📅 Released March 17, 2026 | 🐘 PHP 8.3+ | 🔒 Security support until 2028
INTRODUCTION
What Is Laravel?
Laravel is a PHP web application framework built around expressive, elegant syntax. It provides routing, authentication, queues, Eloquent ORM, Blade templates, MVC architecture, and caching out of the box — so developers can focus on building great products. To learn more, visit the iCoderz Laravel blog.
See our guide on what makes Laravel the most popular PHP framework.
| WHAT IS LARAVEL USED FOR?
Laravel powers full-stack web apps, REST & JSON APIs, SaaS platforms, e-commerce systems, CMS backends, real-time event systems, and — as of Laravel 13 — AI-powered agent applications with built-in semantic search and multi-modal generation. |
In 2026, PHP is not outdated. PHP 8.3+ is modern, performant, and type-safe. With the right setup, Laravel can scale to hundreds of millions of requests per month.
RELEASE STATUS
Is Laravel 13 Released?
Yes — Laravel 13 is officially released. It launched on March 17, 2026, following Laravel’s annual Q1 cadence. It is stable and production-ready. Read the official Laravel 13 release notes for the full changelog.
| v10
Feb 14, 2023 End of Life |
v11
Mar 12, 2024 Security Only |
v12
Feb 24, 2025 Active Support |
v13
Mar 17, 2026 ★ Latest |
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Laravel 13 System Requirements
Before installing, confirm your environment meets these requirements:
| Requirement | Minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | 8.3 minimum | PHP 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5 are all supported. PHP 8.1 & 8.2 dropped. |
| Composer | 2.x | PHP dependency manager |
| Node.js / Bun | Current LTS | Required for compiling frontend assets via Vite |
| Database | — | SQLite (default, zero-config), MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQL Server |
| PHP Extensions | — | BCMath, Ctype, cURL, DOM, Fileinfo, JSON, Mbstring, OpenSSL, PCRE, PDO, Tokenizer, XML |
| pgvector (optional) | — | PostgreSQL + pgvector — required only for AI vector search features |
04 — WHAT’S NEW
All New Features in Laravel 13 (Latest Version)
Laravel 13 continues Laravel’s evolution as the leading PHP framework with a sharp focus on AI-native workflows, stronger security defaults, and more expressive developer APIs.
| Laravel AI SDK
A first-party, provider-agnostic SDK for text generation, tool-calling agents, embeddings, image synthesis, and audio generation. Build AI features without being locked into a single provider. [NEW] [AI] |
| Semantic / Vector Search
Native vector query support in the query builder. Run semantic similarity searches against embeddings using PostgreSQL + pgvector — no external library needed. [NEW] [AI] |
| JSON:API Resources
First-party JSON:API spec-compliant responses — resource serialization, relationship inclusion, sparse fieldsets, links, and correct response headers out of the box. [NEW] |
| Enhanced CSRF — PreventRequestForgery
CSRF middleware formalized as PreventRequestForgery, adding origin-aware request verification while staying fully backwards-compatible with token-based CSRF. [NEW] |
| Queue Routing by Class
Define default queue/connection rules for specific job classes in one central place with Queue::route() — no more scattered per-job configuration. [NEW] |
| Expanded PHP Attributes
More attribute support: #[Middleware], #[Authorize], #[Tries], #[Backoff], #[Timeout], #[FailOnTimeout] — across controllers, jobs, Eloquent, events, validation, and notifications. [NEW] |
