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This article is based on source code research. Laravel Chisel is in early development with its v0.1 tag released in May 2026.

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What is Laravel Chisel?

Laravel Chisel provides primitives for building post-install scripts that remove unwanted features from Laravel starter kits. Compatible starter kits include a chisel.php script that defines the optional features and the file mutations needed to remove them. Starter kits come bundled with many features, but not every project needs all of them. Chisel solves this by providing a way to interactively configure your project after installation — keeping only the features you need.

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Why Is It Needed?

Laravel starter kits bundle many features together, but not all features are needed in every project. For example:
  • Projects that don’t need email verification
  • Projects that don’t use passkey authentication
  • Configurations that don’t need certain Livewire components
Previously, developers had to manually remove unwanted features. With Chisel, customization is handled through interactive prompts at install time.

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Defining a chisel.php Script

Starter kits that use Chisel place a chisel.php file at the project root. This file defines which features are optional. 
<?php

require getenv('LARAVEL_INSTALLER_AUTOLOADER');

use Laravel\Chisel\Chisel;
use Laravel\Chisel\Question;

return Chisel::script(dirname(__DIR__))
    ->questions([
        Question::multiselect(
            name: 'auth_features',
            label: 'Which authentication features would you like to enable?',
            options: [
                'email-verification' => 'Email verification',
            ],
            hint: 'Use space to select, enter to confirm.',
        ),
    ])
    ->selected('auth_features', 'email-verification',
        then: function (Chisel $c) {
            // Selected: keep the code, just remove the markers
            $c->files(
                'resources/js/pages/settings/profile.tsx',
                'app/Providers/FortifyServiceProvider.php',
            )->removeSectionMarkers('email-verification');
        },
        else: function (Chisel $c) {
            // Not selected: remove all related files and features
            $c->php('app/Models/User.php')
                ->removeImport('Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail')
                ->removeInterface('MustVerifyEmail');

            $c->file('config/fortify.php')->removeLinesContaining('Features::emailVerification()');

            $c->files(
                'app/Providers/FortifyServiceProvider.php',
                'resources/js/pages/settings/profile.tsx',
            )->removeSection('email-verification');

            $c->files(
                'resources/js/components/email-verification-notice.tsx',
                'resources/js/pages/auth/verify-email.tsx',
                'tests/Feature/Auth/EmailVerificationTest.php',
                'tests/Feature/Auth/VerificationNotificationTest.php',
            )->delete();
        },
    );

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Script Definition Methods

MethodPurpose
Chisel::script($directory)Create a script definition
Question::multiselect(...)Define a multiselect question
questions([...])Set the script’s questions
questions()Retrieve the registered questions
collectAnswers()Begin collecting answers for registered questions
apply($callback)Register an unconditional mutation step
selected($key, $value, then:, else:)Branch on a multiselect answer
selectedAny($key, $values, then:, else:)Branch when any of the given values are selected
selectedAll($key, $values, then:, else:)Branch when all of the given values are selected
chisel($answers)Execute the registered mutations

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Collecting Answers

collectAnswers() returns a pending answer collector. All methods are fluent and can be called in any order. When non-interactive, defaults are used automatically. An external Artisan command uses Laravel Prompts to display the prompts and pass the answers to Chisel. 
use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Laravel\Chisel\Chisel;
use Laravel\Chisel\Question;
use RuntimeException;

use function Laravel\Prompts\multiselect;

class InstallFeatures extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'install:features
        {--answers= : JSON string of answers to skip interactive prompts}';

    public function handle(): void
    {
        $script = require base_path('chisel.php');

        $providedAnswers = $this->option('answers') === null
            ? []
            : json_decode((string) $this->option('answers'), true, 512, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);

        $answers = $script
            ->collectAnswers()
            ->onQuestion(fn (Question $question) => match ($question->type) {
                'multiselect' => multiselect(
                    label: $question->label,
                    options: $question->options,
                    default: $question->default ?? [],
                    required: $question->required,
                    hint: $question->hint,
                ),
                default => throw new RuntimeException("Unsupported question type [{$question->type}]."),
            })
            ->interactive($this->input->isInteractive())
            ->withAnswers($providedAnswers);

        $script->chisel($answers);

        $chisel = Chisel::in(base_path());

        $chisel->npm()->install();
        $chisel->npm()->run('build');
    }
}
MethodPurpose
onQuestion($callback)Handle question prompts
interactive($interactive)Configure whether missing answers are prompted interactively
withAnswers($answers)Provide pre-collected answers to skip prompting

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File Mutations

file($path) targets a single file. files(...$paths) targets multiple files.
MethodPurpose
replace($search, $replace)Replace a string
removeLinesContaining($content)Remove lines containing a string
removeSectionMarkers($tag)Strip section markers, keep the content
removeSection($tag)Remove section markers and the content inside them
delete()Delete the targeted files

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PHP AST-Based Mutations

php($path) provides AST-based edits. Changes are saved automatically when the object is destroyed.
MethodPurpose
removeImport($class)Remove a use statement
removeTrait($trait)Remove a trait usage from the class
removeInterface($interface)Remove an implemented interface

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Section Markers

Wrap optional code in comment pairs: 
/* @chisel-passkeys */
Fortify::authenticateUsingPasskeys();
/* @end-chisel-passkeys */
JSX files may use block comments with braces: 
{
    /* @chisel-passkeys */
}
<PasskeyButton />;
{
    /* @end-chisel-passkeys */
}
  • removeSectionMarkers('passkeys') — removes the markers, keeps the code
  • removeSection('passkeys') — removes both the markers and the content
The chisel- marker prefix is added automatically.

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npm Support

MethodPurpose
npm()->install()Install dependencies using the detected package manager
npm()->run($script, ...$arguments)Run a package manager script
npm()->remove(...$packages)Remove packages using the detected package manager
The npm() method detects npm, yarn, pnpm, and bun automatically.

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Current Status

  • GitHub Repository: laravel/chisel
  • Release: v0.1 (published May 2026)
  • Development history: 3 months of private development before public release
Chisel is not a package for end users to install directly in their Laravel apps — it is a library used internally by starter kits. In the future, Laravel’s official starter kits are expected to ship with Chisel-powered post-install scripts.

laravel/chisel Repository

Source code and the latest API reference.

Laravel Starter Kits Official Documentation

For how to use the starter kits themselves, refer to the official documentation.
Last modified on May 14, 2026