- How do I install philo/laravel-blade with Composer?
- Add the package to your composer.json and run composer require philo/laravel-blade. Because the last release was in December 2015, expect dependency constraints aimed at PHP 5.x/7.0-era runtimes, and verify resolution under Composer 2 before committing. A short spike in a clean container is the safest way to confirm installation succeeds on your stack.
- Does philo/laravel-blade work with PHP 8 and modern Laravel versions?
- Unlikely without a fork. The package's final release dates from 2015 and its illuminate/* constraints predate PHP 8, so modern Composer resolution will usually conflict. If you need current Blade behavior on PHP 8.1+, evaluate the maintained illuminate/view component instead.
- What is the difference between philo/laravel-blade and illuminate/view?
- philo/laravel-blade is a thin standalone wrapper around Blade's compiler and view factory, while illuminate/view is Laravel's own maintained view package that can also be used without the framework. The practical difference is maintenance and feature parity: illuminate/view tracks new Blade features and security fixes, while the wrapper has not been updated since 2015.
- Can I use Blade layouts, includes, and custom directives outside Laravel with this package?
- Yes, the package compiles .blade.php templates and supports layouts, includes, and directives at roughly the level Blade offered in 2015. Treat newer constructs as unverified and add contract tests using representative templates covering escaping, nested layouts, includes, and error cases.
- Does philo/laravel-blade support Blade components and slots?
- No. Components, slots, and other post-5.x Blade additions are not supported by this package because its last release predates them. Templates relying on those features will fail or render incorrectly, so choose illuminate/view if you need modern Blade syntax.
- Is philo/laravel-blade still maintained?
- No. There have been no releases since December 2015, dependents are effectively zero, and community validation is limited despite the star count. Adopting it means your team owns bug fixes, PHP upgrades, compatibility work, and security patching internally.
- How does template caching work with standalone Blade?
- Blade compiles templates into plain PHP and caches the compiled output, so you must point the renderer at a writable cache directory and clear it during deploys. Confirm filesystem permissions early, especially in containerized or read-only deployments. Also verify how cache invalidation behaves against your template modification workflow.
- Should I use philo/laravel-blade inside a Laravel application?
- No. Laravel ships Blade natively through illuminate/view, so the standalone wrapper adds no value and will likely conflict with framework dependencies. Restrict this package to non-Laravel PHP applications that specifically require Blade syntax.
- What are the alternatives to philo/laravel-blade for standalone templating?
- Prefer illuminate/view used standalone, since it is maintained and versioned alongside Laravel. If Blade syntax is not a hard product requirement, evaluate Twig or Plates, or plain PHP templates, which have active maintenance and broader community support. Estimate the exit cost before building on any standalone Blade approach.
- How should I test Blade templates rendered with this package?
- Add golden-template tests covering escaping, nested layouts, includes, custom directives, and error cases, and run them in a pinned, containerized runtime. Compare rendered output against expected HTML so a fork or replacement spike can be validated against the same fixtures. Include a security scan of transitive dependencies in CI as part of the same pipeline.