Laravel family router

This family package is self-contained. It routes a Laravel request to one version reference and keeps version-specific guidance out of the initial prompt until the selector is known.

Resolve the selector

Use this order and stop at the first decisive result:

1. Explicit selector — honor the caller's version without reading a project file. Supported selectors are 5.4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and mix. The compatibility aliases 5-4, laravel-5.4, laravel-5-4, laravel-mix, and mix-5 normalize to 5.4 or mix.
2. Project detection — if no selector was supplied, read the current project's composer.lock, then composer.json, for laravel/framework. A package-only asset project may also resolve mix from package.json when laravel-mix is declared. These files are read directly by the family-local resolver.
3. Ask — if the selector is missing, malformed, unsupported, or ambiguous, ask which supported selector applies. Never guess a nearby major or silently use the newest reference.

Project detection never consults dhpk installation or publication manifests. The family package must continue to work when copied by itself.

Load exactly one reference

After resolution, load only the matching file below. Do not preload sibling versions. For a cross-version review or upgrade, consult compatibility.md or migration.md after the selector-specific reference; those shared notes are not selector targets.

The resolver reports the selected relative reference and its complete file contents. A successful resolution therefore has exactly one loaded reference; an ask result has none.

When NOT to Use

• Use php for Symfony, Yii, or general PHP runtime selection that is not Laravel-specific.
• Use framework-neutral guidance for frontend-only work; select mix only when the project owns the Laravel Mix pipeline described above.

Output

Return the selected Laravel or Mix selector, the one loaded reference, the applicable PHP/framework floor, and the verification gates from that reference. For an unresolved or ambiguous project, return the actionable ask and report that no version reference was loaded.

Verification

• Run node scripts/resolve-version.js --json [--version <selector>] and confirm the result names the expected family, selector, source, and reference.
• Run php artisan --version or composer show laravel/framework when the project is available, then compare it with the selected reference.
• For a copied family directory, run the CLI with NODE_PATH empty and an explicit selector to prove that resolution has no repository dependency.

The family-local scripts/resolve-version.js is the JSON CLI entrypoint. It accepts an optional explicit selector and exits non-zero when resolution asks for input or encounters an error. scripts/version-resolver.js is the programmatic resolver used by the CLI; it returns the selected reference and loaded contents, or an ask result with no loaded references.

Apply the selected guidance

• Confirm the installed framework version with php artisan --version or composer show laravel/framework when the project is available.
• Check the PHP floor, source-generation layout, and package constraints in the selected reference before writing framework-coupled code.
• Treat the reference as locked framework documentation, not the application's policy SSOT. Keep domain and product decisions in the application sources.
• Run the reference's verification gates and report any version mismatch or unresolved migration trap explicitly.

Mix boundary

mix is an optional upgraded legacy asset-pipeline selector for Laravel Mix 5 and webpack 4. It is not default Laravel framework coupling. Select it for a project that actually owns webpack.mix.js, laravel-mix, and the associated npm scripts; otherwise use the Laravel framework selector alone.

Portable package boundary

All resolver imports and reference paths are family-relative. Core resolution requires no dhpk manifest, hook, agent, MCP server, or repository working state.