What is Laravel Pint?

Laravel Pint is a zero-configuration PHP code style fixer built specifically for Laravel projects. It automatically formats your PHP code to follow consistent styling standards without requiring manual setup or complex configuration files.

Pint comes pre-installed with all new Laravel applications (version 9.21 and newer), so you can start using it immediately after creating a project. It works by scanning your PHP files and automatically fixing code style issues based on Laravel's opinionated coding standards.

How Does Laravel Pint Work?

Laravel Pint is built on top of PHP-CS-Fixer, a popular PHP code formatting tool. The key difference is that Pint simplifies the setup process, while PHP-CS-Fixer requires complex configuration files written in PHP, Pint uses simple JSON configuration and works out-of-the-box with sensible defaults.

When you run Pint, it scans all .php files in your project (except the vendor directory), identifies code style violations, and automatically fixes them. The tool displays a list of all files it modifies, making it easy to track changes.

What Makes Laravel Pint Different from PHP-CS-Fixer?

Zero Configuration: Pint requires no setup to get started. PHP-CS-Fixer demands creating .php-cs-fixer.dist.php files with complex rule configurations.

Laravel-Optimized: Pint's default preset matches Laravel's official coding style, ensuring your code aligns with Laravel framework conventions.

Simple JSON Configuration: When you do need customization, Pint uses easy-to-read JSON files instead of PHP configuration objects.

Faster Setup Time: You can start using Pint in seconds versus the hours often required to properly configure PHP-CS-Fixer.

How to Install Laravel Pint?

For new Laravel projects (version 9.21+), Pint is already included. For older projects, install it via Composer:

bashcomposer require laravel/pint --dev

That's it. No additional configuration files or setup steps required.

How to Run Laravel Pint?

Basic usage to scan and fix all files:

bash./vendor/bin/pint

View detailed changes with verbose mode:

bash./vendor/bin/pint -v

Test mode to see issues without modifying files:

bash./vendor/bin/pint --test

This is particularly useful in CI/CD pipelines or when reviewing potential changes before applying them.linkedin+2

Format specific files or directories:

bash./vendor/bin/pint app/Models
./vendor/bin/pint app/Models/User.php

Run faster with parallel processing (40x faster):

bash./vendor/bin/pint --parallel

This experimental flag leverages PHP-CS-Fixer's parallel capabilities to dramatically improve performance on large codebases.

What Presets Does Laravel Pint Support?

Pint currently supports five presets:

Laravel (default): Laravel's opinionated coding style

PSR-12: PHP Standards Recommendations coding style

PER: PHP Evolving Recommendations (replaces PSR-12)

Symfony: Symfony framework conventions

Empty: Start from scratch with custom rules

You can specify a preset using the command line:

bash./vendor/bin/pint --preset psr12

Or in your pint.json configuration file:

json{
  "preset": "psr12"
}

How to Customize Laravel Pint?

While Pint works without configuration, you can customize it by creating a pint.json file in your project root:

json{
  "preset": "laravel",
  "rules": {
    "simplified_null_return": true,
    "array_indentation": false,
    "declare_strict_types": true
  }
}

Pint supports over 170 rules from PHP-CS-Fixer. You can enable, disable, or configure specific rules to match your team's preferences.

Popular custom rules include:

• declare_strict_types: Adds strict type declarations to all PHP files.
• array_syntax: Enforces short array syntax [] instead of array().
• ordered_class_elements: Organizes class properties and methods in a consistent order.
• strict_comparison: Enforces strict comparison operators (=== instead of ==).

When Should You Use Laravel Pint?

Team projects where multiple developers contribute code and need consistent formatting standards.

Code review efficiency to eliminate formatting discussions and focus reviews on logic and functionality.

Large codebases where manually maintaining code style across thousands of files is impractical.

CI/CD pipelines to automatically enforce code standards before merging pull requests.

Onboarding new developers who can immediately contribute without learning project-specific style conventions.

What Are the Benefits of Using Laravel Pint?

Instant setup: Start formatting code in under 2 minutes with zero configuration required.

Team consistency: 100% of your team automatically follows the same code style.

Reduced code review time: Eliminates 40-60% of formatting-related review comments, based on industry estimates.

Open-source and free: Released under MIT license with 3,000+ GitHub stars and 124+ million downloads.

Official Laravel support: Maintained by the Laravel team and guaranteed compatibility with future Laravel versions.

Performance: Parallel mode processes files 40x faster than sequential execution.

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How to Automate Laravel Pint?

Git Pre-Commit Hooks: Run Pint automatically before every commit:

bash#!/bin/sh
echo "Running Laravel Pint..."
staged_files=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM -- '*.php')
vendor/bin/pint $staged_files -q
git add $staged_files

Place this script in .git/hooks/pre-commit and make it executable.

GitHub Actions: Add Pint to your CI/CD workflow:

textname: Laravel Pint
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  pint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install
      - name: Run Pint
        run: vendor/bin/pint --test

This ensures all code meets style standards before merging.

VS Code Integration: Install the Laravel Pint extension and enable format-on-save:

json{
  "[php]": {
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "open-southeners.laravel-pint"
  }
}

Your code automatically formats every time you save a file.

PhpStorm Integration: PhpStorm 2023.1+ includes native Laravel Pint support. Enable it in Settings → Editor → Inspections → Laravel Pint validation.

What Problems Does Laravel Pint Solve?

Inconsistent code formatting across team members who use different editors or personal style preferences.

Time wasted on formatting debates during code reviews instead of focusing on functionality and logic.

Onboarding friction when new developers must learn project-specific code style conventions.

Manual formatting effort that slows down development and introduces human error.

Configuration complexity of tools like PHP-CS-Fixer that require extensive setup knowledge.

Is Laravel Pint Right for Your Project?

Perfect for:

• Laravel applications (version 9.21+).
• PHP projects following PSR or PER standards.
• Teams requiring automated code formatting.
• Projects with multiple contributors.
• Codebases using PHP 8.0 or higher.

Not ideal for:

• Legacy PHP projects below version 8.0.
• Applications without Composer support.
• Projects requiring custom formatters beyond PHP-CS-Fixer rules.

Laravel Pint streamlines code formatting by providing an opinionated, zero-configuration solution that works instantly. With 124+ million downloads and official Laravel support, it's become the standard code style fixer for modern Laravel projects. Whether you're working solo or on a team, Pint ensures consistent, maintainable code without the configuration overhead of traditional for.

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