Laravel 12 New Features

Laravel 12 is here! This maintenance update is designed to be smooth and easy to upgrade—most applications can move to Laravel 12 with minimal changes.

New Starter Kits for Modern Development

One of the standout features in Laravel 12 is the introduction of brand new starter kits that replace the older Breeze and Jetstream. These kits give you a modern foundation for building projects:

• React and Vue Kits: Utilize tools like Inertia 2, Typescript, shadcn/ui, and Tailwind CSS to build seamless single-page applications.
• Livewire Kit: Integrates with Flux UI and Laravel Volt to help you build reactive interfaces without heavy JavaScript.
• WorkOS AuthKit: Offers built-in social authentication, passkeys, and Single Sign-On (SSO) for up to 1 million monthly active users.

Dependency Updates & Minor Improvements

Laravel 12 keeps your projects up to date and secure with several behind-the-scenes enhancements:

• Dependency Refresh: The framework now requires Carbon 3.x, ensuring compatibility with the latest date/time libraries.
• Concurrency Enhancements: The Concurrency::run method now returns results with associated keys, which helps maintain context during parallel operations.
• Database Improvements:
  • Schema::getTables() now includes all schemas by default.
  • Schema::getTableListing() returns schema-qualified table names, simplifying multi-schema management.
• Request Handling: A new mergeIfMissing method supports nested array merging with dot notation for cleaner code.
• Security in Validation: The image validation rule now excludes SVGs by default to enhance security, although you can allow them if needed.

Why Upgrade to Laravel 12?

• Easy Upgrades: With minimal breaking changes, most apps can upgrade without major adjustments.
• Modern Tooling: New starter kits mean you get up-to-date technologies right out of the box.
• Enhanced Developer Experience: Improvements in concurrency, database management, and request handling streamline your workflow.

Conclusion

Laravel 12 strikes the perfect balance between stability and modern innovation. Whether you're launching a new project or upgrading an existing one, these updates and new starter kits make it easier than ever to build secure and scalable applications. Stay tuned for more tips and tutorials on how to make the most of Laravel 12!