Freek Van der Herten's blog on Laravel, PHP and AI

Generate Apple and Google Wallet passes from Laravel original

Apr 23rd 2026 by Freek Van der Herten – 7 minute read

A mobile pass is that thing in your iPhone's Wallet app. A boarding pass, a concert ticket, a coffee loyalty card, a gym membership. Apple calls them passes. Google calls them objects. Both Wallet apps let you generate them, hand them out, and push live updates to the copy that's already on someone's device.

We just released Laravel Mobile Pass, a package that lets you generate those Apple and Google passes from a Laravel app and send updates to already issues passes.

Together with the package, we also published a demo site where you can create Apple Wallet passes and push an update so you can see it all working on your own iOS device.

Dan Johnson and I have been working on it for a while. Let me walk you through what it can do.

In Praise of --dry-run

Apr 23rd 2026 – henrikwarne.com

Henrik Warne makes a good case for adding a --dry-run mode to commands that change state. It gives you a fast, safe way to verify configuration, inspect behavior, and test workflows without side effects.

How Will LLMs Transform Us? AI as a Tool in the Future of Development

Apr 22nd 2026 – tighten.com - submitted by Kayla Helmick

This article frames AI as a tool to support, not replace, developers, emphasizing the importance of staying in control of how and when it’s used. It encourages a thoughtful approach where developers leverage AI for efficiency while maintaining ownership of decisions and outcomes.

What Paddle doesn't tell you about implementing metered billing

Apr 21st 2026 – phare.io - submitted by Nicolas Beauvais

How to implement calendar-month metered billing on Paddle using zero-value subscriptions, one-time charges, and a homemade invoice grace period.

Introducing TypeScript Transformer 3

Apr 20th 2026 – rubenvanassche.com

Ruben explains the full rewrite behind TypeScript Transformer 3 and why the new architecture makes the package much more flexible. The post covers the new transformer pipeline, AST-based output, improved type parsing via PHPStan, and a watch mode for faster development.

Talking about Laravel, Oh Dear, and AI

Apr 19th 2026

In this interview, I talk about Laravel, application monitoring, and how AI is changing the way developers work.

Scotty vs Laravel Envoy: Spatie's New Deploy Tool Is Worth the Switch

Apr 18th 2026 – hafiz.dev

Hafiz compares Scotty with Laravel Envoy and explains why Spatie's new deploy tool is a nicer fit for SSH-based deployments. He walks through the plain bash format, improved terminal output, migration path, and zero-downtime deployment workflow.

Spatie Guidelines as AI Skills

Apr 17th 2026 – spatie.be

We turned our internal coding guidelines into reusable AI skills, so coding assistants can follow the same conventions their team uses. The package works with Laravel Boost and the broader skills.sh ecosystem, and ships with skills for Laravel PHP, JavaScript, version control, and security.

Validating Array Inputs in Laravel Without the N+1

Apr 16th 2026 – daryllegion.com - submitted by Daryl Legion

Validate nested array inputs in Laravel form requests without the N+1. Prefetch lookup data in prepareForValidation and check items in memory.

How 10x Developers Actually Use AI

Apr 15th 2026 – youtu.be - submitted by Nuno Maduro

The Great CSS Expansion

Apr 15th 2026 – blog.gitbutler.com

A comprehensive look at how new CSS features are replacing JavaScript libraries. Anchor positioning, the Popover API, scroll-driven animations, view transitions, customizable selects, and more. The article estimates around 322 kB of JavaScript that can potentially be replaced by native CSS.

Why use static closures?

Apr 14th 2026 – f2r.github.io

A clear walkthrough of how PHP closures implicitly capture $this, even when they don't use it, and how that can prevent objects from being garbage collected. Also covers what PHP 8.6 will change with automatic static inference.

Instant view switches with Inertia v3 prefetching original

Apr 13th 2026 by Freek Van der Herten – 3 minute read

Over the past few months we've been building There There at Spatie, a support tool shaped by the two decades we've spent running our own customer support. The goal is simple: the helpdesk we always wished we had.

We care about using AI in a particular way. It should help support agents write better replies, not substitute for them. The human stays in charge of the conversation, and the model does the unglamorous work of drafting, rephrasing, and suggesting links. There There is in private beta right now, and you can apply for early access at there-there.app.

We're building There There with Laravel and Inertia, and we lean heavily on the latest features Inertia v3 brings. This post is about another one: prefetching on hover.

How we use Inertia v3 optimistic updates in There There original

Apr 13th 2026 by Freek Van der Herten – 4 minute read

A few months ago we started building There There, a helpdesk we're making at Spatie. The premise is simple. After two decades of running customer support for our open source work and our SaaS apps, we wanted the tool we always wished existed.

One thing we care about in particular is using AI to help humans craft better responses, not to replace them. The agent stays in charge of the conversation. The model just helps them reply faster and a little sharper. There There is in private beta right now, and you can apply for early access at there-there.app.

We're building There There with Laravel and Inertia, and we lean heavily on the latest features Inertia v3 brings. In this post I'd like to give one example: optimistic updates.

Two Soups, Two Cookies

Apr 11th 2026 – liamhammett.com

A lovely analogy about software craft. Same ingredients, same features, but the invisible process behind the decisions is what separates "this works" from "this feels right."

Overcoming AI anxiety

Apr 10th 2026 – ryangjchandler.co.uk

Ryan Chandler shares his honest journey from unease to acceptance with AI coding tools. A thoughtful reflection on how your value as a software engineer is not in writing every line, but knowing which lines should exist at all.

Prove that you're human

Apr 9th 2026 – marketingfordevelopers.com

A good reminder that trust matters more than ever when every week brings another AI-made product. The post argues that real faces, founder stories, and a visible reputation help both people and LLMs trust what you build.

Quantization from the ground up

Apr 8th 2026 – ngrok.com

A thorough explainer on how quantization makes LLMs 4x smaller and 2x faster while losing only 5-10% accuracy. Covers floating point precision, compression techniques, and how to measure quality loss, with interactive examples throughout.

Designing with Claude Code

Apr 7th 2026

Steve Schoger shows how he uses Claude Code to design and build UIs, turning natural language prompts into polished interfaces.

My Take on Vibe Coding VS Agentic Engineering

Apr 6th 2026 – wendelladriel.com - submitted by Wendell Adriel

My thoughts on why Agentic Engineering is a better path than Vibe Coding, and the workflow I use to turn AI agents into a structured engineering process.

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