Skeleton Laravel Package

Getting Started

Start by installing pds/skeleton as a dev dependency:

composer require --dev pds/skeleton

Then run the validator to check your existing project:

vendor/bin/pds-skeleton validate

Or generate a fresh compliant structure:

vendor/bin/pds-skeleton generate ./my-new-package

The validator also works on arbitrary paths: vendor/bin/pds-skeleton validate ./some-other-project.

First use case: as a foundation for new packages, ensuring consistent structure across your organization or open-source work.

Implementation Patterns

• New projects: Run generate once, then customize with your own namespace, autoloading (composer.json), and initial source code under src/.
• Existing projects: Use validate to audit your current layout. Adjust directory names or add missing files (e.g., CHANGELOG.md, CONTRIBUTING.md) to meet requirements.
• Tooling integration: Add validation to CI pipelines:

  # .github/workflows/skeleton.yml
  - run: vendor/bin/pds-skeleton validate
  

• Bootstrap automation: Use the generator in scaffolding tools or starter repos (e.g., GitHub Templates) to enforce consistency.
• Documentation alignment: Map existing docs (e.g., README.md, docs/api.md) into the docs/ directory; place API or usage docs under docs/api/ or similar.

Gotchas and Tips

• Case sensitivity: Directory/file names must match exactly (config/, not Config/). This matters on case-insensitive filesystems (e.g., macOS/Windows), but validation fails on case-sensitive ones (e.g., Linux) if mismatched.
• Optional directories: public/ and resources/ are optional; omit them if unused (e.g., pure library). Validation does not fail for their absence.
• File extensions allowed: For files like CHANGELOG, LICENSE, and README, extensions are permitted (e.g., CHANGELOG.md, LICENSE.txt). The validator uses regex pattern (.*).
• No vendor handling: The standard explicitly ignores vendor/—don’t try to validate or generate it.
• Extensibility: The standard only defines structure—not content, autoloading, or package metadata. You still configure composer.json, PSR-4, PHPUnit, etc., yourself.
• Validator exit codes: 0 = compliant, 1 = non-compliant (per 1.0.1). Useful for CI failsafes.
• Maturity note: Last release was in 2017. While stable, it’s not actively developed. Still widely influential, and many tools (e.g., TYPO3 CMS, Symfony flex) implicitly follow it.