laravel-plugin-discovery

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:

1. Use SearchPluginTool with relevant keywords
2. Apply filters for health score, Laravel version, or PHP version
3. Review the results with package names, descriptions, and health indicators

Evaluating Packages

When the user wants to assess a specific package:

1. Use GetPluginDetailsTool with the package name
2. Review health score, last updated date, Laravel version support
3. Check vendor reputation and risk indicators

Checking Compatibility

When the user needs Laravel or PHP version compatibility:

1. Search with laravel_compatibility filter set to their version
2. 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

1. Always filter by health — Use health_score: "Healthy" for production projects
2. Match Laravel version — Always check laravel_compatibility matches the target project
3. Check vendor reputation — Prefer packages from known vendors (spatie, laravel, etc.)
4. Review before recommending — Use GetPluginDetailsTool for a comprehensive assessment
5. 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)