Creating a Laravel Package with Spatie's Skeleton

Prerequisites

gh CLI installed and authenticated
php available in PATH
composer available in PATH

Workflow

1. Gather Package Details

Ask the user for:

Vendor name (e.g. spatie) — the GitHub org or username
Package name (e.g. laravel-cool-feature) — the repo/package name
Package description — one-liner for composer.json
Visibility — public or private (default: public)

Use defaults where sensible:

Author name: from git config user.name
Author email: from git config user.email
Author username: from gh auth status
Vendor namespace: PascalCase of vendor name (e.g. Spatie)
Class name: TitleCase of package name without laravel- prefix (e.g. CoolFeature)

2. Create the Repository from Template

gh repo create <vendor>/<package-name> --template spatie/package-skeleton-laravel --public --clone
cd <package-name>

If the user wants a private repo, use --private instead of --public.

3. Configure the Package (Manual Replacement)

WARNING: Do NOT pipe stdin to configure.php. The script's child processes (gh auth status, git log, git config) consume lines from the piped stdin, causing inputs to shift and produce garbled results. Instead, do the replacements manually:

Run sed to replace all placeholder strings across the repo:

find . -type f -not -path './.git/*' -not -path './vendor/*' -not -name 'configure.php' -exec sed -i '' \
  -e 's/:author_name/Author Name/g' \
  -e 's/:author_username/authorusername/g' \
  -e 's/author@domain\.com/author@email.com/g' \
  -e 's/:vendor_name/Vendor Name/g' \
  -e 's/:vendor_slug/vendorslug/g' \
  -e 's/VendorName/VendorNamespace/g' \
  -e 's/:package_slug_without_prefix/package-without-prefix/g' \
  -e 's/:package_slug/package-name/g' \
  -e 's/:package_name/package-name/g' \
  -e 's/:package_description/Package description here/g' \
  -e 's/Skeleton/ClassName/g' \
  -e 's/skeleton/package-name/g' \
  -e 's/migration_table_name/package_without_prefix/g' \
  -e 's/variable/variableName/g' \
  {} +

Important: The order of -e flags matters. Replace :package_slug_without_prefix before :package_slug to avoid partial matches. Replace Skeleton (PascalCase) before skeleton (lowercase).

Rename the skeleton files:

mv src/Skeleton.php src/ClassName.php
mv src/SkeletonServiceProvider.php src/ClassNameServiceProvider.php
mv src/Facades/Skeleton.php src/Facades/ClassName.php
mv src/Commands/SkeletonCommand.php src/Commands/ClassNameCommand.php
mv config/skeleton.php config/package-without-prefix.php
mv database/migrations/create_skeleton_table.php.stub database/migrations/create_package_without_prefix_table.php.stub

Delete configure.php and run composer install:

rm configure.php
composer install

Use a longer timeout (5 minutes) for composer install.

4. Verify Setup

After the script completes:

# Check the directory structure
ls -la src/
# Verify composer.json looks correct
cat composer.json | head -20
# Check tests passed during setup

5. Initial Commit and Push

The configure script modifies all files but doesn't commit. Create the initial commit:

git add -A
git commit -m "Configure package skeleton"
git push -u origin main

6. Report to User

Tell the user:

The repo URL (e.g. https://github.com/<vendor>/<package-name>)
The namespace (e.g. VendorNamespace\ClassName)
Key files to start editing:
- src/<ClassName>.php — main package class
- src/<ClassName>ServiceProvider.php — service provider
- config/<package-slug>.php — configuration
- tests/ — test directory

Post-Setup Reference

Directory Structure

src/
  YourClass.php                    # Main package class
  YourClassServiceProvider.php     # Service provider (uses spatie/laravel-package-tools)
  Facades/YourClass.php            # Facade
  Commands/YourClassCommand.php    # Artisan command stub
config/
  your-package.php                 # Published config file
database/
  factories/ModelFactory.php       # Factory template (commented out)
  migrations/create_table.php.stub # Migration stub
resources/views/                   # Blade views
tests/
  TestCase.php                     # Extends Orchestra\Testbench\TestCase
  ArchTest.php                     # Architecture tests (no dd/dump/ray)
  ExampleTest.php                  # Starter test
  Pest.php                         # Pest config binding TestCase

Service Provider Configuration

Uses spatie/laravel-package-tools:

public function configurePackage(Package $package): void
{
    $package
        ->name('your-package')
        ->hasConfigFile()
        ->hasViews()
        ->hasMigration('create_your_package_table')
        ->hasCommand(YourClassCommand::class);
}

Remove methods you don't need. Delete corresponding directories/files too:

No database? Delete database/ and remove ->hasMigration()
No commands? Delete src/Commands/ and remove ->hasCommand()
No views? Delete resources/views/ and remove ->hasViews()
No facade? Delete src/Facades/ and remove facade alias from composer.json extra.laravel.aliases
No config? Delete config/ and remove ->hasConfigFile()

Testing

composer test       # Run tests
composer format     # Run code style fixer
composer analyse    # Run static analysis

Adding an Install Command

use Spatie\LaravelPackageTools\Commands\InstallCommand;

$package->hasInstallCommand(function (InstallCommand $command) {
    $command
        ->publishConfigFile()
        ->publishMigrations()
        ->askToRunMigrations()
        ->askToStarRepoOnGitHub('vendor/package-name');
});

API Design Principles

Optimize for easy usage. The API exposed to users should be as simple as possible. Every public method, facade call, and middleware should feel obvious and require minimal setup.
Use well-named methods. Method names should be intuitive and self-documenting. Prefer descriptive names over terse ones — the user should understand what a method does without reading its implementation. Use verb-first method names (clear(), forget(), save()).
Follow Spatie PHP/Laravel guidelines. All code must follow the conventions described in the php-guidelines-from-spatie skill.

