Laravel Pipeline Pattern Beyond Middleware | Mohamed Said [ ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed Said Laravel Backend Engineer ](https://msaied.com) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ ](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [ Home ](https://msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://msaied.com#contact-section) [ home ](https://msaied.com) [ articles ](https://msaied.com/articles) Laravel Pipeline Pattern: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware On this page 1. [ The Pipeline Pattern: Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware ](#the-pipeline-pattern-custom-pipelines-beyond-middleware) 2. [ The Core API ](#the-core-api) 3. [ Typing Your Pipes ](#typing-your-pipes) 4. [ Injecting Dependencies Into Pipes ](#injecting-dependencies-into-pipes) 5. [ Conditional and Dynamic Pipe Lists ](#conditional-and-dynamic-pipe-lists) 6. [ Testing Pipelines With Pest ](#testing-pipelines-with-pest) 7. [ When Not to Use a Pipeline ](#when-not-to-use-a-pipeline) 8. [ Takeaways ](#takeaways) ![Laravel Pipeline Pattern: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware](https://cdn.msaied.com/524/bffe5038d4150b93f86c783df9f73d28.png) #laravel #design-patterns #architecture #php Laravel Pipeline Pattern: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware ======================================================================= 8 Aug 2026 3 min read ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MJ.jpg) Mohamed Said Table of contents 1. [ 01 The Pipeline Pattern: Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware ](#the-pipeline-pattern-custom-pipelines-beyond-middleware) 2. [ 02 The Core API ](#the-core-api) 3. [ 03 Typing Your Pipes ](#typing-your-pipes) 4. [ 04 Injecting Dependencies Into Pipes ](#injecting-dependencies-into-pipes) 5. [ 05 Conditional and Dynamic Pipe Lists ](#conditional-and-dynamic-pipe-lists) 6. [ 06 Testing Pipelines With Pest ](#testing-pipelines-with-pest) 7. [ 07 When Not to Use a Pipeline ](#when-not-to-use-a-pipeline) 8. [ 08 Takeaways ](#takeaways) The Pipeline Pattern: Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware -------------------------------------------------------- Most Laravel developers know `Pipeline` only as the engine behind HTTP middleware. But the same `Illuminate\Pipeline\Pipeline` class is a first-class citizen you can use anywhere in your domain — order processing, import validation, data transformation, multi-step onboarding flows. If you have a value that must pass through an ordered sequence of discrete, swappable steps, a pipeline is the right tool. ### The Core API The facade is straightforward: ```php use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Pipeline; $result = Pipeline::send($payload) ->through([ NormalizeEmail::class, CheckDuplicateAccount::class, EnrichFromCRM::class, PersistRegistration::class, ]) ->thenReturn(); ``` `thenReturn()` returns the final `$payload`. Use `then(fn ($p) => ...)` when you need a custom terminal callback. ### Typing Your Pipes Avoid the stringly-typed `$next` dance by defining a contract: ```php namespace App\Pipelines\Registration; interface RegistrationPipe { public function handle(RegistrationData $data, \Closure $next): RegistrationData; } ``` Each pipe implements the interface and returns the (possibly mutated) DTO: ```php final class NormalizeEmail implements RegistrationPipe { public function handle(RegistrationData $data, \Closure $next): RegistrationData { $data = $data->withEmail(mb_strtolower(trim($data->email))); return $next($data); } } ``` Because each pipe receives and returns the same typed DTO, your IDE and static analysis tools (PHPStan, Psalm) can verify the entire chain at once. ### Injecting Dependencies Into Pipes The `Pipeline` class resolves each pipe through the service container, so constructor injection works out of the box: ```php final class CheckDuplicateAccount implements RegistrationPipe { public function __construct( private readonly UserRepository $users, ) {} public function handle(RegistrationData $data, \Closure $next): RegistrationData { if ($this->users->existsByEmail($data->email)) { throw new DuplicateAccountException($data->email); } return $next($data); } } ``` No service locator, no static calls — pure dependency injection. ### Conditional and Dynamic Pipe Lists Build the pipe list at runtime based on context: ```php $pipes = [ NormalizeEmail::class, CheckDuplicateAccount::class, ]; if ($data->requiresCRMEnrichment()) { $pipes[] = EnrichFromCRM::class; } $pipes[] = PersistRegistration::class; $result = Pipeline::send($data)->through($pipes)->thenReturn(); ``` This is far cleaner than a chain of `if` statements scattered across a service class. ### Testing Pipelines With Pest Because each pipe is a small, focused class, unit testing is trivial: ```php it('lowercases and trims the email', function () { $pipe = new NormalizeEmail(); $data = RegistrationData::from(email: ' FOO@EXAMPLE.COM '); $result = $pipe->handle($data, fn ($d) => $d); expect($result->email)->toBe('foo@example.com'); }); ``` For integration tests, swap a pipe with a fake: ```php it('skips CRM enrichment in tests', function () { $result = Pipeline::send(RegistrationData::from(email: 'a@b.com')) ->through([ NormalizeEmail::class, FakeEnrichFromCRM::class, // test double PersistRegistration::class, ]) ->thenReturn(); expect($result->id)->not->toBeNull(); }); ``` ### When Not to Use a Pipeline Pipelines shine when steps are **ordered, swappable, and share the same payload type**. Avoid them for branching workflows (use a state machine), for fire-and-forget side effects (use events), or when steps need to communicate laterally rather than through the shared payload. ### Takeaways - `Pipeline::send()->through()->thenReturn()` works anywhere, not just HTTP. - Type your pipes with a shared interface and a DTO for IDE and static analysis support. - The container resolves each pipe, so constructor injection is free. - Build pipe lists dynamically for conditional processing logic. - Each pipe is independently unit-testable; swap in test doubles for integration tests. - Avoid pipelines for branching or lateral-communication workflows. Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Flaravel-pipeline-pattern-building-custom-pipelines-beyond-middleware-3&text=Laravel+Pipeline+Pattern%3A+Building+Custom+Pipelines+Beyond+Middleware) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmsaied.com%2Farticles%2Flaravel-pipeline-pattern-building-custom-pipelines-beyond-middleware-3) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Can I pass object instances instead of class strings to `through()`? Yes. `through()` accepts an array of class-name strings, already-resolved object instances, or a mix of both. When a string is given, the container resolves it (with DI); when an object is given, it is used directly. Q02 How do I halt the pipeline early without throwing an exception? The cleanest approach is to throw a domain exception and catch it at the call site. Alternatively, you can return the payload without calling `$next($data)` inside a pipe, which short-circuits the remaining steps and returns the current payload as the final result. Q03 Is there a performance cost to using Pipeline over a plain service class? The overhead is negligible — a small loop and container resolutions. For hot paths (thousands of calls per request), benchmark first, but for typical domain workflows the readability and testability gains far outweigh any micro-cost. 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