Tools
Then and now
The 2019 stack next to the 2026 pick, from the requirements article. Chart links are packages we counted. Anything else has no download number.
The 2019 stack next to the 2026 pick, from the requirements article. Chart links are packages we counted. Anything else has no download number.
| Job | Then (2019) | Now (2026) | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framework | Laravel 5.8 | Laravel 13 | laravel/framework |
| Admin panel | Nova | Nova 5 or Filament | Not in this chart |
| API | GraphQL with Lighthouse | Inertia 3 for app pages. JSON:API resources or Lighthouse for a public API. | inertiajs/inertia-laravelLighthouse is not in this chart |
| Front end | Nuxt 2, Vue 2, Options API | Vue 3.5 with script setup and TypeScript, via Inertia or Nuxt 4. | vuenuxt |
| State | Vuex | Pinia, or Inertia page props. | pinia |
| Styling | Bootstrap 3, Stylus | Tailwind CSS 4 | Not in this chart |
| Auth | Passport, Socialite | Starter kit auth or WorkOS AuthKit. Sanctum for SPA and mobile tokens. Socialite for OAuth. | laravel/sanctumlaravel/socialiteWorkOS AuthKit is not in this chart |
| Search | Scout + Algolia | Scout with Algolia, Meilisearch, or Typesense, or vector search with pgvector. | laravel/scout |
| Debugging | Telescope | Telescope, Pail, and Pulse or Nightwatch in production. | laravel/telescopelaravel/pailPulse and Nightwatch are not in this chart |
| Testing | PHPUnit | Pest, plus Vitest for components. | pestphp/pest-plugin-laravelVitest is not in this chart |
A new project starts from the official Laravel and Vue starter kit. The setup guide walks through it.