration usually means guessing at its name. Today's tip shows a cleaner way that lets Laravel figure it out for you. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

A better way to drop a unique index | Mastering Laravel

It involves less guesswork

masteringlaravel.io

Laravel redirects back to the previous page when validation fails, but what happens when there is no sensible previous page? Today's tip covers a redirect loop that shows up with bookmarks and new tabs, and a simple way to stop it. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

When a validation failure causes a redirect loop | Mastering Laravel

Bookmarks and new tabs break the usual redirect back

masteringlaravel.io

Automated tests catch most bugs, but not all of them. Today's tip is a reminder of why I still click through the app before pushing my code. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Manual testing still has its place | Mastering Laravel

Put yourself in the shoes of your users

masteringlaravel.io

JSON language files use the string itself as the key, so where does the pluralization pipe go? Today's tip shows it works exactly like array files, once you get past how strange it looks. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Pluralization works in JSON language files | Mastering Laravel

Even though the keys feel like identifiers

masteringlaravel.io

Ever been told your slow app just needs caching? In this week's podcast, Aaron and I break down the layers of caching in a Laravel app, from the Cloudflare edge down to in-request memoization. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Which layer of caching does your slow app actually need? | Mastering Laravel

There's more to caching than the Cache facade

masteringlaravel.io

In today's video, watch a paginated list quietly show some records twice while never showing others, and see the one-line fix that makes pagination deterministic. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Why pagination sometimes has overlapping pages | Mastering Laravel

A deeper look inside the database

masteringlaravel.io

Most factory states just flip a flag, but they can also accept arguments. That opens up some useful patterns, like deriving test data from another model. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Factory states can accept arguments | Mastering Laravel

Less boilerplate when building related test data

masteringlaravel.io

You don't need to obsess over your site analytics, but an occasional look can pay off. One glance at ours revealed a stranger already selling our book for us. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Pay attention to analytics | Mastering Laravel

There can be some interesting insights

masteringlaravel.io

Composer insisted the class didn't exist, but it was sitting right there in the vendor folder. The problem was the package, but I'll explain how we fixed it with Composer and why we picked the approach we did. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

When Composer can't find a class that exists | Mastering Laravel

Reach for classmap, not files

masteringlaravel.io

When your app is behind a reverse proxy, it might seem like an easy fix to just force HTTPS to make your links render correctly, but it totally ignores other important behavior that remains broken, like rate limiting. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

The downside of just forcing HTTPS when behind a reverse proxy | Mastering Laravel

You mess up other important behavior

masteringlaravel.io

In today's video, watch a listener with the wrong import silently stop working, with no errors anywhere, and see the one-line test that catches it instantly. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Make sure your listeners are wired up | Mastering Laravel

Without this simple test, nothing else matters

masteringlaravel.io

You pass a model to Mockery's with() and the test fails, even though your code called the service with the right model. Here's a cleaner way to match it. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

When Mockery says your Eloquent model doesn't match | Mastering Laravel

Let Eloquent's is() method do the comparison

masteringlaravel.io

Ever have a test that fails once out of 500 runs, then passes when you run it again? The test value you picked might be colliding with random Faker data. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Picking a good test value | Mastering Laravel

And avoid flaky tests

masteringlaravel.io

A validation test that only asserts an error on the field can keep passing long after the rule it covers breaks. Here's how to tighten up that assertion. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Is your validation test passing for the wrong reason? | Mastering Laravel

Assert the specific rule, not just the field

masteringlaravel.io

Ever fixed a failing test by tossing a variable into phpunit.xml and moving on? In this week's podcast, Aaron and I debate which env values belong there and which ones never should. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Where do credentials end and configuration begin in your env file? | Mastering Laravel

Not every env variable belongs in phpunit.xml

masteringlaravel.io

Ever open a large feature test and struggle to find the method you're looking for? Today's tip shares the consistent ordering we follow so every test file feels instantly familiar. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Consistent test organization | Mastering Laravel

I like patterns

masteringlaravel.io

Laravel 13's cache hardening is a nice improvement, but it can break existing apps in silent ways. Here's a safe approach you can use to improve security and alert you if you missed something. masteringlaravel.io/daily/2026-0...

Adopting Laravel's hardened cache default in a large app | Mastering Laravel

With a safety net in case you miss something

masteringlaravel.io