Laravel is a popular PHP web framework that comes with a vast ecosystem of packages, tools, and resources. These packages can significantly improve the productivity of Laravel developers by providing pre-built functionalities, utilities, and solutions to common problems. Here are ten of the best Laravel packages that can improve productivity and instructions on how to install and use them.

1. Laravel Debugbar - This package provides a toolbar with useful debugging information for Laravel applications. It can help developers diagnose and resolve issues more quickly by providing insights into queries, requests, and errors.

1. To install Debugbar, run the following command in your Laravel project directory:

composer require barryvdh/laravel-debugbar

To use Debugbar, simply add it to the providers array in your config/app.php file, like so:

'providers' => [
    // ...
    Barryvdh\Debugbar\ServiceProvider::class,
],

You can then use the debugbar helper to access the Debugbar instance, like so:

debugbar()->info('Some information');

2. Laravel Horizon - Laravel Horizon provides a beautiful dashboard and queue worker management system for Laravel applications. It helps developers monitor, manage, and scale their queue workers more easily.

To install Horizon, run the following command:

composer require laravel/horizon

After installing, you'll need to publish the configuration file by running the following command:

php artisan horizon:publish

You can then start the Horizon dashboard by running the following command:

php artisan horizon

3. Laravel Telescope - Laravel Telescope is an elegant debug assistant for Laravel applications. It provides insight into the requests, database queries, cache operations, and more of your application.

To install Telescope, run the following command:

composer require laravel/telescope

After installing, you'll need to publish the configuration and assets by running the following command:

php artisan telescope:install

You can then access the Telescope dashboard by visiting http://your-app.com/telescope in your browser.

4. Laravel Mix - Laravel Mix is a simple and powerful tool for compiling and bundling assets for Laravel applications. It provides an easy-to-use API for configuring webpack and other build tools.

To install Mix, run the following command:

npm install laravel-mix --save-dev

After installing, you can configure Mix in your webpack.mix.js file. For example, to compile your Sass files and JavaScript files, you can use the following code:

const mix = require('laravel-mix');
mix.js('resources/js/app.js', 'public/js')
   .sass('resources/sass/app.scss', 'public/css');

You can then run the Mix build process by running the following command:

npm run dev

5. Laravel Passport - Laravel Passport is an OAuth2 server implementation for Laravel applications. It provides a simple, easy-to-use API for creating and managing authentication tokens.

To install Passport, run the following command:

composer require laravel/passport

After installing, you'll need to run the migrations to create the necessary tables:

php artisan migrate

You can then use the Passport API to create and manage OAuth tokens. For example, to create a new token for a user, you can use the following code:

$user = User::find(1);
$token = $user->createToken('Token Name')->accessToken;

To learn more about Laravel Passport in detail: Checkout this Article

6. Laravel Excel - Laravel Excel is a simple and powerful package for importing and exporting Excel files in Laravel applications. It provides an easy-to-use API for working with Excel files.

To install Excel, run the following command:

composer require maatwebsite/excel

After installing Laravel Excel, you need to add the service provider and facade to the config/app.php file. Add the following lines to the providers array:

Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider::class,

And add the following line to the aliases array:

'Excel' => Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel::class,

Create an Excel file that you want to import or export.

To export data to an Excel file, create a new controller method and use the Excel facade to generate the Excel file. For example:

use App\Exports\UsersExport;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;

public function export() 
{
    return Excel::download(new UsersExport, 'users.xlsx');
}

Here, we're using the download() method to generate and download an Excel file. The first argument is the export class, which specifies the data to export, and the second argument is the file name.

7. Laravel Backpack - Laravel Backpack is a collection of admin panels that can be easily added to Laravel applications. It provides an easy-to-use interface for managing data and creating CRUD operations.

To install Backpack, run the following command:

composer require backpack/base

After installing, you'll need to publish the configuration and assets by running the following command:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Backpack\Base\BaseServiceProvider"

You can then create new admin panels by running the following command:

php artisan backpack:crud YourModelName

8. Laravel Sanctum - Laravel Sanctum is a lightweight API authentication package that uses Laravel's built-in authentication system. It provides a simple, easy-to-use API for creating and managing authentication tokens.

To install Sanctum, run the following command:

composer require laravel/sanctum

After installing, you'll need to run the migrations to create the necessary tables:

php artisan migrate

You can then use the Sanctum API to create and manage authentication tokens. For example, to create a new token for a user, you can use the following code:

$user = User::find(1);
$token = $user->createToken('Token Name')->plainTextToken;

9. Laravel Cashier - Laravel Cashier is a package for managing subscription billing and payments in Laravel applications. It provides an easy-to-use API for creating and managing subscription plans, processing payments, and handling invoices.

To install Cashier, run the following command:

javascriptCopy codecomposer require laravel/cashier

After installing, you'll need to run the migrations to create the necessary tables:

php artisan migrate

You can then use the Cashier API to create and manage subscription plans, process payments, and handle invoices. For example, to create a new subscription for a user, you can use the following code:

$user = User::find(1);

$user->newSubscription('default', 'monthly')->create($paymentMethod);

10. Laravel Socialite - Laravel Socialite is a package for integrating social authentication into Laravel applications. It provides an easy-to-use API for authenticating with popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google.

To install Socialite, run the following command:

composer require laravel/socialite

After installing, you'll need to add your social network credentials to your config/services.php file. For example, to add Facebook credentials, you can use the following code:

'facebook' => [
    'client_id' => 'your-facebook-app-id',
    'client_secret' => 'your-facebook-app-secret',
    'redirect' => 'http://your-app.com/callback-url',
],

You can then use the Socialite API to authenticate with the social network. For example, to authenticate with Facebook, you can use the following code:

return Socialite::driver('facebook')->redirect();