- What is exolnet/laravel-envoy used for?
- It is an automated deployment template for Laravel Envoy that follows a Capistrano-style release model. It helps organize SSH-driven remote tasks and deployment stories from a Laravel-style setup, including timestamped release directories, a current symlink, and shared .env/storage. It is deployment-time tooling, not an application runtime dependency.
- How do I install and configure exolnet/laravel-envoy?
- Install it as a Composer package in the Laravel project and adapt the provided Envoy template/recipes to your hosts, repository, branch, deploy paths, PHP/Composer/Node versions, and shared directories. Envoy must be available locally or in CI. Because it is a template rather than a deployment platform, expect to configure migration hooks, queue restarts, permissions, and web root assumptions yourself.
- Which Laravel, PHP, and Envoy versions does exolnet/laravel-envoy support?
- The provided context does not list exact supported Laravel, PHP, or Envoy versions, so verify compatibility before adopting it. Check the package release date, Composer constraints, and whether the template matches current Laravel and Envoy conventions. With limited community activity, version drift is a real maintenance concern.
- How does the Capistrano-style release structure work?
- Deployments create timestamped release directories, point a current symlink at the active release, and link shared files such as .env and storage. The web server should serve from the current/public path. This layout enables atomic cutover and rollback by switching the symlink, but you must validate permissions, shared assets, and document root configuration.
- Can it run database migrations and roll back a deployment?
- The template can include migration steps, but migration and rollback behavior is something your team must configure and test. Do not assume database migrations are reversible; rollback should be validated on staging and may require a separate database recovery plan. The package itself does not guarantee safe database rollback.
- Does it restart queue workers, Horizon, or Laravel Octane and warm caches?
- Queue and Horizon restarts, Octane reloads, and cache warming are deployment hooks your team must implement or confirm in the template. The context flags these as configuration points to adapt, not guaranteed built-in features. Validate each hook on staging before relying on it in production.
- Can exolnet/laravel-envoy build frontend assets and inject CI secrets?
- Frontend builds and CI secret injection are deployment steps you need to wire into the Envoy stories and your CI environment. The package provides a template and recipes, not a full CI/CD platform. Confirm Node availability, build commands, and secret handling in your pipeline before production use.
- Does it support multi-server deployments, Kubernetes, or serverless?
- It is designed for traditional Linux hosts with SSH, Git, Nginx or Apache, Composer, and optionally Node. It works well for simple single-server or small multi-server deployments, but scaling to many hosts, autoscaling groups, containers, Kubernetes, or serverless is outside its scope. Those environments need additional orchestration.
- How should I test and roll back a deployment safely?
- Pilot on staging first, document current deploy and rollback steps, map them to the template, and run a dry-run deployment. Test symlink cutover, permissions, migrations, queue restarts, and failure recovery before a canary production deploy. Keep the existing pipeline available until the new process is proven.
- Is exolnet/laravel-envoy actively maintained and what are the alternatives?
- The context notes only 23 stars and limited community support, so long-term maintenance is a risk; verify recent releases and Envoy compatibility. The MIT license lets you fork or internalize the template if upstream slows. Alternatives include maintaining your own Envoy stories, using Capistrano-style tools, or adopting container-based CI/CD pipelines.