6 ways to check which Laravel version you are running

Table of contents:

• The quickest way to check your Laravel version
• 6 ways to check the version of Laravel
  • Using the php artisan about command
  • Using the –version flag with Artisan
  • Using the version() method
  • Via Composer in your terminal
  • In the composer.json and composer.lock files
  • In the source code

The quickest way to check your Laravel version

The quickest way to check your Laravel version is by using the php artisan --version command.

Knowing which version of Laravel you are running and its specific details are crucial pieces of information, whether you’re planning to upgrade, debug, or simply want to ensure compatibility with a specific feature.

However, there are other methods to get the version of Laravel. Here’s a comprehensive guide with commands that work no matter if you use macOS, any Linux distribution like Ubuntu, Docker or WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

6 ways to check the version of Laravel

Using the php artisan about command

The about command Artisan offers not only displays the Laravel version but also other helpful information about your project such as the version of PHP you’re running on, Composer’s version, cache drivers, etc.

However, it’s important to note that the about command is only available in Laravel version 9.21 or later.

php artisan about
 
Laravel Version ..................................................... 9.43.0
PHP Version ......................................................... 8.1.10
Composer Version ..................................................... 2.4.1

Using the –version flag with Artisan

I talked about it in the introduction. If you are using an older version of Laravel, you can still use the --version flag to display the Laravel version.

This is the original method for checking it before the about command was introduced. The --version flag has priority over any Artisan command.

php artisan --version
 
Laravel Framework 9.43.0

Or, using the flag with any other command:

php artisan make:model --version
 
Laravel Framework 9.43.0

Using the version() method

The app() helper will give you access to many information, such as the Laravel version you are running. Try this simple code below:

// 9.43.0
app()->version();

You could use it in a custom dashboard you created:

<ul>
    <li>PHP: {{ phpversion() }}</li>
    <li>Laravel: {{ app()->version() }}</li>
</ul>

Via Composer in your terminal

Composer offers a handy command to check the version of a specific dependency. Run:

composer show laravel/framework

You will get an incredibly report about this dependency.

name     : laravel/framework
descrip. : The Laravel Framework.
keywords : framework, laravel
versions : * v10.26.2
type     : library
license  : MIT License (MIT) (OSI approved) https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html#licenseText
homepage : https://laravel.com
source   : [git] https://github.com/laravel/framework.git 6e5440f7c518f26b4495e5d7e4796ec239e26df9
dist     : [zip] https://api.github.com/repos/laravel/framework/zipball/6e5440f7c518f26b4495e5d7e4796ec239e26df9 6e5440f7c518f26b4495e5d7e4796ec239e26df9
path     : /Users/benjamin/Projects/benjamincrozat/vendor/laravel/framework
names    : laravel/framework, psr/container-implementation, psr/simple-cache-implementation, illuminate/auth, illuminate/broadcasting, …
…

In the composer.json and composer.lock files

In your composer.json, you will be able to get the minimum version of Laravel your project is locked on:

"require": {
    "php": "^8.0.2",
    "guzzlehttp/guzzle": "^7.2",
    "laravel/framework": "^9.19",
    "laravel/sanctum": "^3.0",
    "laravel/tinker": "^2.7"
}

As you can see, this project is locked on Laravel 9.19 or earlier.

But this might not be enough. Since versions earlier than 9.19 are supported, you project might use Laravel 9.32 or even 9.484843!

Instead, search for “laravel/framework” inside your composer.lock file to get the exact Laravel version that’s installed on your project :

{
    "name": "laravel/framework",
    "version": "v9.43.0",
    "source": {
        "type": "git",
        "url": "https://github.com/laravel/framework.git",
        "reference": "2ca2b168a3e995a8ec6ea2805906379095d20080"
    }
}

In the source code

Open your favorite code editor and search for vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php. The exact version of Laravel you are using is written in the VERSION constant.

class Application extends Container implements ApplicationContract, CachesConfiguration, CachesRoutes, HttpKernelInterface
{
    const VERSION = '9.43.0';
}

This is actually the constant app()->version() uses. 😀

public function version()
{
    return static::VERSION;
}