Laravel 11 Directory Structure Explained

Laravel 11 is a powerful PHP framework designed for modern web applications. Understanding its directory structure is crucial for developers to efficiently build and manage projects. In this blog, we will explore the Laravel 11 directory structure and its purpose.

Root Directory

When you create a new Laravel 11 project, you will see the following directory structure:

/your-laravel-project
│── app/
│── bootstrap/
│── config/
│── database/
│── lang/
│── public/
│── resources/
│── routes/
│── storage/
│── tests/
│── vendor/
│── .env
│── artisan
│── composer.json
│── package.json
│── phpunit.xml
│── vite.config.js

Now, let’s go through each directory and its purpose.

1. app/

This is the core directory where most of your application logic resides. It contains essential subdirectories such as:

• Http/ – Houses controllers, middleware, and requests.
• Models/ – Contains Eloquent models for interacting with the database.
• Providers/ – Contains service providers for configuring application services.

2. bootstrap/

This folder contains the app.php file, which is responsible for bootstrapping the Laravel application. The cache/ directory inside it stores optimized configuration files.

3. config/

All configuration files reside here. Each file corresponds to a specific part of the framework, such as app.php, database.php, and mail.php.

4. database/

This directory contains:

• migrations/ – For database schema management.
• factories/ – Used for generating test data.
• seeders/ – Allows inserting test records into the database.

5. lang/

This directory stores language files for localization, helping in building multilingual applications.

6. public/

This folder contains the index.php file, which acts as the entry point for the application. It also includes assets such as images, CSS, and JavaScript files.

7. resources/

It contains view files and frontend assets:

• views/ – Blade templates for rendering HTML.
• css/ and js/ – Contains frontend assets managed via Vite.

8. routes/

This directory houses route definitions for the application:

• web.php – Routes for web applications.
• api.php – Routes for APIs.
• console.php – Defines Artisan console commands.

9. storage/

Used for storing logs, cache, and compiled templates. It contains subdirectories:

• app/ – Stores application-specific files.
• framework/ – Contains session and cache files.
• logs/ – Stores log files for debugging.

10. tests/

Holds test cases for the application. Laravel provides support for unit tests and feature tests using PHPUnit or Pest.

11. vendor/

Contains third-party dependencies installed via Composer.

Other Important Files

• .env – Environment configuration file.
• artisan – CLI tool for running Laravel commands.
• composer.json – Manages PHP dependencies.
• vite.config.js – Configuration file for the Vite build tool.

Conclusion

Understanding Laravel 11’s directory structure helps developers organize their code efficiently. By knowing where each component belongs, you can build scalable and maintainable applications with ease. Happy coding!