If you write PHP and work with Laravel, you already know how much boilerplate, pattern-recognition, and architectural decision-making goes into every project. AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot can cut that friction dramatically, but only if they understand your conventions and best practices from the start.
I’ve spent time building and refining a set of GitHub Copilot Skills specifically for Laravel developers, and I’m sharing them as a free, open-source repository. Whether you’re doing traditional AI-assisted coding or fully embracing vibe coding, these skills give Copilot the context it needs to generate code that actually fits a real Laravel project.
What Are GitHub Copilot Skills?
Copilot Skills are structured Markdown instruction files that tell your AI assistant how to behave in a specific context. Once installed, they activate automatically when you work on Laravel projects, so you stop repeating yourself in prompts and Copilot starts generating code that follows your architecture, naming conventions, and quality standards from day one.
They work with Claude, GPT, and Gemini, any model that handles structured Markdown instructions.
What’s Inside the Repository
The repository contains 12 modular skills, each focused on a specific area of Laravel development:
| Skill | What It Covers |
|---|---|
laravel-general | Core Laravel principles and conventions |
laravel-architecture | Design patterns, Services, Actions, DTOs |
laravel-eloquent-database | Eloquent ORM best practices and query optimization |
laravel-api | REST API design, versioning, and authentication |
laravel-testing | Testing strategies with Pest and PHPUnit |
laravel-security | Validation, authorization, and security hardening |
laravel-performance | Caching, queues, and performance optimization |
laravel-frontend | Blade templates, Livewire, and Inertia.js |
laravel-code-style | PSR-12 standards and consistent code formatting |
laravel-deployment | Docker, CI/CD pipelines, and environment management |
laravel-project-docs | Automated documentation generation |
ai-memory | Persistent AI context tracking across sessions |
How to Install
Installation is straightforward. pick the method that suits you:
One-command install (macOS / Linux)
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sasabajic/laravel-best-practice-skills/main/install.sh)Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sasabajic/laravel-best-practice-skills/main/install.ps1 | iexManual
Clone the repository and copy whichever skill folders you need directly into your project or your global ~/.copilot/skills/ directory.
Why This Makes a Difference
Without project-specific context, AI assistants fall back on generic patterns, which often means mixed coding styles, naive Eloquent queries, or security oversights that a seasoned Laravel developer would never commit. These skills solve that by encoding opinionated, battle-tested knowledge directly into Copilot’s working context.
For teams practicing vibe coding, where you describe intent and let the AI handle implementation, having the right skill set is the difference between output you can ship and output that needs a full rewrite.
Get Started
The repository is free and open source (GNU GPL v2+). You can use it as-is, fork it, or contribute your own skills.
👉 github.com/sasabajic/laravel-best-practice-skills
If you find it useful, a star on GitHub goes a long way, and feel free to open a PR if you want to add a skill or improve an existing one.