Sidecar Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• Serverless Microservices: Enables rapid deployment of lightweight, language-agnostic microservices (Node.js, Python, Java, etc.) alongside Laravel apps without managing separate infrastructure. Ideal for:

  • Image generation (e.g., OG tags, thumbnails)
  • PDF/CSV processing
  • Headless Chrome tasks (screenshots, scraping)
  • Server-side rendering (SSR) for SPAs
  • Custom business logic in non-PHP languages.

• Cost Optimization: Reduces costs by avoiding dedicated servers for one-off tasks (vs. always-on Vapor instances). Pay-per-use Lambda pricing aligns with sporadic workloads.

• Tech Stack Flexibility: Bridges Laravel’s PHP ecosystem with modern JS/Python/Java tools without forcing a full rewrite or external API calls.

• Roadmap Priorities:

  • Build vs. Buy: Avoids reinventing Lambda deployment logic (e.g., manual AWS SDK calls, CI/CD pipelines).
  • Phased Adoption: Start with non-critical functions (e.g., image generation) before migrating core logic.
  • Multi-Cloud Readiness: Future-proofs for non-AWS Lambda providers (e.g., Google Cloud Functions) via abstraction.

• Use Cases:

  • Legacy System Integration: Run Python scripts to interact with legacy APIs from Laravel.
  • A/B Testing: Dynamically generate variant-specific assets (e.g., personalized images).
  • Event-Driven Workflows: Trigger Lambda functions from Laravel events (e.g., OrderShipped → generate tracking PDF).

When to Consider This Package

Adopt Sidecar if:

• Your Laravel app needs one-off serverless tasks in non-PHP languages (e.g., Node.js for image processing, Python for ML inference).
• You’re already using AWS Lambda/Vapor and want to avoid HTTP roundtrips for internal functions.
• Your team has mixed language expertise (e.g., PHP devs collaborating with JS/Python engineers).
• You prioritize developer velocity over fine-grained Lambda control (e.g., no need for API Gateway, custom IAM roles).
• Your workloads are sporadic or low-volume (cost-effective vs. always-on servers).

Look Elsewhere if:

• You need public HTTP APIs: Sidecar executes functions only from Laravel (no direct HTTP endpoints).
• You require advanced Lambda features: Custom VPCs, event sources (SQS, DynamoDB streams), or multi-region deployments.
• Your team lacks AWS/Lambda familiarity: Steeper learning curve than managed services like Vercel/Netlify.
• You’re using non-AWS clouds: Sidecar is AWS-only (though abstraction could be extended).
• Your functions need persistent storage: Lambda’s ephemeral filesystem is limited (use S3/EFS instead).
• You need real-time execution: Lambda cold starts add latency (consider provisioned concurrency or WebSockets).

Alternatives to Evaluate:

• Laravel Vapor: For full app serverless deployment (not just functions).
• AWS SAM/Serverless Framework: More control but higher setup complexity.
• Bref: PHP-only Lambda functions (if sticking to PHP).
• External APIs: For public-facing tasks (e.g., Netlify Functions, Cloudflare Workers).

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives:

"Sidecar lets us run lightweight, serverless tasks—like image generation or data processing—in any language (Node, Python, Java) directly from our Laravel app, without managing servers. This cuts costs for sporadic workloads (pay-per-use Lambda vs. always-on servers) and lets our team use their preferred tools. For example, we could replace a $50/month EC2 instance for PDF generation with a fraction of that cost, while keeping everything in-house. It’s a low-risk way to modernize parts of our stack without rewriting the whole app."

Key Metrics to Track:

• Cost Savings: Compare Lambda pricing to current server costs for target use cases.
• Dev Velocity: Time saved avoiding server setup vs. deploying to Lambda.
• Scalability: Ability to handle traffic spikes without infrastructure changes.

For Engineering:

*"Sidecar abstracts away the complexity of deploying Lambda functions from Laravel. With a few lines of PHP, you can:

• Deploy Node/Python/Java functions alongside your app.
• Execute them synchronously from routes/controllers (no HTTP overhead).
• Manage dependencies and runtimes declaratively.

Why It’s Better Than DIY:

• Handles AWS IAM, S3 packaging, and Lambda updates automatically.
• Supports modern runtimes (Node 20, Python 3.12, .NET 8) out of the box.
• Integrates with Laravel’s service container and Artisan commands.

Example Workflow:

1. Write a PHP class extending LambdaFunction to define your function’s handler and dependencies.
2. Deploy with php artisan sidecar:deploy.
3. Call it from anywhere in Laravel: OgImage::execute(['text' => 'Hello']).
4. Profit from serverless scalability without context-switching to AWS Console.

Tradeoffs:

• Not for public APIs: Functions must be called from Laravel (no direct HTTP endpoints).
• Cold Starts: Mitigate with Vapor’s provisioned concurrency or --pre-warm flag.
• AWS-Locked: But easy to extend for other providers if needed."*

For Developers: "Think of Sidecar as ‘Laravel Mix for Lambda’—it handles the boring AWS stuff so you can focus on writing the function. Need to generate images? Write a Node.js script and call it from PHP. Want to run a Python script without setting up a server? Done. No more ‘just deploy this to a VM’—your Lambda functions live alongside your app and deploy together."