Laravel Devtoolbox: The Imaginary Friend Every Developer Always Wanted
At OBI Partner, we know that coding is sometimes like cooking a chili 🌶️
A bit of organization,
A pinch of improvisation,
And… an unexpected explosion that sets the kitchen on fire.
But don’t worry — there’s now a pocket firefighter for Laravel: Devtoolbox.
An artisan CLI that turns your “I don’t get why this is so slow” into “ahhh, of course!” (all without nervous breakdowns or keyboards flying out the window).
What it’s for (besides saving keyboards from being smashed)
Devtoolbox is like the perfect colleague: it knows everything about the project, answers instantly, and never hogs the coffee machine.
👉 In practice, it lets you:
- Find where your models are hiding (no more Indiana Jones treasure hunts in the code).
- Trace SQL queries (so you finally understand why your “cart” page generates more traffic than Black Friday).
- Expose duplicates (yep, those lazy queries that just keep coming back for no reason).
- Point out slow service providers (spoiler: sometimes it’s not your code, it’s Laravel taking a nap).
- Auto-generate documentation (goodbye late-night whiteboard sketches, hello neat Markdown exports).
How to install it (no goat sacrifice required)
Just run:
composer require --dev grazulex/laravel-devtoolbox
And boom, you’re good to go.
No dark rituals needed — just a terminal and a strong cup of coffee.
A few magical commands (Harry Potter would have loved these)
- Find where a model is used
php artisan dev:model:where-used User
➡️ “Oh, so that’s where we forgot to delete that old 2019 code…”
- Trace SQL queries on a route
php artisan dev:sql:trace --route=dashboard.index
➡️ “That many queries just to show three charts?!”
- Detect duplicate SQL queries
php artisan dev:sql:duplicates --route=orders.list
➡️ “Ah, so that’s why the database has been sending us angry letters…”
- Analyze slow providers
php artisan dev:providers:timeline --slow-threshold=100
➡️ “Now we know who’s slowing down the startup. Spoiler: not the intern.”
- Export route documentation
php artisan dev:routes:export --format=markdown
➡️ “Docs that write themselves. The dream of every dev… and every project manager.”
How we use it at OBI Partner
- 🕵️ Client audits: we run your Laravel apps through a lie detector.
- 🛡️ CI/CD: Devtoolbox acts as the nightclub bouncer for your code — if it’s slow, it’s not getting in.
- 🧭 Onboarding: new devs find their way around faster than with Google Maps.
- 🍵 Debugging: instead of raging, we launch a command and keep our zen (well, almost).
Conclusion (with a smile)
Laravel Devtoolbox is like a GPS for Laravel developers: it won’t code for you, but it will stop you from driving in circles for hours.
At OBI Partner, we use it to deliver apps that are fast, reliable… and drama-free when it comes to SQL.
👉 Want your Laravel project to stop acting like an old Fiat Panda on the highway?
Get in touch with us — we’ll run the diagnostics. And no worries, the jokes are free of charge.
