> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kawax.biz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Laravel PAO — Agent-Optimized Output for PHP Tools
> Introduction to laravel/pao, the official Laravel package that compresses PHPUnit, Pest, PHPStan, and Artisan output into compact JSON in AI agent environments — reducing token usage by up to 99.8%.
## Introduction
[laravel/pao](https://github.com/laravel/pao) is an agent-optimized output library for PHP development tools. **PAO (PHP Agent-Optimized output)** automatically converts the verbose, human-readable output of PHPUnit, Pest, Paratest, PHPStan, and Laravel Artisan into compact, structured JSON when running inside an AI agent.
As AI agents like GitHub Copilot move to token-based pricing, reducing tool output directly translates to lower costs. PAO was designed to solve this problem and is planned to be included as a default dependency in the Laravel starter kits.
```mermaid theme={null}
graph TD
A["Tool execution
(PHPUnit/Pest/PHPStan/Artisan)"] --> B{"AI agent
environment?"}
B -->|Yes| C["Compress to JSON output"]
B -->|No| D["Normal output
(unchanged)"]
C --> E["AI agent processes
with fewer tokens"]
D --> F["Human reads output
as usual"]
```
## Why it matters
As AI agents become deeply integrated into development workflows, the token count of tool output has a direct impact on cost and response speed.
A project with 1,000 tests produces thousands of lines of PHPUnit output, but what an AI agent actually needs is just: pass/fail, count, and failure details. PAO compresses this to a single-digit JSON object.
* **Test output**: up to 99.8% token reduction
* **PHPStan output**: structured JSON with only the necessary information
* **Artisan output**: strips ANSI codes, box-drawing characters, and excess whitespace — up to 75% reduction
## Installation
Requires PHP 8.3+, and works with PHPUnit 12-13, Pest 4-5, Paratest, PHPStan, and Laravel 12+.
```bash theme={null}
composer require laravel/pao --dev
```
That is all. PAO hooks into PHPUnit, Pest, Paratest, and PHPStan automatically through Composer's autoloader. In Laravel projects, a service provider is auto-discovered to clean Artisan command output.
PAO only activates when it detects an AI agent environment. When you or your team run tools directly in the terminal, output is completely unchanged — same colours, same formatting, same experience.
## Supported AI agents
PAO automatically detects the following AI agents.
| Agent | Detection method |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| GitHub Copilot | `COPILOT_MODEL` and related env vars |
| Claude Code | `CLAUDECODE` or `CLAUDE_CODE` |
| Cursor | `CURSOR_AGENT` |
| Gemini CLI | `GEMINI_CLI` |
| Devin | `/opt/.devin` file exists |
| Codex | `CODEX_SANDBOX` and related env vars |
## Before & After
### Test output (PHPUnit / Pest)
A test suite with 1,000 tests is transformed like this.
**Before (without PAO)**
```
PHPUnit 12.5.14 by Sebastian Bergmann and contributors.
............................................................. 61 / 1002 ( 6%)
............................................................. 122 / 1002 ( 12%)
...
.......................... 1002 / 1002 (100%)
Time: 00:00.321, Memory: 46.50 MB
OK (1002 tests, 1002 assertions)
```
**After (with PAO)**
```json theme={null}
{
"tool": "phpunit",
"result": "passed",
"tests": 1002,
"passed": 1002,
"duration_ms": 321
}
```
The output is constant-size regardless of how many tests you have. When tests fail, file paths, line numbers, and failure messages are included.
### Plugin output (coverage, profile)
Extra output from Pest plugins such as `--coverage` or `--profile` is captured, cleaned of ANSI codes and decorations, and included as a `raw` array.
```json theme={null}
{
"tool": "pest",
"result": "passed",
"tests": 1002,
"passed": 1002,
"duration_ms": 1520,
"raw": [
"Http/Controllers/Controller 100.0%",
"Models/User 0.0%",
"Total: 33.3 %"
]
}
```
### PHPStan output
```json theme={null}
{
"tool": "phpstan",
"result": "failed",
"errors": 2,
"error_details": {
"/app/Http/Controllers/Controller.php": [
{
"line": 9,
"message": "Method Controller::index() should return int but returns string.",
"identifier": "return.type"
},
{
"line": 14,
"message": "Call to an undefined method Controller::doesNotExist().",
"identifier": "method.notFound"
}
]
}
}
```
### Laravel Artisan output
Commands like `php artisan about` have ANSI codes, box-drawing characters, dot separators, and excess whitespace stripped.
**Before (without PAO) — 2,111 characters**
```
Environment ................................................................
Application Name ................................................... Laravel
Laravel Version ..................................................... 13.3.0
PHP Version .......................................................... 8.5.4
Debug Mode ......................................................... ENABLED
```
**After (with PAO) — 535 characters**
```
Environment ..
Application Name .. Laravel
Laravel Version .. 13.3.0
PHP Version .. 8.5.4
Debug Mode .. ENABLED
```
Commands like `about`, `db:show`, and `migrate:status` benefit most, with up to 75% fewer tokens.
## Integration with Laravel starter kits
PAO is planned to be included as a default dependency in the Laravel starter kits. New projects created with the starter kit will have PAO installed automatically, so token-efficient AI agent development is available from the very first commit.
## Summary
`laravel/pao` requires no configuration and only activates in AI agent environments, meaning it has zero impact on existing development workflows. If you are using an AI agent to work on a PHP or Laravel project, installing PAO is a straightforward way to reduce token costs and speed up agent responses.
Source code and the latest list of supported tools and agents.