| Cache::touch() — TTL Extension
Extend an existing cache entry’s TTL without fetching and re-storing the value. Perfect for sliding-expiration use cases. [NEW] |
| MCP Server Support
First-party support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) — enabling Laravel apps to expose tools and resources to AI agents in a standardised way. [NEW] [AI] |
| Laravel Boost
A dev-only package that gives AI coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code) Laravel-specific context and 17,000+ pieces of vectorized docs to generate accurate, version-specific Laravel code. [NEW] [AI] |
| 🐘 PHP 8.3 Minimum
PHP 8.1 and 8.2 support is dropped. The PHP 8.3 baseline unlocks typed class constants, readonly classes, and improved runtime performance. [UPDATED] |
1. Laravel AI SDK — Code Examples
Text generation & agents:
| PHP |
| use App\Ai\Agents\SalesCoach; |
| $response = SalesCoach::make()->prompt(‘Analyze this sales transcript…’); |
| return (string) $response; |
Image generation:
| PHP |
| use Laravel\Ai\Image; |
| $image = Image::of(‘A donut sitting on the kitchen counter’)->generate(); |
| $raw = (string) $image; |
Audio generation:
| PHP |
| use Laravel\Ai\Audio; |
| $audio = Audio::of(‘I love coding with Laravel.’)->generate(); |
Embeddings — directly from the Str helper:
| PHP |
| use Illuminate\Support\Str; |
| $embeddings = Str::of(‘Napa Valley has great wine.’)->toEmbeddings(); |
2. Semantic / Vector Search
The query builder gains whereVectorSimilarTo(), enabling semantic similarity searches:
| PHP — QUERY BUILDER |
| $documents = DB::table(‘documents’) |
| ->whereVectorSimilarTo(’embedding’, ‘Best wineries in Napa Valley’) |
| ->limit(10) |
| ->get(); |
3. Queue Routing by Class
| PHP — APPSERVICEPROVIDER |
| use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Queue; |
| use App\Jobs\ProcessPodcast; |
| Queue::route(ProcessPodcast::class, connection: ‘redis’, queue: ‘podcasts’); |
4. Expanded PHP Attributes
| PHP — CONTROLLER WITH ATTRIBUTES |
| #[Middleware(‘auth’)] |
| class CommentController |
| { |
| #[Middleware(‘subscribed’)] |
| #[Authorize(‘create’, [Comment::class, ‘post’])] |
| public function store(Post $post) |
| { |
| // clean, declarative, no boilerplate |
| } |
| } |
5. Cache::touch()
| PHP |
| // Extend TTL without fetching the value |
| Cache::touch(‘session-data’, now()->addMinutes(30)); |
COMPARISON
Laravel 13 vs Laravel 12 — What Changed?
Wondering whether it’s worth upgrading? Here’s a side-by-side comparison with what changed since Laravel 12:
| Feature / Area | Laravel 12 | Laravel 13 |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum PHP | PHP 8.2 | PHP 8.3 required |
| AI SDK | Not included | ✅ First-party AI SDK |
| Semantic / Vector Search | Not included | ✅ whereVectorSimilarTo() |
| JSON:API Resources | Not included | ✅ First-party support |
| MCP Support | Not included | ✅ First-party MCP |
| Queue Routing by Class | Not included | ✅ Queue::route() |
| PHP Attributes | Limited | ✅ Expanded (10+ new) |
| CSRF Middleware | VerifyCsrfToken | ✅ PreventRequestForgery |
| Cache::touch() | Not included | ✅ Available |
| Laravel Boost (AI) | Not included | ✅ Available |
| Breaking Changes | Minimal | Minimal |
INSTALLATION
How to Install Laravel 13 (Step-by-Step)
Two options: the Laravel Installer CLI (recommended) or Laravel Herd (native GUI for macOS & Windows).