Package patters

Fluent/Chainable APIs

Builder-style classes where every setter returns $this. Users should be able to chain configuration calls naturally.

Pdf::view('invoice', $data)->format('a4')->landscape()->save('invoice.pdf');

Sensible Defaults

The package should work well out of the box with zero configuration. Only require explicit setup for non-standard use cases. Provide safe defaults in the config file and apply them when values aren't explicitly set.

Facade + Factory for Clean State

Back facades with a factory that creates a fresh builder per call to prevent state bleed between requests.

// Factory intercepts calls via __call() to create fresh builder instances
class PdfFactory {
    public function __call($method, $parameters) {
        return (clone $this->builder)->$method(...$parameters);
    }
}

Enums Over Strings

Use PHP enums for any fixed set of options instead of string constants. This gives type safety and IDE support.

Value Objects for Options

Group related settings into small readonly classes (like PdfOptions, ScreenshotOptions) rather than passing many loose parameters between layers.

Descriptive Exception Classes

Name exceptions after what went wrong and provide static factory methods for specific scenarios with helpful error messages:

class CouldNotGeneratePdf extends Exception
{
    public static function browsershotNotInstalled(): static
    {
        return new static('To use Browsershot, install it via `composer require spatie/browsershot`.');
    }
}

Traits for Cross-Cutting Concerns

Use Conditionable (for when()/unless() chaining), Macroable (for runtime extension), and Dumpable (for debugging) on builder classes.

Small Interfaces for Extensibility

Define interfaces for components users might want to swap. Keep them small — one or two methods is ideal:

interface PdfDriver {
    public function generatePdf(string $html, ...): string;
    public function savePdf(string $html, ..., string $path): void;
}

Config-Driven Class Bindings

Let users swap implementations via config rather than requiring service provider overrides:

// config/your-package.php
'driver' => env('LARAVEL_PDF_DRIVER', 'browsershot'),
'cache_profile' => App\CacheProfiles\CustomCacheProfile::class,
'hasher' => App\Hashers\CustomHasher::class,

Testing Fakes with Rich Assertions

Provide a ::fake() method on the facade that swaps in a fake builder. Track calls and offer assertion methods:

Pdf::fake();
// ... code that generates PDFs ...
Pdf::assertSaved(fn ($pdf, $path) => $path === 'invoice.pdf');
Pdf::assertQueued();
Pdf::assertNotQueued();

Events at Key Moments

Fire events for important lifecycle moments so users can hook into the workflow without modifying package code.

Anti-Pattern: Config Option Creep

Don't add small config options for every customization request. Instead, give users full control via class extension.

Pattern: Events Instead of Hook Config Options

Fire events and let users listen:

event(new TransformerStarting($transformer, $url));
$transformer->transform();
event(new TransformerEnded($transformer, $url, $result));

Pattern: Configurable Models

Let users specify their own model class in config:

// config
'model' => Spatie\Package\Models\Result::class,

// In package code — always resolve from config:
$model = config('your-package.model');
$model::find($id);

Pattern: Configurable Jobs

Let users specify their own job class in config:

'process_job' => Spatie\Package\Jobs\ProcessJob::class,

Pattern: Action Classes

Wrap small pieces of functionality in action classes registered in config:

'actions' => [
    'fetch_content' => Spatie\Package\Actions\FetchContentAction::class,
],

Users override by extending and registering their custom action.

Queued Operations with Callbacks

For expensive operations, provide saveQueued() that returns a wrapper around PendingDispatch with then()/catch() callbacks:

Pdf::view('invoice', $data)
    ->saveQueued('invoice.pdf')
    ->then(fn ($path) => /* success */)
    ->catch(fn ($e) => /* failure */)
    ->onQueue('pdfs');

Consistent Naming Conventions

Suffix event classes with Event
Suffix notification classes with Notification
Suffix config data classes with Config
Use {Service}Driver for driver implementations
Use Could Not... for exception classes
Use Fake prefix for test doubles

Config File Comments

Always add block comments above each config key or group explaining what it does:

return [
    /*
     * When disabled, the middleware will not convert any responses.
     */
    'enabled' => env('PACKAGE_ENABLED', true),

    /*
     * The driver used to perform the operation.
     * Supported: "local", "cloud"
     */
    'driver' => env('PACKAGE_DRIVER', 'local'),

    'cache' => [
        /*
         * How long results should be cached, in seconds.
         */
        'ttl' => (int) env('PACKAGE_CACHE_TTL', 3600),
    ],
];

Use /* */ block comments (not //). Mention supported values, defaults, and any non-obvious behavior. Keep comments concise — one to three lines.

Miscellaneous

do not add down methods to migration
do not use else statements — return early instead
do not use compound if statements — split into multiple ifs or use guard clauses
use protected visibility over private

spatie-package-skeleton