laravel/pao

What it solves

Laravel PAO reduces the token cost and noise for AI agents (like Claude Code, Cursor, and Devin) when they run PHP development tools. It replaces verbose, human-centric terminal output—filled with ANSI colors, box-drawing characters, and progress dots—with compact, structured JSON or stripped-down text, making it easier and cheaper for agents to parse and process.

How it works

PAO detects if a tool is being executed within an AI agent environment. When detected, it automatically intercepts the output of common PHP tools—including PHPUnit, Pest, Paratest, PHPStan, and Rector—and converts it into a minimal JSON format. For Laravel Artisan commands, it strips away decorative elements and excess whitespace. If a tool is run by a human in a terminal, the output remains completely unchanged.

Who it’s for

PHP developers using AI agents to automate coding, testing, and refactoring tasks across any PHP project, including those using Laravel, Symfony, or vanilla PHP.

Highlights

• Token Efficiency: Reduces AI token usage by up to 99.8% for test suites and 75% for Artisan commands.
• Zero Configuration: Works automatically via Composer's autoloader and Laravel service provider auto-discovery.
• Agent-Aware: Only activates when an AI agent is detected, ensuring no impact on human developer workflows.
• Broad Tool Support: Integrates with PHPUnit, Pest, Paratest, PHPStan, Rector, and Laravel Artisan.