Step 1 — Install PHP 8.3+, Composer & the Laravel Installer
The fastest way — a single command installs everything:
| MACOS |
| /bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL https://php.new/install/mac/8.4)” |
| LINUX |
| /bin/bash -c “$(curl -fsSL https://php.new/install/linux/8.4)” |
| WINDOWS POWERSHELL (RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR) |
| Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; |
| iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString(‘https://php.new/install/windows/8.4’)) |
Already have PHP & Composer? Just install the Laravel installer:
| COMPOSER |
| composer global require laravel/installer |
Step 2 — Create a New Laravel 13 Project
| TERMINAL |
| laravel new my-app |
Step 3 — Install Assets & Start the Dev Server
| TERMINAL |
| cd my-app |
| npm install && npm run build |
| composer run dev |
Your app is now live at http://localhost:8000
Step 4 — Configure Your Database
Laravel 13 uses SQLite by default (zero setup). To switch to MySQL or PostgreSQL:
| .ENV |
| DB_CONNECTION=mysql |
| DB_HOST=127.0.0.1 |
| DB_PORT=3306 |
| DB_DATABASE=laravel |
| DB_USERNAME=root |
| DB_PASSWORD= |
| ARTISAN |
| php artisan migrate |
Step 5 — (Optional) Install Laravel Boost
| COMPOSER |
| composer require laravel/boost –dev |
| php artisan boost:install |
| PREFER A GUI? USE LARAVEL HERD
Laravel Herd is a native macOS and Windows app that bundles PHP, Nginx, and the Laravel CLI in one install — no terminal required. See the official Laravel 13 installation docs at laravel.com/docs/13.x/installation |
LARAVEL 13 UPDATE
How to Upgrade / Update to Laravel 13
The Laravel team focused on keeping this a low-effort upgrade. Key steps:
- Upgrade to PHP 8.3 or higher (PHP 8.1 and 8.2 are dropped)
- Update composer.json: “laravel/framework”: “^13.0”
- Review custom CSRF middleware — it is now PreventRequestForgery (old alias still works)
- Run: composer update
- Run: php artisan migrate (if there are new migrations)
Check the official Laravel 13 upgrade guide for the full changelog.
| COMING FROM AN OLDER VERSION?
If you’re still on Laravel 11 or earlier, read our guide on what changed in Laravel 12 first, then follow the Laravel 13 upgrade path. Visit: icoderzsolutions.com/blog/whats-new-in-laravel-12/ |
SUPPORT POLICY
Laravel Version Support Policy
All major Laravel versions receive 18 months of bug fixes and 2 years of security patches from release date.
| Version | PHP Support | Released | Bug Fixes Until | Security Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laravel 10 | PHP 8.1 – 8.3 | Feb 14, 2023 | Aug 6, 2024 | Feb 4, 2025 (EOL) |
| Laravel 11 | PHP 8.2 – 8.4 | Mar 12, 2024 | Sep 3, 2025 | Mar 12, 2026 |
| Laravel 12 | PHP 8.2 – 8.5 | Feb 24, 2025 | Aug 13, 2026 | Feb 24, 2027 |
| Laravel 13 ★ | PHP 8.3 – 8.5 | Mar 17, 2026 | Q3 2027 | Mar 17, 2028 |
FAQS
Frequently Asked Questions About Laravel 13
Is Laravel 13 released?
Yes. Laravel 13 officially launched on March 17, 2026. It is stable and production-ready. Start a new project today with laravel new my-app using the latest installer.
How do I install the latest version of Laravel?
Install the Laravel installer via Composer (composer global require laravel/installer), then run laravel new my-app. The installer automatically pulls the latest stable release — currently Laravel 13. Full steps in Section 06 above.
Is PHP outdated in 2026?
Not at all. PHP 8.3+ is a modern, actively maintained language with strong typing, readonly properties, fibers for async programming, native enums, and excellent runtime performance. Laravel powers platforms handling hundreds of millions of requests per month. PHP remains one of the most widely deployed server-side languages on the web.
What are the requirements for Laravel 13?
Minimum PHP 8.3, Composer 2.x, and Node.js or Bun for frontend assets. For AI/vector search features, PostgreSQL with the pgvector extension is required. See the requirements table in Section 03.
What is Laravel used for?
Laravel is used to build full-stack apps, RESTful APIs, SaaS platforms, e-commerce backends, CMS systems, real-time event systems, and AI-powered agent applications.
Is upgrading to Laravel 13 difficult?
No. The main requirement is upgrading to PHP 8.3+. Update your constraint to ^13.0, run composer update, and check the official upgrade guide. For a full cost/effort breakdown: icoderzsolutions.com/blog/laravel-development-cost
| Ready to Build with Laravel 13?
iCoderz Solutions is a leading Laravel development company with 14+ years of experience building scalable, high-performance web applications. 🔗 Explore Laravel Services: icoderzsolutions.com/laravel-development 🔗 Hire Laravel Developers: icoderzsolutions.com/hire-laravel-developers |
