- How do I install mpociot/botman-laravel-starter?
- It is a Laravel application skeleton, not a library, so you scaffold it with composer create-project into a fresh, isolated directory rather than composer require. Pin your PHP, Laravel, and BotMan versions in the composer.json it generates so a later resolve does not drift. After scaffolding, edit routes/botman.php and open the bundled web driver widget to start chatting.
- Does mpociot/botman-laravel-starter work with Laravel 10 or 11?
- No. The starter targets an older Laravel and PHP generation with BotMan 2.x pre-wired, and its last release was 2018-10-01, so Composer dependency resolution against current Laravel is the likely first blocker. Treat it as a reference architecture rather than a greenfield starting point. If you need Laravel 11, rebuild the shell and port the conversation logic onto current BotMan core.
- What is the difference between mpociot/botman-laravel-starter and botman/studio?
- They are the same lineage: mpociot/botman-laravel-starter is the legacy package name for what is now published as botman/studio. The repository URL points to BotMan Studio while the package name references a Laravel starter, so confirm early whether the artifact you are evaluating is the starter app, BotMan core, or a reference implementation, because the risk profile differs for each.
- Can I composer require mpociot/botman-laravel-starter inside an existing Laravel application?
- No. This is a full application skeleton with its own routes, controllers, configuration, and bootstrap, so requiring it into an existing service will conflict rather than add a feature. For an existing app, install botman/botman core plus a maintained integration, or write a thin custom webhook layer. Use the starter only to see how webhook routing, intent matching, and conversation classes fit together.
- Which messaging channels does BotMan Studio support out of the box?
- The starter ships drivers for Slack, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, the web widget, and legacy HipChat. The bundled web driver is the most valuable piece for evaluation because it produces a working demo with no channel credentials at all. The other drivers rely on third-party SDKs that are stale against messaging APIs that have changed considerably since 2018, so budget time for verification on any real channel.
- Is mpociot/botman-laravel-starter safe to run in production?
- It should be treated as high risk and explicitly communicated that way to stakeholders. There has been no security patching or upstream support since the 2018 release, and a chatbot webhook endpoint is internet-facing by nature, which makes an unpatched skeleton a security and compliance question rather than just a maintenance one. Limit it to a disposable prototype or reference implementation in an isolated branch or container, never on the dependency tree of a business-critical app.
- How do I test the bot locally without Slack or Telegram credentials?
- Use the bundled web driver. After composer create-project, load the included chat widget in a browser, refresh it, and type to exercise your intent routing and conversation classes. That zero-credential loop is what makes the starter a credible afternoon spike before procurement or engineering capacity is committed. Add real channel credentials only once the conversation design is settled.
- How does BotMan Studio handle multi-turn conversation state?
- Multi-turn flows are implemented as Conversation classes that BotMan tracks with a conversation cache and driver-backed state. Before you rely on that pattern, confirm where state actually lives in your configuration and whether it survives process restarts and horizontal scaling, because default file or session storage will not. If the spike graduates, move state to a shared store such as Redis or your database and keep the conversation logic in portable handler classes.
- How do I migrate or upgrade the conversation logic to current BotMan core?
- Keep routes/botman.php thin and push intent handling and multi-turn flows into callable handler and Conversation classes so the portable asset is business logic rather than framework glue. Scaffold a disposable spike, extract only what is durable, including handlers, intent definitions, routes, and middleware patterns, then rebuild the shell on current Laravel plus BotMan core. Define a written exit trigger and an owner for the patch stream before forking anything.
- What are the alternatives to mpociot/botman-laravel-starter for a new Laravel chatbot project?
- For new work, start with botman/botman core plus a currently maintained Laravel integration, or a thin custom webhook layer if your channel set is small. The starter remains useful as evidence for feasibility and channel strategy, and as a working reference for how webhook routing, intent matching, state, and driver abstraction fit together. Choose it for a time-boxed spike, not as a platform commitment.