Boost inspect

Boost Inspect

Inspect a running Laravel application using the Laravel Boost MCP server. Most LaraClaude analyzers reason about the code statically (grep + read). This skill reasons about the live application: the real database schema, real row counts, loaded Eloquent models, registered routes/config, and the last runtime errors. That makes findings precise instead of inferred (e.g. an orphaned FK confirmed against actual data, not guessed from a migration).

If the Boost MCP server is not present, the skill degrades gracefully to running the same checks through php artisan tinker in the project's Docker container.

Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
(no argument) / report	Full runtime inspection: app info, models, schema drift, orphaned FKs, recent errors. Read-only.
models	List Eloquent models with their real relationships and verify each relationship resolves at runtime.
schema	Compare the live database schema against database/migrations/ and report drift.
errors	Read and analyze the last application errors / log entries from the running app.
[target]	Focus the inspection on a single model or table (e.g. Property, properties).

This is a read-only analyzer. It never modifies files or data. When it finds an issue it points to the matching LaraClaude skill that can fix it (/lc:orphaned-records, /lc:check-foreign-keys, /lc:analyze-model, ...).

Process

Step 0: Detect Laravel Boost (dynamically)

Do NOT hardcode exact MCP tool names — Boost may add, rename, or reorganize them between versions. Discover what is actually available in this session and map tools to capabilities by intent.

1. Use Grep to check whether laravel/boost is in composer.json.

2. Learn the tool names from the installed version (primary source). Use Glob on vendor/laravel/boost/src/Mcp/Tools/*.php and convert each class basename to kebab-case (DatabaseSchema → database-schema) — this is exactly how laravel/mcp derives tool names (Str::kebab(class_basename())), so it gives you the real tool set for the version actually installed, regardless of docs or release. If the vendor/ directory is unavailable (e.g. Boost runs in a different container), skip this and rely on the reference table below.

3. Discover the Boost MCP tools available in this session. Boost registers its MCP server under the key laravel-boost, so its tools surface as mcp__laravel-boost__<tool> (where <tool> is the kebab-case name from step 2). Enumerate every available tool whose name starts with mcp__laravel-boost__ (also accept the underscore variant mcp__laravel_boost__ in case the host sanitizes the dash).

4. Map discovered tools to capabilities by keyword, not by a fixed string. For each capability below, pick the available laravel-boost tool whose name (or, if needed, its description) best matches the listed keywords. If none matches, treat that single capability as unavailable and use the fallback for it:

   Capability	Match tool name containing	Reference name (Boost as of v2.x)
   App info	application, info	application-info
   Run read query	query	database-query
   Read schema	schema	database-schema
   List connections	connection	database-connections
   Execute PHP	tinker	tinker
   Last error	error	last-error
   Read logs	log	read-log-entries
   Search docs	doc	search-docs

   The reference column is a hint for the current release, not a dependency. Always prefer whatever the discovery step actually returned.

5. Decide the execution mode:

   • Boost mode (preferred): at least the schema/query/tinker capabilities resolved to real laravel-boost tools. Use the discovered tools directly instead of shelling out.
   • Fallback mode: Boost is not installed, its MCP server is not running, or discovery returned no usable tools. Tell the user once:

     Laravel Boost not detected. Running in fallback mode via tinker (Docker / Windows / local — auto-detected).
     For richer, runtime-verified inspection install it:
       composer require laravel/boost --dev
       php artisan boost:install
     

     Then run the equivalent checks through tinker, choosing the right invocation for the environment (see Step 0b).

6. State which mode and execution environment you are using at the top of the report.

Step 0b: Pick the Right Environment (Docker, Windows, or local)

Fallback mode shells out to php artisan, so detect how this project actually runs before assuming docker exec:

1. Docker: if a docker-compose.yml/compose.yml exists, detect the app service container (as /lc:orphaned-records does) and run docker exec {container} php artisan tinker --execute="...".
2. Native Windows (no Docker): the shell is cmd/PowerShell, not bash. Run php artisan tinker --execute="..." directly (PHP from Laragon/Herd/XAMPP must be on PATH). Mind the quoting — on Windows wrap the --execute body in double quotes and avoid the bash-style \$ escaping used in the Docker examples; use plain $. Use Windows path separators only for filesystem paths, never inside SQL.
3. WSL: treat it like local Linux (bash) — run php artisan tinker directly inside the WSL project path; do not prefix with docker exec unless the app itself runs in a container.
4. Plain local (Herd/Valet/Sail): run php artisan tinker --execute="..." from the project root. For Sail, prefer ./vendor/bin/sail artisan tinker if docker-compose.yml defines the sail service.

