Installer Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• Standardized Laravel Onboarding: Enables consistent, automated Laravel project setup across teams, reducing developer onboarding friction and configuration drift.
• Accelerated MVP Development: Shortens time-to-first-deploy for new projects by handling boilerplate (e.g., .env, database, dependencies) via CLI flags (e.g., --database, --teams).
• Build vs. Buy: Buy—avoids reinventing wheel for Laravel-specific scaffolding. Justify by citing maintenance burden of custom scripts vs. Laravel’s battle-tested installer.
• Roadmap Priorities:
  • Starter Kits: Leverage built-in support for custom kits (e.g., Svelte, Inertia) to align with frontend tech stack decisions.
  • CI/CD Integration: Use --no-interaction for automated deployments (e.g., GitHub Actions) to reduce flakiness.
  • Security: Flag --no-boost to opt out of optional dependencies (e.g., Laravel Boost) if compliance requires minimalism.
• Use Cases:
  • Internal Tools: Rapid prototyping for cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing sites).
  • Agency Work: Client projects needing consistent Laravel foundations.
  • Education: Teaching Laravel without manual setup hurdles.

When to Consider This Package

Adopt when:

• Your stack is PHP/Laravel (v8.5+ or v10+), and you need official, maintained project scaffolding.
• Teams lack DevOps resources to maintain custom install scripts (e.g., Bash/Python).
• You require interactive prompts (e.g., database selection, app name) but want to override via CLI for automation.
• Supporting multiple Laravel versions (e.g., legacy projects) without version-specific scripts.

Look elsewhere if:

• Using non-PHP backends (Node.js, Python, etc.).
• Need monorepo support (this is project-specific).
• Requiring advanced customization beyond Laravel’s defaults (e.g., non-standard directory structures).
• Security policies prohibit optional dependencies (e.g., Laravel Boost, Node.js tools). Use --no-boost or a minimal Composer setup instead.
• Windows-specific quirks are critical (though recent fixes improve cross-platform support).

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives: "The Laravel Installer standardizes how our teams spin up new projects, cutting onboarding time by 30% and reducing configuration errors. It’s maintained by Laravel’s core team, so we avoid reinventing the wheel—while supporting modern stacks like Svelte, Inertia, and Bun. For CI/CD, we’ll use the --no-interaction flag to automate deployments, and we can opt out of optional tools (e.g., Boost) if needed. This is a low-risk, high-reward choice that aligns with our PHP/Laravel investment."

For Engineering: *"This replaces ad-hoc composer create-project + manual .env setup with a smart, interactive CLI that handles:

• Database selection (MySQL/PostgreSQL/SQLite) with auto-migration.
• Frontend stacks (Vite, Inertia, Livewire) via starter kits.
• Cross-platform fixes (Windows/Linux/macOS) tested by the Laravel team.
• Security: No postinstall hooks by default (configurable).

Trade-offs:

• Pros: Official, actively maintained, supports modern Laravel features.
• Cons: Limited to Laravel; requires PHP/Composer. Mitigate by documenting fallback steps for edge cases.

Next Steps:

1. Pilot: Use in 1–2 projects to validate speed gains.
2. Document: Add to onboarding guides with CLI examples (e.g., laravel new project --database=mysql --teams).
3. Extend: Customize starter kits for internal templates if needed (via --preset or forks)."*