Journal

Using OpenCode for Laravel Development

· Updated

Over my 24 years in web development, I’ve witnessed countless paradigm shifts—from static HTML to dynamic PHP, from monolithic apps to microservices, and now, the rise of AI-powered coding assistants. One tool that’s become indispensable in my daily Laravel workflow is OpenCode.

What is OpenCode?

OpenCode is an AI-powered coding assistant designed to help developers write, refactor, debug, and understand code more efficiently. Unlike generic AI tools, OpenCode is context-aware and deeply integrated into your development environment, making it particularly powerful for framework-specific work like Laravel.

Why OpenCode for Laravel?

Laravel’s elegant syntax and rich ecosystem are its strengths, but they also mean there’s a lot to remember—Eloquent relationships, middleware, service providers, routing, Blade directives, and more. Here’s where OpenCode shines:

1. Rapid Boilerplate Generation

Creating a new Laravel feature often involves multiple files: models, migrations, controllers, requests, resources, and tests. OpenCode can generate these in seconds:

// Ask OpenCode: "Create a complete CRUD for a Product model with categories"
// It generates:
// - app/Models/Product.php with relationships
// - database/migrations/xxxx_create_products_table.php
// - app/Http/Controllers/ProductController.php
// - app/Http/Requests/StoreProductRequest.php
// - app/Http/Resources/ProductResource.php
// - tests/Feature/ProductControllerTest.php

2. Eloquent Query Optimization

OpenCode helps identify N+1 query problems and suggests eager loading:

// Before: N+1 problem
$products = Product::all();
foreach ($products as $product) {
    echo $product->category->name; // Query executed for each product
}

// OpenCode suggests:
$products = Product::with('category')->get();

3. Middleware and Authentication

Need to implement complex authorization logic? OpenCode can scaffold role-based access control (RBAC) or policy-based authorization:

// OpenCode generates a complete permission system
php artisan make:middleware CheckPermission

Then implements the logic:

public function handle($request, Closure $next, $permission)
{
    if (!auth()->user()->hasPermission($permission)) {
        abort(403, 'Unauthorized action.');
    }
    return $next($request);
}

4. API Development

Building RESTful APIs with Laravel? OpenCode accelerates the process:

  • Automatic API resource generation
  • Validation rule suggestions
  • Error handling patterns
  • Rate limiting implementation
  • API versioning strategies
// OpenCode suggests standardized API responses
return response()->json([
    'data' => $products,
    'meta' => [
        'current_page' => $products->currentPage(),
        'last_page' => $products->lastPage(),
        'total' => $products->total(),
    ]
]);

5. Testing Assistance

Writing tests is crucial but time-consuming. OpenCode generates comprehensive test suites:

public function test_product_can_be_created()
{
    $user = User::factory()->create();
    
    $response = $this->actingAs($user)
        ->postJson('/api/products', [
            'name' => 'Test Product',
            'price' => 99.99,
            'category_id' => 1,
        ]);
    
    $response->assertStatus(201)
        ->assertJsonStructure([
            'data' => ['id', 'name', 'price', 'category']
        ]);
    
    $this->assertDatabaseHas('products', [
        'name' => 'Test Product'
    ]);
}

Real-World Workflow

Here’s how I integrate OpenCode into my Laravel projects:

1. Project Setup

When starting a new Laravel project, I use OpenCode to:

  • Configure environment files
  • Set up Docker configurations
  • Generate initial database schemas
  • Create base controllers and requests

2. Feature Development

For each new feature:

  • Describe the feature to OpenCode
  • Review and customize generated code
  • Add business logic
  • Generate corresponding tests

3. Code Review and Refactoring

OpenCode acts as a pair programmer:

  • Identifies code smells
  • Suggests refactoring opportunities
  • Ensures Laravel best practices
  • Checks for security vulnerabilities

4. Legacy Code Modernization

Recently, I used OpenCode to migrate a legacy Laravel 5.8 application to Laravel 10:

  • Updated deprecated methods
  • Migrated to new Eloquent features
  • Refactored to use modern PHP 8 features
  • Updated test suites

Best Practices

While OpenCode is powerful, here are some guidelines I follow:

  1. Always review generated code — Don’t blindly accept suggestions
  2. Understand before implementing — Use OpenCode to learn, not just copy
  3. Keep security in mind — Validate all authentication and authorization logic
  4. Test thoroughly — AI generates code, but you ensure it works
  5. Maintain consistency — Adapt generated code to your project’s conventions

Limitations and Considerations

OpenCode is a tool, not a replacement for engineering judgment:

  • Context understanding — It may not know your specific business domain
  • Complex architectures — Microservices and event-driven systems need human oversight
  • Performance tuning — Database optimization often requires manual analysis
  • Security — Always audit authentication and authorization code

Conclusion

After 24 years of web development, I can confidently say that AI assistants like OpenCode represent the biggest productivity boost since frameworks like Laravel themselves. They don’t replace developers—they amplify our capabilities.

The key is using OpenCode as a collaborative tool: let it handle boilerplate and suggest patterns while you focus on architecture, business logic, and user experience.

If you’re building Laravel applications and haven’t tried OpenCode yet, I highly recommend giving it a spin. Start with small tasks, build trust, and gradually integrate it into your workflow. Your future self will thank you.

Have you used AI coding assistants with Laravel? I’d love to hear about your experiences and tips in the comments below.