Laravel 6

Laravel 6 moved the framework to semantic versioning and raised the minimum PHP version from the preceding 5.8 line. It introduced the Ignition exception page, lazy collections for processing large result sets with lower memory use, job middleware, richer authorization responses, and Eloquent support for subquery-based selects and ordering. Front-end authentication scaffolding was removed from the core installer and provided through the separate laravel/ui package.

Laravel 6 has reached end of life, so its maintainers no longer provide security fixes or routine compatibility fixes. A production issue in the framework or its direct dependency chain may therefore require a local workaround, a maintained third-party patch, or an upgrade under pressure. Staying on this line can also limit compatible PHP, Composer, database, and package versions, increasing the cost of integrating maintained libraries and of postponing the eventual migration.

Choose a currently supported Laravel target and a compatible supported PHP runtime. Inventory the application’s Composer dependencies, PHP extensions, deployment environment, custom framework overrides, and use of packages such as laravel/ui. Review the upgrade guidance for every intervening major version, make required code and configuration changes in a branch, and update dependencies in controlled steps. Run automated tests plus focused checks of authentication, authorization, queues, scheduled work, mail, database queries, caching, and error handling before deploying through a staging environment.