Detect, do not assume: check for docker-compose.yml, then the OS/shell, then fall back to a direct php artisan call. State the chosen environment in the report header. Boost mode is unaffected by all of this — it goes through the MCP server, so it works the same on Windows, WSL, Docker, or native.

Step 1: Application Info

In Boost mode, call Application Info. In fallback mode, gather the same with tinker (app()->version(), PHP_VERSION, DB::getDriverName()) and composer.json.

Report: Laravel version, PHP version, environment, database engine/connection, and the count of ecosystem packages and Eloquent models detected. Flag anything notable (e.g. APP_ENV=production while inspecting — warn the user the checks run real queries).

Step 2: Models & Relationships (models or full report)

1. Get the model list from Application Info (Boost) or by Glob on app/Models/*.php (fallback).
2. For each model (or just [target] if provided), verify the relationships actually resolve at runtime using Tinker / Database Query. For example, for a hasMany/belongsTo:

   // Confirm the relation method exists and returns a Relation, and the FK column exists
   $m = new \App\Models\Property;
   collect((new ReflectionClass($m))->getMethods())
     ->filter(fn($x) => $x->class === \App\Models\Property::class);
   

   Use Database Schema to confirm the FK column the relationship depends on really exists in the table.
3. Report relationships whose underlying column is missing, or models with no table, as CRITICAL. Suggest /lc:analyze-model {Model} for a deeper view.

Step 3: Schema Drift (schema or full report)

1. Read the live schema via Boost Database Schema (or DB::select on information_schema in fallback).
2. Use Glob + Read on database/migrations/*.php to build the expected schema (tables, columns, FKs).
3. Diff them and report:
   • Columns present in the DB but not in any migration → WARNING (manual/un-tracked changes).
   • Columns/tables in migrations but missing from the DB → CRITICAL (migrations not run, or migrate:fresh needed). Suggest /lc:migration-fresh-test.
   • FK constraints in the DB with no matching relationship in models → INFO. Suggest /lc:check-foreign-keys.

Step 4: Orphaned Foreign Keys (full report)

For each FK found in the live schema, run a real count via Database Query (Boost) or tinker (fallback):

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {table} t
LEFT JOIN {ref_table} r ON t.{column} = r.{ref_column}
WHERE t.{column} IS NOT NULL AND r.{ref_column} IS NULL

Report any non-zero result as WARNING with the real count, and point the user to /lc:orphaned-records fix {table} to clean it up. Skip polymorphic relationships (note them).

Step 5: Recent Errors (errors or full report)

1. In Boost mode, call Last Error and Read Log Entries (last ~20). In fallback mode, read storage/logs/laravel.log tail.
2. For each distinct error, summarize the exception class, message, and the originating file:line.
3. Read the referenced source file to give a root-cause one-liner (like /lc:analyze-error), and suggest /lc:analyze-error for a full diagnosis.

Step 6: Report

Use the standard LaraClaude report format. Always state the mode and group by area:

=== Boost Inspect Report ===
Mode: Boost MCP   (laravel-boost detected)
App:  Laravel 12.3 · PHP 8.4 · mysql · env=local · 41 models · 63 packages

Models & Relationships
  Property::owner (belongsTo User)
    [CRITICAL] FK column properties.user_id does not exist in the live schema
    → /lc:analyze-model Property

Schema Drift
  table: invoices
    Line —: [WARNING] column `legacy_ref` exists in DB but not in any migration
    Line —: [CRITICAL] migration adds `invoices.paid_at` but column missing in DB
    → /lc:migration-fresh-test

Orphaned Foreign Keys
  operations.client_seller_id -> clients.id
    [WARNING] 9 orphaned rows (verified against live data)
    → /lc:orphaned-records fix operations

Recent Errors
  [WARNING] QueryException — Unknown column 'status' (app/Http/.../Foo.php:42)
    → /lc:analyze-error

Summary: 4 issues found (2 critical, 2 warnings) · mode=Boost MCP

Important Notes

• Read-only. This skill inspects; it does not mutate code or data. All queries are SELECT/count only.
• It runs real queries against the configured database. Use it in development/staging. If APP_ENV=production, warn the user before running Step 4.
• Prefer the Boost MCP tools when available — they are faster and already scoped to the app. Only shell out to Docker/tinker in fallback mode.
• This skill is a router as much as an analyzer: its job is to confirm issues against the running app, then hand off to the specialized LaraClaude fix skills.
• It pairs naturally with Laravel Boost rather than replacing it: Boost supplies the runtime context and docs; LaraClaude supplies the task-specific analysis and fixes.