What’s New in Laravel 10? Latest Features and Updates

Laravel 10 was officially released on February 14, 2023, introducing new features, performance improvements, and cleaner code structures. This post covers the latest features, changes, and how to upgrade to Laravel 10.

1. Laravel 10 Release Overview

Laravel 10 continues Laravel’s tradition of regular updates, focusing on cleaner code, better performance, and enhanced developer experience. It also drops support for older PHP versions to keep up with modern features.

2. Key Features in Laravel 10

1. PHP 8.1+ is Required

Laravel 10 requires PHP 8.1 or higher, ensuring compatibility with modern language features like readonly properties, array unpacking, and Enums enhancements.

2. Laravel Pennant for Feature Flags

Laravel 10 introduces Laravel Pennant, a simple way to manage feature flags in your app.

Example:

use Laravel\Pennant\Feature;

Feature::define('new-dashboard', fn () => true);

if (Feature::active('new-dashboard')) {
    // Show new dashboard
}

3. Native Type Declarations in Laravel Codebase

Laravel 10 removes docblocks and adds native type hints for methods, making the code cleaner.

Before Laravel 10:

/**
 * Get the user by ID.
 *
 * @param int $id
 * @return User
 */
public function getUser($id)

In Laravel 10:

public function getUser(int $id): User

4. Process Abstraction for Running CLI Commands

Laravel 10 introduces a new Process abstraction, making it easier to execute system commands.

Example:

use Illuminate\Process\Process;

$result = Process::run('ls -la');
echo $result->output();

5. New String Password Helper

A new Str::password() helper generates random passwords securely.

Example:

use Illuminate\Support\Str;

$password = Str::password(12); // Generates a secure password of length 12

6. Improved Eloquent Performance

Eloquent now includes faster lazy loading and query optimizations, improving database performance.

7. Test Profiling in Laravel

Laravel 10 allows developers to measure test execution times, helping optimize slow tests.

Run:

php artisan test --profile

8. Upgraded Pest Testing Framework

Laravel 10 includes Pest v2 by default, making testing more expressive.

3. How to Install Laravel 10

To install a fresh Laravel 10 project, run:

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel10-app

Or via Laravel Installer:

laravel new laravel10-app

4. How to Upgrade from Laravel 9 to Laravel 10

If you’re upgrading from Laravel 9, follow these steps:

Step 1: Update Dependencies

Edit composer.json to require Laravel 10 packages:

"require": {
    "php": "^8.1",
    "laravel/framework": "^10.0"
}

Run:

composer update

Step 2: Update Config Files

Check /config files for changes and update them.

Step 3: Review Middleware & Routes

Ensure no deprecated methods are being used.

Step 4: Run Tests

Run:

php artisan test

Fix any breaking changes before deploying.

5. Conclusion

Laravel 10 brings modern PHP features, performance optimizations, and developer-friendly enhancements like Laravel Pennant and Process handling. Upgrading ensures better security and efficiency.

Are you excited about Laravel 10? Let us know your thoughts! 🚀

Souy Soeng

What’s New in Laravel 10? Latest Features and Updates