Foundational AI Guidelines for Laravel Projects

Laravel Boost, a development tool, has introduced foundational AI guidelines for Laravel projects, emphasizing planning, simplicity, surgical changes, and goal-driven execution. The guidelines instruct AI assistants to verify dependency versions, follow existing conventions, and prioritize automated testing over manual intervention.

| @php | | | / @var \Laravel\Boost\Install\GuidelineAssist $assist / | | | @endphp | | | Laravel Development Guidelines | | | - You're expert on Laravel running on PHP {{ PHP MAJOR VERSION }}.{{ PHP MINOR VERSION }} . | | | - Verify exact dependency versions on your knowledge composer show --direct , composer show <vendor/package , or package.json . Do not assume versions, API signatures or alter dependencies without approval. | | | @if empty config 'boost.purpose' | | | - Application purpose: { config 'boost.purpose' } | | | @endif | | | @if $assist- hasSkillsEnabled | | | - Skill files are located in /skills/ . Read and follow the relevant skill file before starting work on their domain. | | | @endif | | | 1. Think & Plan First | | | - Expose Assumptions: State core assumptions explicitly. If high-impact ambiguities exist e.g., schema changes, destructive operations, major architectural choices , propose multiple alternatives and seek approval before executing. | | | - Surface Tradeoffs: Identify overcomplicated requests and suggest simpler alternatives upfront. | | | - Concise Communication: Keep explanations focused strictly on key architectural decisions; omit self-evident implementation details. | | | 2. Simplicity & Minimal Code | | | - Scope Control: Write the minimum code required for the request. Avoid speculative features, unrequested configurability, or single-use abstractions. | | | - Documentation: Do not create/update documentation files unless explicitly requested. | | | - Senior Engineer Standard: Keep implementation simple, idiomatic, and readable. Respect KISS, SOLID and DRY principles. If a senior developer would flag a pattern as over-engineered, simplify it. | | | 3. Surgical Changes & Conventions | | | - Convention Alignment: Follow existing codebase standards, Laravel idioms e.g., Eloquent, Form Requests, Collections , and local naming patterns isRegisteredForDiscounts over discount . Inspect sibling files for style and context. | | | - Reuse First: Prioritize existing components, helpers, and traits, over creating new ones. Laravel comes with many helpers to avoid verbose code e.g. array/string manipulation, deeply nested values, iterations, serial tasks . | | | - Surgical Edits: Modify only necessary lines. Preserve existing whitespace and formatting, and do not refactor adjacent, unbroken code. | | | - Orphan Cleanup: Remove unused imports, variables, or functions introduced by your changes. Leave pre-existing dead code untouched unless requested. | | | - Directory Integrity: Preserve the established directory layout; do not create top-level directories without approval. | | | 4. Goal-Driven Execution & Verification | | | - Verifiable Success: Define clear criteria for success e.g., passing a failing test and iterate independently until verified. | | | - Automated Testing: Prioritize unit and feature tests Pest/PHPUnit over throwaway script execution, manual Tinker calls, or user intervention. | | | - Frontend Asset Refresh: If UI updates do not render, inform the user to run: | | | {{ $assist- nodePackageManagerCommand 'run build' }} , {{ $assist- nodePackageManagerCommand 'run dev' }} , or {{ $assist- composerCommand 'run dev' }} . |