laravel-plugin-discovery

SKILL.md

Laravel Plugin Discovery

Find, evaluate, and choose healthy Laravel packages using the LaraPlugins.io MCP server.

When to Use

User wants to find Laravel packages for a specific feature (e.g. "auth", "permissions", "admin panel")

User asks "what package should I use for..." or "is there a Laravel package for..."

User wants to check if a package is actively maintained

User needs to verify Laravel version compatibility

User wants to assess package health before adding to a project

MCP Requirement

LaraPlugins MCP server must be configured. Add to your ~/.claude.json mcpServers:
"laraplugins": {
  "type": "http",
  "url": "https://laraplugins.io/mcp/plugins"
}

No API key required — the server is free for the Laravel community.

MCP Tools

The LaraPlugins MCP provides two primary tools:

SearchPluginTool

Search packages by keyword, health score, vendor, and version compatibility.

Parameters:

text_search (string, optional): Keyword to search (e.g. "permission", "admin", "api")

health_score (string, optional): Filter by health band — Healthy, Medium, Unhealthy, or Unrated

laravel_compatibility (string, optional): Filter by Laravel version — "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "11", "12", "13"

php_compatibility (string, optional): Filter by PHP version — "7.4", "8.0", "8.1", "8.2", "8.3", "8.4", "8.5"

vendor_filter (string, optional): Filter by vendor name (e.g. "spatie", "laravel")

page (number, optional): Page number for pagination

GetPluginDetailsTool

Fetch detailed metrics, readme content, and version history for a specific package.

Parameters:

package (string, required): Full Composer package name (e.g. "spatie/laravel-permission")

include_versions (boolean, optional): Include version history in response

How It Works

Finding Packages

When the user wants to discover packages for a feature:

Use SearchPluginTool with relevant keywords

Apply filters for health score, Laravel version, or PHP version

Review the results with package names, descriptions, and health indicators

Evaluating Packages

When the user wants to assess a specific package:

Use GetPluginDetailsTool with the package name

Review health score, last updated date, Laravel version support

Check vendor reputation and risk indicators

Checking Compatibility

When the user needs Laravel or PHP version compatibility:

Search with laravel_compatibility filter set to their version

Or get details on a specific package to see its supported versions

Examples

Example: Find Authentication Packages

SearchPluginTool({
  text_search: "authentication",
  health_score: "Healthy"
})

Returns packages matching "authentication" with healthy status:

spatie/laravel-permission

laravel/breeze

laravel/passport

etc.

Example: Find Laravel 12 Compatible Packages

SearchPluginTool({
  text_search: "admin panel",
  laravel_compatibility: "12"
})

Returns packages compatible with Laravel 12.

Example: Get Package Details

GetPluginDetailsTool({
  package: "spatie/laravel-permission",
  include_versions: true
})

Returns:

Health score and last activity

Laravel/PHP version support

Vendor reputation (risk score)

Version history

Brief description

Example: Find Packages by Vendor

SearchPluginTool({
  vendor_filter: "spatie",
  health_score: "Healthy"
})

Returns all healthy packages from vendor "spatie".

Filtering Best Practices

By Health Score

Health Band
Meaning

Healthy
Active maintenance, recent updates

Medium
Occasional updates, may need attention

Unhealthy
Abandoned or infrequently maintained

Unrated
Not yet assessed

Recommendation: Prefer Healthy packages for production applications.

By Laravel Version

Version
Notes

13
Latest Laravel

12
Current stable

11
Still widely used

10
Legacy but common

5-9
Deprecated

Recommendation: Match the target project's Laravel version.

Combining Filters

// Find healthy, Laravel 12 compatible packages for permissions
SearchPluginTool({
  text_search: "permission",
  health_score: "Healthy",
  laravel_compatibility: "12"
})

Response Interpretation

Search Results

Each result includes:

Package name (e.g. spatie/laravel-permission)

Brief description

Health status indicator

Laravel version support badges

Package Details

The detailed response includes:

Health Score: Numeric or band indicator

Last Activity: When the package was last updated

Laravel Support: Version compatibility matrix

PHP Support: PHP version compatibility

Risk Score: Vendor trust indicators

Version History: Recent release timeline

Common Use Cases

Scenario
Recommended Approach

"What package for auth?"
Search "auth" with healthy filter

"Is spatie/package still maintained?"
Get details, check health score

"Need Laravel 12 packages"
Search with laravel_compatibility: "12"

"Find admin panel packages"
Search "admin panel", review results

"Check vendor reputation"
Search by vendor, check details

Best Practices

Always filter by health — Use health_score: "Healthy" for production projects

Match Laravel version — Always check laravel_compatibility matches the target project

Check vendor reputation — Prefer packages from known vendors (spatie, laravel, etc.)

Review before recommending — Use GetPluginDetailsTool for a comprehensive assessment

No API key needed — The MCP is free, no authentication required

Related Skills

laravel-patterns — Laravel architecture and patterns

laravel-tdd — Test-driven development for Laravel

laravel-security — Laravel security best practices

documentation-lookup — General library documentation lookup (Context7)