Found a cool package on Laravel News? But how do you know if it's actually worth installing?

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we discuss what we look for when evaluating third-party packages before bringing them into a project.

Aaron makes the case that what he finds in the tests folder is essentially a deal-breaker: no tests means no trust, but leaving default example tests behind is somehow even worse. Tests reveal whether the maintainer thought through edge cases and serve as living documentation when the README falls short.

We also cover the other signals we weigh: GitHub stars, download counts, issue responsiveness, and how quickly maintainers keep up with new Laravel versions.

• (00:00) - Evaluating packages you stumble across
• (01:30) - Why leftover example tests frustrate Aaron
• (03:45) - Tests as documentation and edge case proof
• (05:00) - Checking issues and Laravel version history
• (08:00) - Silly bit

Have you ever built a strong case for something, only to realize later you were solving the wrong problem?

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we discuss Aaron's surprising reversal on down migrations, a topic we've publicly discussed on this podcast.

We walk through the original arguments for writing down migrations and deconstruct each one.

• (00:00) - The original case for down migrations
• (03:45) - Aaron changes his stance
• (05:15) - Why seeders beat rollbacks for local dev
• (10:30) - Rethinking the production rollback scenario
• (14:45) - Silly bit

Ever catch yourself second-guessing decisions you were confident about just months ago? Does that mean you're getting worse at your job?

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we explore why senior developers often feel "wrong" more frequently than they did earlier in their careers.

Aaron makes the case that this isn't a sign of declining skill—it's evidence of a richer mental model that reveals nuance where things once seemed black and white.

We discuss how feedback sources shift with experience, why changing your mind signals growth rather than failure, and how to reframe architectural decisions as a spectrum rather than binary choices.

• (00:00) - Feeling wrong more often as a senior dev
• (01:45) - Knowledge plateaus and how growth resets them
• (04:45) - How feedback sources change with experience
• (07:00) - Binary thinking versus nuanced decision-making
• (09:15) - Silly bit

Ever feel like you're wasting your time tweaking a section of code to get it just right? We have tools for that, don't we?

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we discuss when to trust auto-formatters and when to nudge code by hand.

Aaron makes the case that a few mindful minutes of “prettying up” can unblock harder thinking, without surrendering judgment to tools.

We set limits on this approach, share a tiered break strategy, and make it clear why you still own what the formatter changes.

• (00:00) - Auto-formatters vs subjective style choices
• (01:15) - Edge cases tools miss and human tweaks
• (03:15) - Using light formatting to unlock hard problems
• (05:15) - A tiered break strategy for focus
• (07:00) - Silly bit

It's easy to overcomplicate data modeling, especially when enums, relationships, and future requirements are in play.

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, Joel brings Aaron a real-world technical dilemma: how to model a relationship between two models when types are stored as enums, not models.

We discuss the pros and cons of pivot tables versus JSON columns, the importance of context before jumping to solutions, and how developer instincts can sometimes get in the way of clarity.

• (00:00) - Setting up the technical problem
• (02:00) - Pivot tables vs JSON columns
• (05:15) - Filtering and validation considerations
• (07:15) - Deciding on the best approach
• (09:50) - Silly bit

It's easy to get so laser-focused on programming and tech, that you close yourself off to other avenues of learning.

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, Aaron argues that non-tech reading can sharpen your engineering thinking.

We discuss balancing breadth without diluting focus, and how to turn casual reading into active learning with quick capture habits.

• (00:00) - An example from a book on business
• (03:30) - Don’t go too broad
• (05:15) - Practice active learning
• (07:15) - Read something different
• (07:30) - Silly bit

Multiple times we have encountered the messy reality of rebuilding a decade-old system: stale specs, missing specs, and stakeholders who want "the same… but better."

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we share a lightweight framework for agreeing on an MVP, tagging "post-MVP" ideas, and negotiating trade-offs while still making progress.

We walk through practical tactics for parallelizing work and learning as you go.

• (00:00) - Rebuilding an old system without copying its flaws
• (02:00) - Two extremes: too many specs or none at all
• (03:00) - MVP tension: ship value vs. future wishes
• (04:45) - Define MVP, capture unknowns as post-MVP tickets
• (05:30) - Build the first slice and learn
• (07:00) - Code foundations while refining scope
• (08:30) - Trade-offs as collaboration, not confrontation
• (09:30) - Takeaway: progress, check-ins, iterate together
• (10:00) - Silly bit

We join a fair number of projects, and we often help teams bring their project up to our standard. This means bringing a lot of the same small pieces from project to project.

In the latest episode of the No Compromises podcast, we rethink our “project standard” repo. Instead of a full Laravel skeleton, we propose a composable library of tool-specific, versioned configs (PHPUnit, Docker, etc.).

We walk through the benefits for greenfield and legacy work, open questions about test organization, and how this approach scales as tools evolve.

• (00:00) - Why we keep our tooling current
• (00:15) - The “project standard” repo is aging
• (01:30) - Reference guide vs installable skeleton
• (02:30) - Supporting old and new stacks (versions, tags)
• (03:30) - Pivot: organize by tool and version, not app
• (04:30) - Example plan: folders for PHPUnit 11/12 (and beyond)
• (05:15) - What belongs where? Tests, traits, and context
• (10:00) - Docker-first thinking; where Horizon config lives
• (11:15) - Open questions: PHPUnit vs Pest vs “testing” folder
• (12:15) - Takeaway: evolve the repo as the tools evolve
• (12:45) - Silly bit