Laravel 12 Architecture Guide: Services, Actions, and Clean Code

Why Architecture Matters More in Laravel 12

Laravel 12 encourages cleaner, stricter, and more maintainable code. While Laravel still allows rapid development, poorly structured applications quickly become hard to scale, test, and upgrade—especially with Laravel 12’s stricter typing and cleanup.

This guide explains how to structure your Laravel 12 application using Services, Actions, and clean architecture principles that developers actively search for.

The Biggest Problem in Laravel Apps: Fat Controllers

Common search: Laravel fat controller problem

The Issue

Many Laravel applications place:

• Business logic in controllers
• Database logic mixed with HTTP logic
• Reusable logic duplicated across controllers

This leads to:

• Hard-to-test code
• Painful upgrades
• Unmaintainable logic

The Laravel 12 Architecture Philosophy

In Laravel 12, aim for:

• Thin controllers
• Reusable business logic
• Clear separation of concerns
• Predictable folder structure

Rule of thumb:
Controllers should coordinate, not calculate.

Role of Controllers in Laravel 12

Controllers should:

• Accept HTTP requests
• Validate input
• Call a Service or Action
• Return responses

Controllers should NOT:

• Contain complex business logic
• Perform heavy database operations
• Handle multi-step workflows

Good controller size: 10–20 lines.

Services: Where Business Logic Lives

Common search: Laravel service class best practices

What Is a Service?

A Service class contains core business logic that can be reused across:

• Controllers
• Jobs
• Commands
• Event listeners

When to Use Services

• Multi-step processes
• Reusable workflows
• Domain-specific rules

Example Use Cases

• User registration logic
• Payment processing
• Order calculations
• Permission checks

Benefits

• Easy to test
• Easy to reuse
• Easy to maintain

Actions: Single-Responsibility Powerhouses

Common search: Laravel action pattern

What Is an Action?

An Action represents one clear task.

Examples

• CreateUser
• UpdateProfile
• SendInvoice
• ApproveOrder

When to Use Actions

• Single-purpose operations
• Explicit intent
• Reusable tasks

Actions work especially well in Laravel 12 due to:

• Stricter typing
• Better IDE support
• Clear intent

Services vs Actions: When to Use Which?

Use a Service when:

• Logic spans multiple steps
• The process is complex
• Multiple Actions depend on it

Use an Action when:

• The task is single-purpose
• The operation must be reusable
• You want clear intent

Best practice:
Actions can internally call Services.

Clean Folder Structure for Laravel 12

Recommended structure:

• app/Http/Controllers → Request handling only
• app/Services → Business logic
• app/Actions → Single-purpose tasks
• app/Jobs → Background processing
• app/Policies → Authorization logic

Benefits

• Easier upgrades
• Faster onboarding
• Fewer merge conflicts

Why Clean Code Matters More After Laravel 12

Laravel 12 introduces:

• Stricter typing
• Cleaner core APIs
• Reduced magic defaults

Poorly structured code:

• Breaks faster
• Is harder to debug
• Increases upgrade risk

Clean architecture:

• Reduces breaking-change impact
• Improves long-term stability
• Makes upgrades predictable

Common Mistakes Developers Still Make

• Writing queries in controllers
• Putting business logic in Livewire components
• Mixing validation, logic, and persistence
• Overusing helpers and facades

These patterns scale poorly over time.

Final Thoughts

Laravel 12 rewards developers who invest in clean architecture.
Using Services for business logic and Actions for intent-driven tasks keeps applications scalable, testable, and future-proof.

Clean code is not over-engineering—it is risk reduction.