Laravel Boost

Overview

Laravel Boost is an official Laravel package that accelerates AI-assisted development by providing composable guidelines, on-demand agent skills, an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, and a documentation API with semantic search across 17,000+ Laravel-specific knowledge pieces. It bridges AI coding tools and the Laravel ecosystem, ensuring that AI agents generate high-quality, convention-compliant Laravel code.

Apply this skill when setting up, configuring, or extending Laravel Boost in a project, or when integrating AI agents with a Laravel application.

Multi-Phase Process

Phase 1: Assessment

1. Confirm Laravel version compatibility (10.x, 11.x, 12.x)
2. Identify the AI IDE or agent in use (Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Junie)
3. Check if an MCP configuration already exists (.mcp.json)
4. Review existing guideline and skill customizations in .ai/

STOP — Do NOT install Boost without confirming Laravel version compatibility and target IDE.

Phase 2: Installation and Configuration

1. Install the package and run the installer
2. Configure MCP server for the target IDE
3. Set up automatic updates via Composer hooks
4. Verify MCP tools are accessible from the AI agent

STOP — Do NOT proceed until MCP server connectivity is verified with at least one tool call.

Phase 3: Customization

1. Add project-specific guidelines in .ai/guidelines/
2. Create domain-specific skills in .ai/skills/
3. Override built-in guidelines or skills where project conventions differ
4. Register custom agents if extending to unsupported IDEs

STOP — Do NOT override built-in guidelines unless project conventions genuinely differ from Laravel defaults.

Phase 4: Validation

1. Confirm MCP server responds to tool calls (Application Info, Database Schema, Search Docs)
2. Verify guidelines load in the AI agent's context window
3. Test skill activation for domain-relevant tasks
4. Check that boost:update keeps resources current after dependency changes

IDE Setup Decision Table

Installation

# Install as a development dependency
composer require laravel/boost --dev

# Run the installer — generates .mcp.json, guideline files, and boost.json
php artisan boost:install

The installer generates:

• .mcp.json — MCP server configuration for IDE integration
• Guideline files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, etc.) tailored to detected packages
• boost.json — Boost configuration file

IDE-Specific MCP Setup

Manual MCP Configuration

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "laravel-boost": {
            "command": "php",
            "args": ["artisan", "boost:mcp"]
        }
    }
}

Keeping Resources Updated

# Manual update after dependency changes
php artisan boost:update

# Automatic updates — add to composer.json scripts
{
    "scripts": {
        "post-update-cmd": [
            "@php artisan boost:update --ansi"
        ]
    }
}

MCP Server Tools

Laravel Boost exposes the following tools through its MCP server, giving AI agents direct access to application context:

AI Guidelines

Guidelines are composable instruction files loaded upfront into the AI agent's context, providing broad conventions and best practices.

Available Built-in Guidelines

Custom Guidelines

Create .blade.php or .md files in .ai/guidelines/:

.ai/guidelines/team-conventions.md
.ai/guidelines/billing/stripe-patterns.blade.php

Override a built-in guideline by matching its path:

.ai/guidelines/inertia-react/2/forms.blade.php

Third-Party Package Guidelines

Package authors can ship guidelines at:

resources/boost/guidelines/core.blade.php

Agent Skills

Skills are on-demand knowledge modules activated only when relevant, reducing context window bloat.

Available Built-in Skills

Custom Skills

Create .ai/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md:

---
name: invoice-management
description: Build and work with invoice features including PDF generation and payment tracking.
---

# Invoice Management

## When to use this skill
Use when working with the invoicing module...

Guidelines vs Skills Decision Table

Documentation API

Boost provides semantic search across 17,000+ documentation pieces covering:

The Search Docs MCP tool queries this API. Guidelines and skills automatically instruct agents to use it when they need implementation details.

When to Use vs When Not Needed

Extending Boost

Custom Agent Registration

For AI tools not supported out of the box:

// In AppServiceProvider::boot()
use Laravel\Boost\Boost;

Boost::registerAgent('custom-ide', CustomAgent::class);

The custom agent class must extend Laravel\Boost\Install\Agents\Agent and implement the relevant interfaces:

• SupportsGuidelines — for guideline file generation
• SupportsMcp — for MCP server configuration
• SupportsSkills — for skill file generation

Anti-Patterns / Common Mistakes

Anti-Rationalization Guards

• Do NOT skip MCP verification because "the install succeeded" -- test at least one tool call.
• Do NOT override built-in guidelines without a documented reason for the deviation.
• Do NOT create broad skills -- if it covers more than one domain, split it.
• Do NOT install Boost in production -- it is a --dev dependency exclusively.
• Do NOT forget to run boost:update after dependency changes -- stale guidelines degrade AI output.

Documentation Lookup (Context7)

Use mcp__context7__resolve-library-id then mcp__context7__query-docs for up-to-date docs. Returned docs override memorized knowledge.

• laravel/framework — for core Laravel APIs, configuration, or Artisan commands
• livewire — for component lifecycle, wire directives, or Alpine.js integration

Integration Points

Skill Type

FLEXIBLE — Adapt the process phases to what the project needs. A new project requires full installation and IDE setup (Phases 1-4). An existing Boost installation may only need customization (Phase 3) or validation after a Laravel upgrade (Phase 4). The non-negotiable minimum: verify MCP server connectivity and confirm guidelines match installed package versions.