- How do I install LaraUpdater in a Laravel app?
- Install LaraUpdater with Composer by requiring pcinaglia/laraupdater, then register the service provider if your Laravel version does not use package discovery and publish its configuration file. You will need writable application directories and an update source configured before the self-update flow can run. Treat the install as the smallest part of adoption and plan for packaging, signing, backup, and rollback work around it.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions does LaraUpdater support?
- The package's last release was 2023-02-04, so Laravel and PHP compatibility should be treated as unproven until you test it against your application matrix. Check the Composer constraints, service-provider discovery, filesystem permissions, queue and cache drivers, and migration behavior in a disposable environment. Do not assume support for newer Laravel releases without a spike.
- How does LaraUpdater download and apply updates?
- LaraUpdater checks a remote versioned ZIP, downloads and extracts it, replaces application files while preserving configured protected paths, runs migrations, and reports progress through configurable routes. The package description focuses on application files and migrations, so verify whether dependencies, public assets, and other release artifacts are handled in your setup. The update workflow needs a writable application directory and a controlled maintenance-mode process.
- Can LaraUpdater update a Laravel app running in Docker or Kubernetes?
- LaraUpdater is a poor fit for Docker, Kubernetes, serverless, or any immutable-infrastructure deployment where releases are built as artifacts and containers are replaced. It is intended for single-node or small fixed-fleet Laravel apps with writable release directories. Runtime mutation of application code conflicts with autoscaling, read-only filesystems, and blue-green release models.
- How do I configure protected files and folders in LaraUpdater?
- Protected paths are configured in the package configuration so LaraUpdater leaves those files and folders untouched during an update. You should explicitly protect environment files, storage directories, uploaded content, logs, and any locally managed configuration. Review the protected list before every update because an incomplete list can cause data loss or configuration overwrite.
- Does LaraUpdater run database migrations automatically?
- Yes, the package description says LaraUpdater runs migrations as part of the self-update flow. That makes database backup, backward-compatibility checks, and a documented recovery path essential before enabling updates in any shared environment. Migration failure during a self-update can leave the application in a mixed state, so test the process with staging data first.
- Is LaraUpdater safe for production use?
- Treat LaraUpdater as high risk for production: it has low adoption signals, zero dependents, and a last release dated 2023-02-04. If you use it, pin or fork the package, add internal controls, require signed update artifacts, run a bounded pilot, and keep a manual deployment path available for rollback. It is not a replacement for CI/CD or infrastructure-as-code in regulated or multi-node environments.
- How can I secure the update source and verify update artifacts?
- The overview describes configuration for the version source and access, but it does not establish a built-in signing or artifact-verification model. You should authenticate to the update source, host artifacts in a controlled location, and add cryptographic signing and verification before any production pilot. Supply-chain compromise is a major risk when an application downloads and executes replacement code at runtime.
- What happens if a LaraUpdater update fails partway through?
- The package description does not promise atomic staging or rollback, so a failed update can leave partially replaced files, stale opcache, or an inconsistent application state. Plan for database backups, filesystem snapshots, maintenance mode, and a documented manual recovery procedure. Failure-injection testing should be completed before you rely on self-update in production.
- What are alternatives to LaraUpdater for Laravel deployments?
- Common alternatives include CI/CD pipelines, Git-based releases, Laravel Envoyer, Deployer, container image replacement, and infrastructure-as-code deployment tools. These approaches provide atomic releases, rollback, auditability, and multi-node consistency that a runtime self-updater does not. Choose LaraUpdater only for constrained single-server or appliance-style Laravel apps where conventional deployment tooling is unavailable.