“Keep controllers thin.”
Every Laravel developer has heard this.
Very few teams actually do it.
Let’s talk about why — and what “thin” really means in real projects.
Many of these problems show up once Laravel apps pass the one-year mark…
What Fat Controllers Usually Look Like
A typical controller:
- Validates requests
- Runs authorization
- Handles business rules
- Writes database queries
- Formats responses It works. Until it doesn’t.
Why Teams End Up With Fat Controllers
Because it’s easy.
When you’re focused on shipping, putting logic close to the route feels natural. No extra files. No extra thinking.
The problem shows up later.
The Real Cost of Fat Controllers
- Controllers become unreadable
- Logic can’t be reused
- Testing becomes awkward
- Every new feature touches old code At scale, this slows teams down.
What “Thin” Actually Means
Thin doesn’t mean “empty.”
A good controller:
- Accepts a request
- Delegates work
- Returns a response That’s it.
Business logic belongs elsewhere:
- Actions
- Services
- Domain classes The controller becomes predictable. The system becomes flexible.
Thin Controllers Help Teams, Not Just Code
When logic lives outside controllers:
- Junior devs know where to add features
- Seniors can refactor safely
- Reviews become faster It’s not about elegance. It’s about team velocity.
Why This Is Hard to Enforce Manually
Even teams that know this rule break it under pressure.
That’s why some teams use conventions, templates, or AI-assisted workflows (like Laracopilot) to nudge developers toward cleaner separation without slowing delivery.
Final Thought
Fat controllers aren’t a skill problem.
They’re a process problem.
If your controllers keep growing, your architecture is asking for help.
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