Laravel 12: What’s New? Features & Updates

 Laravel 12: What’s New? Features & Updates

Laravel 12, released on February 24, 2025, focuses on enhancing developer experience through new starter kits, performance improvements, and refined existing features. Here's an overview of what's new:

1. New Starter Kits

Laravel 12 introduces versatile starter kits, allowing developers to begin with a blank slate or select a preferred tech stack:

• Blank Slate: Start from scratch, customizing the application to specific needs.
• Pre-configured Stacks: Choose from setups integrating React, Vue, or Livewire, streamlining the development process.
  Laravel News

2. Performance Enhancements

This release emphasizes performance optimization:

• Asynchronous Caching: Cache operations now run in the background, reducing latency and improving application responsiveness.
  Cloudways
• Query Execution Optimization: Improvements in the Query Builder leverage database-specific features more effectively, enhancing the performance of complex queries.
  Cloudways

3. Polishing Existing Features

Laravel 12 focuses on refining current functionalities:

• Str::is() Enhancement: The Str::is() helper now accurately matches multiline strings using the regex s modifier, ensuring consistent pattern matching.
  Benjamin Crozat

4. Updated Dependencies

Keeping up with the latest tools, Laravel 12 updates key dependencies:

• Tailwind CSS 4.0: Incorporates the latest version of Tailwind CSS, offering new utilities and improved performance.
• Vite 6.0: Upgrades to Vite 6.0 for faster build times and an enhanced development experience.
  Wikipedia

5. Community and Ecosystem Support

The Laravel community continues to thrive:

• Automatic Package Updates: Tools like Laravel Shift now automatically send pull requests to package repositories, ensuring compatibility with Laravel 12 upon release.
  Laravel News

Laravel 12 is a maintenance-focused release, enhancing performance, refining existing features, and updating dependencies to provide a robust and efficient development environment.

1. Zero Breaking Changes ✅

Laravel 12 ensures a smooth upgrade from Laravel 11 without major breaking changes. This means your existing applications can be updated with minimal effort.

How to Upgrade?

You can upgrade your Laravel project using Composer:

composer update laravel/framework

2. New Starter Kits for Faster Development ⚡

Laravel 12 introduces new starter kits for quick project setup. You can start with a minimal blank slate or use pre-configured setups with React, Vue, or Livewire.

How to Use a Starter Kit?

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-project

Then choose your preferred frontend setup:

php artisan ui vue  // For Vue.js
php artisan ui react  // For React
php artisan ui livewire  // For Livewire

3. Performance Improvements 🚀

Laravel 12 has better caching mechanisms and faster query execution, resulting in improved app performance.

Optimized Query Builder Example:

$users = User::whereActive(true)->cacheFor(600)->get();

🔹 New query caching methods improve response times significantly.

4. Advanced API Development 🛠️

Laravel 12 enhances API development with:
✅ Flexible API rate limiting
✅ Improved API versioning
✅ Advanced API documentation tools

Example: Rate Limiting Per User Role

RateLimiter::for('api', function (Request $request) {
    return $request->user()->isAdmin() ? Limit::none() : Limit::perMinute(60);
});

5. Built-in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 🔐

Laravel 12 provides MFA support out of the box, improving security for user authentication.

Enable MFA in Laravel 12:

php artisan auth:setup-mfa

Users will now have the option to enable TOTP-based MFA for added security.

6. Improved Testing & Debugging Tools 🧪

Laravel 12 integrates better PHPUnit support, mocking improvements, and detailed test coverage reports.

Example: Improved Test Assertions

$this->assertDatabaseHas('users', [
    'email' => 'test@example.com',
]);

This makes testing easier and more reliable.

7. Upgraded Security Features 🔒

Laravel 12 introduces:
✅ Auto-hashing of sensitive database columns
✅ Stronger password encryption
✅ Enhanced CSRF protection

Example: Encrypting User Data Automatically

protected $casts = [
    'secret_data' => 'encrypted',
];

This ensures sensitive information remains secure.

8. Queue & Job Enhancements 🚀

Laravel 12 improves queue handling, making background job processing faster and more efficient.

New Queue Worker Command:

php artisan queue:work --max-time=3600

This helps manage long-running jobs more effectively.

Conclusion 🎉

Laravel 12 is an exciting update that boosts performance, security, and developer experience while keeping upgrades smooth and easy.

💬 What feature excites you the most? Let us know in the comments!

🚀 Ready to upgrade? Follow the official Laravel 12 upgrade guide.