Writing Clear Installation Guides for Laravel Packages

A Laravel package adds features to an existing Laravel application. Its installation guide should help first-time users add the package, complete required setup, and check that one feature works.

Explain each step separately. Composer, PHP’s dependency manager, adds the package to the project. Laravel may register it automatically. The package determines whether users must also configure settings, run database migrations, provide credentials, or complete other setup. Name each required action, then end with a check that tests the package’s purpose.

Start with prerequisites and the Composer command

List the PHP and Laravel versions the package supports, along with any required PHP extensions or external services. Tell readers to run the installation command from the root directory of their Laravel project, which contains the project’s composer.json file.

For a new dependency, show the package’s actual Composer name in a require command:

composer require vendor/package

Replace vendor/package with the package’s published Composer name. Composer’s require command adds the dependency to the project’s composer.json. Composer then finds compatible versions and installs them. composer install installs dependencies the project already declares. If the project has a composer.lock file, Composer uses the versions recorded there. Use install in the guide when readers need to install an existing project’s dependencies, not as the general command for adding your package.

If Composer reports that the project’s PHP version or an extension does not meet the package’s requirements, installation has failed. List the supported requirements before the command so readers can compare them with Composer’s error.

Explain what Laravel sets up automatically

A Laravel service provider is a package class that registers services and tells Laravel where to find package resources. When the package lists its provider in Composer metadata, the package information Composer reads, Laravel’s package discovery can register it automatically. The Laravel package documentation explains how an application can turn off discovery for one package or for all packages.

State whether Laravel discovers your package automatically. Include manual provider registration only when the supported setup requires it, such as when discovery is turned off. If readers must register the provider, name its class and the exact place to add it. Do not present manual registration as a step every Laravel package needs.

Separate required setup from optional configuration

Tell readers what they must do to make the package’s feature work. They might need to set credentials, configure an external service, run migrations, or publish assets. Name the exact file, command, or setting, and say what should happen.

Laravel packages can provide default settings that Laravel adds to the application’s configuration. A maintainer can also let users publish a configuration file, which copies it into the application’s config directory so they can edit it. Laravel documents configuration publishing and default merging. Users do not always need to publish a configuration file before using the package.

Mark each configuration step as required or optional. If users must publish a file to change a setting, give the exact publish command or tag and name the file it creates. If the default settings work without a published file, say so and explain which settings users might want to change. Do not ask readers to publish configuration or migrations the package does not need.

Verify one package feature

After setup, give readers a check that tests the package’s main purpose and describe what success looks like. For example, if the package adds a command to Laravel’s Artisan command-line tool, tell readers to run php artisan list and look for that command. Laravel documents that list displays available Artisan commands. Seeing the command confirms that Laravel registered it, but does not prove it can connect to a database or external service. If that connection is part of the feature, also give readers a harmless package-specific command or action to test it.

Match the check to the package. For a web feature, give readers a local URL and the response they should see. For a class or service, show a small supported example and its visible result. If the package needs credentials or an external service, make the check test that connection and describe what a configuration error looks like. A successful Composer command confirms that Composer installed the dependency. The package-specific check confirms that the feature works when the code runs.

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