Laravel tips that feel like superpowers

Laravel is already one of the most powerful PHP frameworks out there, but hidden within its ecosystem are features that feel like superpowers when you discover them. These are high-leverage tools most developers don’t explore enough, and they can dramatically boost your productivity, performance, and clarity.

Let’s dive into some of the most underrated Laravel gems you should start using today.

1. AI-powered debugging
$user = User::find(1);

// Let Laravel's AI suggest improvements

debug($user->load('posts'))->suggest();

Gone are the days of endless dd() or dump() calls. With Laravel’s AI-assisted debugging, you can get intelligent insights and suggestions directly in your workflow. It helps you reason about your app without aimless trial and error
AI helps you reason about your app. No more aimless dd() or dump().

2. Handle millions with lazyById
// Before: risk of memory overload

User::chunk(100, function ($users) {
foreach ($users as $user) {
ProcessUser::dispatch($user);
}
});

// After

User::lazyById()->each(function ($user) {
ProcessUser::dispatch($user);
});

Memory-efficient iteration over large tables.

When working with massive tables, memory overload can be a real risk. lazyById streams through records efficiently, ensuring smooth iteration across millions of rows, without hogging your memory.

3.Parallel execution with Concurrency::run
$results = Concurrency::run([
'posts' => fn() => Post::count(),
'users' => fn() => User::count(),
]);

// Result: ['posts' => 2000, 'users' => 500]

Run multiple queries in parallel. Save time on the backend.

Why wait for queries to finish one by one? With concurrency, Laravel lets you execute multiple tasks in parallel. Perfect for speeding up backend operations when dealing with heavy requests.

4. Memoized caching with Cache::memo
$result = Cache::memo('expensive_query', 600, function () {
return DB::table('orders')->sum('total');
});

Prevents duplicate database hits in the same request. Also, caches for next time.

This prevents duplicate database hits during the same request and caches results for next time. It’s both fast and memory-efficient; a real performance booster for apps with repetitive queries.

5. Unicode JSON casts
protected $casts = [
'payload' => 'json:unicode',
];

Cleaner JSON for multilingual content, emoji, and symbols.

Perfect for multilingual content, emoji, or special symbols. With Unicode JSON casts, your JSON stays clean, readable, and human-friendly.

6. Built-in feature flags
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Feature;
if (Feature::active('new-dashboard')) {
return view('dashboard.new');
}

You don’t need third-party tools to toggle features anymore. Laravel’s native feature flags let you roll out or roll back features instantly, all while keeping your app flexible.

7. Filter model attributes with except
// Before

$data = $user->toArray();
unset($data['id'], $data['email_verified_at']);

// After

$data = $user->except(['id', 'email_verified_at']);

Cleaner, reusable, and safer. Instead of exposing sensitive fields, you can now quickly strip them away with except.
Most devs haven’t explored these yet.

Final thoughts

Most developers haven’t scratched the surface of these Laravel gems, yet they can completely transform how you code. Whether it’s handling millions of rows, running queries in parallel, or toggling features natively, Laravel gives you superpowers that make your work faster, cleaner, and more enjoyable.

- Nitesh Chauhan
Sr Project Manager-Laravel
Brightness Group