laravel-best-practices

Use eager loading with `with()` to load relationships upfront instead of lazy loading inside loops. Enable `Model::preventLazyLoading()` in your AppServiceProvider during development to catch violations, and use `withCount()` when you only need relation counts.

Extract validation into dedicated Form Request classes and type-hint them in controller methods for automatic validation. Always use `$request->validated()` for mass operations instead of `$request->all()`, and prefer array notation for rules in new code.

Prefer `whereIn()` with a `select('id')` subquery over `whereHas()` for filtering by related models. `whereHas()` emits a correlated EXISTS subquery that re-executes per row, while `whereIn()` lets the database use an index lookup.

Some rules use newer APIs like `defer()`, `Context`, and `Cache::flexible()` that require recent Laravel versions. The Skill instructs verifying version-sensitive APIs against the installed framework before applying them.

Use queued jobs when work must survive process crashes or needs retry logic, such as external API calls. Use `defer()` for lightweight fire-and-forget tasks like logging or analytics that run after the HTTP response is sent.