laravel-api-CLAUDE.md

Laravel API — Project CLAUDE.md

Real-world example for a Laravel API with PostgreSQL, Redis, and queues. Copy this to your project root and customize for your service.

Project Overview

Stack: PHP 8.2+, Laravel 11.x, PostgreSQL, Redis, Horizon, PHPUnit/Pest, Docker Compose

Architecture: Modular Laravel app with controllers -> services -> actions, Eloquent ORM, queues for async work, Form Requests for validation, and API Resources for consistent JSON responses.

Critical Rules

PHP Conventions

• declare(strict_types=1) in all PHP files
• Use typed properties and return types everywhere
• Prefer final classes for services and actions
• No dd() or dump() in committed code
• Formatting via Laravel Pint (PSR-12)

API Response Envelope

All API responses use a consistent envelope:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {"...": "..."},
  "error": null,
  "meta": {"page": 1, "per_page": 25, "total": 120}
}

Database

• Migrations committed to git
• Use Eloquent or query builder (no raw SQL unless parameterized)
• Index any column used in where or orderBy
• Avoid mutating model instances in services; prefer create/update through repositories or query builders

Authentication

• API auth via Sanctum
• Use policies for model-level authorization
• Enforce auth in controllers and services

Validation

• Use Form Requests for validation
• Transform input to DTOs for business logic
• Never trust request payloads for derived fields

Error Handling

• Throw domain exceptions in services
• Map exceptions to HTTP responses in bootstrap/app.php via withExceptions
• Never expose internal errors to clients

Code Style

• No emojis in code or comments
• Max line length: 120 characters
• Controllers are thin; services and actions hold business logic

File Structure

app/
  Actions/
  Console/
  Events/
  Exceptions/
  Http/
    Controllers/
    Middleware/
    Requests/
    Resources/
  Jobs/
  Models/
  Policies/
  Providers/
  Services/
  Support/
config/
database/
  factories/
  migrations/
  seeders/
routes/
  api.php
  web.php

Key Patterns

Service Layer

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

final class CreateOrderAction
{
    public function __construct(private OrderRepository $orders) {}

    public function handle(CreateOrderData $data): Order
    {
        return $this->orders->create($data);
    }
}

final class OrderService
{
    public function __construct(private CreateOrderAction $createOrder) {}

    public function placeOrder(CreateOrderData $data): Order
    {
        return $this->createOrder->handle($data);
    }
}

Controller Pattern

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

final class OrdersController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct(private OrderService $service) {}

    public function store(StoreOrderRequest $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $order = $this->service->placeOrder($request->toDto());

        return response()->json([
            'success' => true,
            'data' => OrderResource::make($order),
            'error' => null,
            'meta' => null,
        ], 201);
    }
}

Policy Pattern

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use App\Models\Order;
use App\Models\User;

final class OrderPolicy
{
    public function view(User $user, Order $order): bool
    {
        return $order->user_id === $user->id;
    }
}

Form Request + DTO

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

final class StoreOrderRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return (bool) $this->user();
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'items' => ['required', 'array', 'min:1'],
            'items.*.sku' => ['required', 'string'],
            'items.*.quantity' => ['required', 'integer', 'min:1'],
        ];
    }

    public function toDto(): CreateOrderData
    {
        return new CreateOrderData(
            userId: (int) $this->user()->id,
            items: $this->validated('items'),
        );
    }
}

API Resource

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Http\Resources\Json\JsonResource;

final class OrderResource extends JsonResource
{
    public function toArray(Request $request): array
    {
        return [
            'id' => $this->id,
            'status' => $this->status,
            'total' => $this->total,
            'created_at' => $this->created_at?->toIso8601String(),
        ];
    }
}

Queue Job

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Bus\Dispatchable;
use Illuminate\Queue\InteractsWithQueue;
use Illuminate\Queue\SerializesModels;
use App\Repositories\OrderRepository;
use App\Services\OrderMailer;

final class SendOrderConfirmation implements ShouldQueue
{
    use Dispatchable, InteractsWithQueue, Queueable, SerializesModels;

    public function __construct(private int $orderId) {}

    public function handle(OrderRepository $orders, OrderMailer $mailer): void
    {
        $order = $orders->findOrFail($this->orderId);
        $mailer->sendOrderConfirmation($order);
    }
}

Test Pattern (Pest)

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use function Pest\Laravel\actingAs;
use function Pest\Laravel\assertDatabaseHas;
use function Pest\Laravel\postJson;

uses(RefreshDatabase::class);

test('user can place order', function () {
    $user = User::factory()->create();

    actingAs($user);

    $response = postJson('/api/orders', [
        'items' => [['sku' => 'sku-1', 'quantity' => 2]],
    ]);

    $response->assertCreated();
    assertDatabaseHas('orders', ['user_id' => $user->id]);
});

Test Pattern (PHPUnit)

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use Tests\TestCase;

final class OrdersControllerTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_user_can_place_order(): void
    {
        $user = User::factory()->create();

        $response = $this->actingAs($user)->postJson('/api/orders', [
            'items' => [['sku' => 'sku-1', 'quantity' => 2]],
        ]);

        $response->assertCreated();
        $this->assertDatabaseHas('orders', ['user_id' => $user->id]);
    }
}