Introduction to Laravel 12

Laravel 12, released on February 24, 2025, is the latest iteration of the popular PHP framework. This version focuses on enhancing developer productivity, security, and performance. It introduces several new features and improvements that make it an attractive choice for building modern web applications. Laravel 12 requires PHP 8.2 version minimum to run.

New Features & Improvements in Laravel 12

1. New Starter Kits

Laravel 12 introduces new starter kits for React, Vue, and Livewire. These kits are designed to simplify the development process by providing pre-configured setups for authentication, registration, and other essential features.

React Starter Kit: Uses Inertia, React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and shadcn components.

Vue Starter Kit: Built with Inertia, Vue 3, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and shadcn-vue components.

Livewire Starter Kit: Leverages Livewire 3, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Flux UI components.

These kits are cloned directly from GitHub repositories, allowing for full control over the code and easier customization.

https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/starter-kits

2. Enhanced Application Structure

Laravel 12 refines the application structure, making it more streamlined and minimalistic. The directory layout is simplified, and configuration files are more intuitive, reducing the need for extensive customization.

By optimizing the arrangement of files and configurations, Laravel 12 ensures that large-scale applications stay well-structured and performant while also keeping smaller projects lightweight and easy to manage.

3. Real-Time Features

Laravel 12 introduces powerful improvements in real-time features, especially through enhanced WebSocket support. These updates empower developers to create more dynamic and interactive applications, such as live notifications, chat systems, and real-time data updates.

Seamless WebSocket Integration

Building on Laravel’s existing real-time capabilities, Laravel 12 makes integrating WebSockets simpler than ever. Developers can now create persistent connections between the server and clients, allowing instant communication without the overhead of traditional HTTP requests. This results in faster, more efficient real-time interactions in applications.

Enhanced Broadcasting

With Laravel 12, broadcasting events to clients has become easier and more reliable. This is particularly useful for applications that require immediate updates, such as live dashboards or collaboration tools. The ability to broadcast real-time updates without complicated setups allows developers to focus more on the features themselves rather than the underlying infrastructure.

Improved Setup and Configuration

Laravel 12 streamlines the process of configuring WebSockets and real-time features. The intuitive configuration files and simplified setup make it easier for developers to get started with broadcasting and WebSocket integrations. This also benefits teams by reducing the complexity for new developers to get up to speed quickly.

4. Query Builder Improvements

The nestedWhere() method simplifies complex query conditions, making code cleaner and more efficient. Here’s an example:

// Before Laravel 12
$products = DB::table('orders')
->where('status', 'complete')
->where(function ($query) {
$query->where('total', '<', 1000)
->orWhere('discount', '>', 200);
})->get();

// In Laravel 12
$products = DB::table('orders')
->where('status', 'complete')
->nestedWhere('total', '<', 1000, 'or', 'discount', '>', 30)
->get();

5. API Enhancements

Laravel 12 introduces native GraphQL support and a new API versioning system. GraphQL allows for more efficient data retrieval, while the versioning system keeps API routes organized.

// API Versioning Example
Route::apiVersion(1)->group(function () {
Route::get('orders', [OrderController::class, 'index']);
});

6. Authentication Changes & Security Enhancements

Enhanced Authentication System

Laravel 12 offers a more flexible and intuitive authentication system, simplifying the implementation of user login, registration, and management. The framework now supports advanced features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and social login integrations, enhancing both security and user experience.

Improved Password Validation

The secureValidate() method has been introduced to enforce stricter password policies during user registration and password updates. This method ensures that passwords meet robust security standards by default.

// Laravel 11
$request->validate(['password' => 'required|min:8']);

// Laravel 12
$request->secureValidate(['password' => ['required', 'min:8', 'strong']]);

Automatic Session Expiration

Laravel 12 introduces automatic session expiration for users who remain inactive for a specified period. This feature enhances security by ensuring that stale sessions are automatically terminated, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

7. AI-powered debugging Assistant

Laravel 12 introduces an innovative AI-powered debugging assistant that significantly enhances the debugging process for developers. This feature offers real-time insights and actionable suggestions, streamlining issue resolution and improving overall development efficiency.

Key Features of the AI-Powered Debugging Assistant:

Real-Time Analysis: The assistant analyzes your code as you write, identifying potential issues and providing immediate feedback.

Actionable Suggestions: It offers practical solutions and recommendations to address identified problems, facilitating quicker fixes.

Enhanced Debugging Efficiency: By automating parts of the debugging process, developers can focus more on coding and less on manual error detection.

// Laravel 11
dd($variable);

// Laravel 12
debug($variable)->suggest();

8. Improved Developer Tools And New Artisan Commands

Laravel 12 brings notable improvements to its developer tools, with a particular focus on enhancing the Artisan command-line interface. These updates are designed to streamline development workflows, making tasks such as migrations, debugging, and application maintenance faster and more efficient.

Key Improvements in Artisan Commands:

Smarter CLI Interactions: Artisan commands now come with improved prompts, intelligent auto-suggestions, and enhanced logging, making the execution of complex commands much easier and more intuitive.

Faster Migrations: Database migrations in Laravel 12 have been optimized, with added rollback safeguards to ensure smooth and reliable transitions during schema changes.

New Debugging Commands: Laravel 12 introduces new debugging commands that allow developers to inspect application performance and logs quickly, enabling faster identification and resolution of issues.

These enhancements make Laravel 12 a more powerful and efficient framework, enabling developers to build and maintain applications with greater ease.

9. Minimal Breaking Changes

Much of our focus during this release cycle has been on minimizing breaking changes. Instead, we have dedicated ourselves to shipping continuous quality-of-life improvements throughout the year that do not break existing applications.

Therefore, the Laravel 12 release is a relatively minor “maintenance release” in order to upgrade existing dependencies. In light of this, most Laravel applications may upgrade to Laravel 12 without changing any application code.

Why You Should Upgrade to Laravel 12

Laravel 12 brings significant advancements in both functionality and developer experience. From new starter kits for popular front-end frameworks like React, Vue, and Livewire to powerful features like AI-powered debugging, Laravel 12 optimizes your development process. Real-time capabilities are enhanced with simplified WebSocket integration and better broadcasting. Additionally, improvements in security, authentication, and API support make it more robust for modern applications. The streamlined application structure and more intuitive Artisan commands further contribute to Laravel’s flexibility and efficiency.

Conclusion

Laravel 12 is a major step forward for developers looking to build scalable, efficient, and secure web applications. With improved features, enhanced developer tools, and cutting-edge AI support, Laravel 12 not only improves productivity but also ensures that your applications are built with modern best practices in mind. Whether you’re starting a new project or upgrading an existing one, Laravel 12 offers powerful tools and enhancements that make it a worthwhile upgrade for any Laravel developer.