PhpStorm 2026.3 Adds an Agent Workspace and PHP 8.6 Support
PhpStorm 2026.3 adds PHP 8.6 support, new Laravel inspections, a Processes tab for queue workers, and Air, a workspace for coding agents.
Writing on software design, company building, and the aerospace industry.
All of my long-form thoughts on programming, leadership, product design, and more, collected in chronological order.
Insert Middleware Before or After Existing Laravel Middleware
Laravel 13.40 adds insertBefore() and insertAfter() to place middleware next to built-in ones like TrustProxies and StartSession without redefining the stack.
Laravel Herd 2: Coding Agents, Workspaces, and Cloud Deploys
Laravel Herd 2.0 adds Herd Studio for running coding agents on local sites, git workspaces for parallel work, and Laravel Cloud deploys.
Strict Request Input Casting in Laravel
Laravel 13.40 adds a strict flag to the request integer(), boolean(), float(), and string() helpers, so bad input returns your default instead of 0 or an error.
Prevent Duplicate File Uploads With Laravel Storage Dedupler
Laravel Storage Dedupler uses SHA-1 hashes to prevent duplicate file storage, attach files to Eloquent models, and analyse existing directories.
Flock: A Free, Native Herd Alternative for Laravel
Flock is a free, open source local dev app for Laravel that runs PHP, Node, databases, mail, and HTTPS natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Slow Job Alerts and Replica Commit IDs in Laravel 13.40
Laravel 13.40 adds callbacks for slow queue jobs and scheduled tasks, commit IDs to check read replica lag, and insertBefore() and insertAfter() for middleware.
Cooldown Dependency Policy now in Composer 2.11
Composer 2.11 can hold back newly published package versions for a set period before installing them. It also ships six security fixes and faster resolution.
Live Props for Real-Time Updates in Inertia.js v3.11
Inertia.js v3.11 adds live props, which reload a page prop when a broadcast event arrives, with Laravel Echo, Reverb, Pusher, and Action Cable transports.
Email Sending and Testing for Laravel in One Account
Send real mail from Laravel and catch test emails in one Maileroo account: SMTP sink, spam and dark-mode checks, and automated tests in CI.