Laravel Chunky Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• Feature: Large File Uploads

  • Enables reliable uploads of files >100MB (e.g., video, datasets, backups) without frontend timeouts or server memory issues.
  • Use case: Media libraries, user-generated content (e.g., resumes, portfolios), or enterprise file-sharing platforms.

• Roadmap: Scalable Media Infrastructure

  • Build vs. Buy: Avoids reinventing chunked uploads from scratch (e.g., custom S3 multipart or manual chunking logic).
  • Priority: High for products with file-heavy workflows (e.g., design tools, SaaS with attachments).
  • Extension: Could integrate with storage adapters (e.g., S3, GCS) via AssembleFileJob customization.

• Use Cases

  • Resume Support: Critical for unstable networks (e.g., mobile users, developing regions).
  • Batch Uploads: Bulk processing (e.g., CSV imports, document collections).
  • Event-Driven Workflows: Trigger actions post-upload (e.g., thumbnail generation, virus scanning) via Laravel events.
  • Multi-Framework Support: Unifies upload UX across Vue, React, Livewire, or Alpine.js apps.

• Non-Functional Requirements

  • Reliability: Retry logic, checksum validation, and lock contention handling reduce data loss.
  • Security: CSRF protection, ownership checks, and configurable auth middleware.
  • Observability: Metrics hooks for monitoring upload performance/errors.

When to Consider This Package

• Adopt if:

  • Your app handles files >50MB regularly (chunking mitigates timeout risks).
  • You need resumable uploads for poor connectivity (e.g., mobile-first products).
  • Your stack is Laravel 11+ with PHP 8.2+ (compatibility is strict).
  • You want unified upload UX across multiple frontend frameworks.
  • Your team lacks bandwidth to build/maintain a custom chunking solution.

• Look elsewhere if:

  • You’re on Laravel <11 or PHP <8.2 (package is forward-only).
  • Your use case is tiny files (<10MB) where simplicity (e.g., Symfony Uploader) suffices.
  • You need serverless or non-Laravel backends (e.g., Node.js, Django).
  • Your primary concern is cost: This requires a queue worker and storage for temporary chunks.
  • You’re constrained by vendor lock-in (MIT license is permissive, but dependency is new).

• Alternatives to Evaluate:

  • Tus Protocol: Standardized chunked uploads (e.g., tus-php-client), but requires separate infrastructure.
  • AWS S3 Multipart Upload: For S3-centric apps (no backend chunk management needed).
  • Custom Solution: If you need unique features (e.g., WebRTC direct uploads) or tighter integration with existing systems.

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives

"Laravel-Chunky solves a critical pain point for our users uploading large files—whether it’s doctors sharing medical images, designers submitting high-res assets, or customers restoring backups. This package:*

• Reduces support costs by handling flaky connections and timeouts automatically.
• Accelerates development by providing a battle-tested, framework-agnostic solution (no more reinventing chunked uploads).
• Future-proofs our media infrastructure with batch processing, event-driven workflows, and scalability for files of any size. It’s a drop-in upgrade for our Laravel stack, with minimal operational overhead (just a queue worker and storage tuning)."

Ask: "Should we prioritize this for [Product X]’s file upload overhaul, given the user pain we’ve seen in [metric]?"

For Engineering

"Laravel-Chunky gives us:*

• Reliability: Resumable uploads, checksum validation, and automatic retries—no more lost data or frustrated users.
• Flexibility: Works with Vue, React, Livewire, or Alpine.js out of the box. Supports batch uploads and custom events for post-processing (e.g., thumbnails, virus scans).
• Performance: Chunks upload in parallel, and the queue handles assembly—no blocking requests.
• Security: Built-in CSRF protection, auth middleware, and ownership checks.

Trade-offs:

• Requires a queue worker (don’t run AssembleFileJob on sync).
• Needs storage for temporary chunks (tune chunky.staging_directory).
• New dependency (MIT license, but low risk with 0 dependents).

Proposal:

1. Pilot: Use it for [Feature Y]’s uploads to validate UX and performance.
2. Integrate: Replace ad-hoc chunking logic in [Component Z] with this package.
3. Extend: Customize AssembleFileJob or events for our workflows (e.g., broadcast progress to a dashboard).

Next Steps:

• Review the 5-minute quickstart and production checklist.
• Allocate time to test with our largest expected file size ([X]MB).
• Decide if we need to extend the Authorizer for our auth model.

Risk: Minimal—package is MIT, well-documented, and handles edge cases (e.g., lock contention, DOS protection)."*