# nunomaduro/essentials

Just better defaults for your Laravel projects.

Repository: https://github.com/nunomaduro/essentials
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nunomaduro-essentials
Homepage: https://youtube.com/@nunomaduro?sub_confirmation=1
Language: PHP
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-07-22T16:35:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 70/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 93, release rhythm 60, longevity 36
- inputs: {"age_days": 509, "days_push": 42, "days_rel": 191, "gap_med": 54.0, "n_releases_24m": 5}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1237, forks 76 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:05.314763+00:00)

## What it is
A Laravel package by Nuno Maduro that applies opinionated, better defaults to Laravel applications, such as strict Eloquent models, automatic eager loading, immutable dates, and forced HTTPS. All features are optional and configurable, and it requires PHP 8.3+ and Laravel 11+.

## Use cases
- apply better defaults to a new Laravel project
- prevent N+1 query issues with auto eager loading
- make Eloquent models strict about undefined attributes and lazy loading
- use immutable dates in Laravel
- force HTTPS across a Laravel app
- prevent stray HTTP requests in tests
- generate action classes and run Pint or Rector via Artisan

## When to choose
- starting a new Laravel 11+ project and wanting safer defaults out of the box
- you want to eliminate common Eloquent pitfalls like lazy loading and silent attribute assignment
- you want configurable, opt-in improvements rather than a full framework replacement

## When to avoid
- maintaining an existing Laravel app where behavior changes could break functionality
- you need Laravel 10 or PHP below 8.3
- you prefer Laravel's default lenient behavior or full control over model semantics

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: middleware, orm, configuration-management, developer-tools
- domain: web-development, backend, developer-tools, databases
- platform: php
- tags: laravel-package, eloquent, opinionated-defaults, strict-models, eager-loading, immutable-dates, laravel, web-server

## Member repositories
- nunomaduro/essentials (main) score 70

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.314763+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T08:21:53.474770+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nunomaduro/essentials (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.314763+00:00, sha e74d6a5b0c7e)
  - homepage: https://youtube.com/@nunomaduro?sub_confirmation=1 (fetched 2026-08-29T12:21:02.713326+00:00, sha 0089f7b76f67)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.