“Move fast and break things,” they said. But who cleans up the broken pieces later?”
In every Laravel project, the race to release features often leaves behind a trail of technical debt. These little compromises—skipped tests, duplicated logic, bloated controllers—don’t feel urgent… until they do. And suddenly, you’re debugging spaghetti while deadlines loom.
This post is for developers who feel stuck between innovation and maintainability. Let’s dive into smarter ways to manage tech debt without slowing down.
🧪 What Is Technical Debt?
Technical debt is the “interest” you pay for taking shortcuts in code. It’s not inherently bad—it’s a trade-off. Like borrowing money to launch faster, only it’s your future productivity that pays the price.
Common signs in Laravel apps:
- Massive
AppServiceProviderdoing everything - Poorly named classes or methods
- Monolithic controllers lacking separation of concerns
- “Temporary” hacks that become permanent
🛠️ Why It Happens—and How to Spot It Early
Speed and business goals often outweigh clean architecture. But recognizing patterns early can reduce the damage:
| Decision | Debt Risk | Mitigation Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Skipping tests | High | Use Pest or PHPUnit with Laravel’s test helpers |
| Hardcoding values | Medium | Use config files and environment variables |
| No feature toggling | Medium | Use Laravel Pennant for controlled rollouts |
| Repeating logic | High | Apply SOLID principles and refactor with traits/services |
🧹 Cleaning Up: Strategies for Debt Reduction
🎯 Apply SOLID & Object Calisthenics
Break large classes into smaller, purpose-driven pieces. Avoid deep nesting and method chains that obscure logic.
🧩 Use Feature Flags (Laravel Pennant)
Roll out refactors or new architecture to select users—helping you test stability while continuing development.
📊 Track and Prioritize
Use tools like SonarQube or Laravel’s built-in php artisan route:list and code metrics packages to assess code health.
💡 Velocity Without Chaos
You don’t have to stop shipping. You just need to ship smarter.
Workflow tweaks:
- Debt Sprints: Reserve a bi-weekly sprint for cleanup tasks.
- Checklist Culture: Add a “tech debt check” to every PR review.
- Debt Scorecards: Track areas of concern across modules. Build awareness.
✅ Tech Debt Health Score (Mini Checklist)
Score each statement from 1–5 (1 = poor, 5 = excellent):
- [ ] Controllers follow SRP
- [ ] No logic duplication across routes/services
- [ ] Feature toggles are in place for risky changes
- [ ] Tests cover critical flows
- [ ] Code comments explain why, not what
Total your score.
21–25: Clean slate!
15–20: Needs attention
<15: Time for a refactor sprint
🏁 Wrapping Up
Tech debt is a reality—but it doesn’t need to stall innovation. With Laravel’s tools and a thoughtful approach, you can build velocity into your process without sacrificing sanity.
Have your own battle scars from technical debt? Drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear how you fight the debt dragon.