Deploy a Laravel backend to AWS Lambda serverless with Bref 3.x. Produces a serverless.yml with three functions — a php-84-fpm web function (httpApi), a php-84 SQS queue worker using Bref's QueueHandler, and a php-84-console Artisan function — plus an EventBridge schedule running schedule:run every minute, public HTML and static assets copied to S3 and served via CloudFront, secrets in AWS SSM Parameter Store, database-backed cache and sessions, and managed Postgres+TimescaleDB reached over the public internet with no VPC. Defaults to the free OSS Serverless CLI (osls deploy) with Bref Cloud (bref deploy) documented as the simpler managed alternative. Use whenever the user wants to deploy, ship, or configure serverless hosting for a Laravel app; mentions Bref, AWS Lambda, serverless.yml, SQS workers, EventBridge scheduling, S3/CloudFront assets, SSM secrets, or serverless Laravel.
Installation
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Deploy a Laravel backend to AWS Lambda serverless with Bref 3.x. Produces a serverless.yml with three functions — a php-84-fpm web function (httpApi), a php-84 SQS queue worker using Bref's QueueHandler, and a php-84-console Artisan function — plus an EventBridge schedule running schedule:run every minute, public HTML and static assets copied to S3 and served via CloudFront, secrets in AWS SSM Parameter Store, database-backed cache and sessions, and managed Postgres+TimescaleDB reached over the public internet with no VPC. Defaults to the free OSS Serverless CLI (osls deploy) with Bref Cloud (bref deploy) documented as the simpler managed alternative. Use whenever the user wants to deploy, ship, or configure serverless hosting for a Laravel app; mentions Bref, AWS Lambda, serverless.yml, SQS workers, EventBridge scheduling, S3/CloudFront assets, SSM secrets, or serverless Laravel.
Laravel Bref Deploy
A phased pipeline for deploying a Laravel 13 backend to AWS Lambda with Bref 3.x. It produces a working serverless.yml, the supporting AWS topology (SQS, EventBridge, S3/CloudFront, SSM), and a repeatable migrate-then-deploy workflow. Walk the phases in order; skipping them produces deploys that "work" on the first push and then break on the first queued job, the first scheduled command, the first asset request, or the first php artisan migrate during boot.
This is the deployment counterpart to laravel-enterprise-backend. That skill builds the app (Eloquent on PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB, SQS jobs, #[Audit], API Resource contracts); this skill ships it. Do not build domain modules from here — the app is the input, the running serverless stack is the output.
How to invoke this skill
This is a recipe skill — it provides the deploy patterns and references the orchestrator (or a standalone session) follows.
Pattern 1 — invoked by the orchestrator (most common)
When prd-design-build-orchestrator reaches its ship phase (Phase D) and the operator chose the Laravel backend stack, it invokes this skill against the already-built apps/api. The skill reads SKILL.md plus the references for the step in flight (typically serverless-yml.md, runtimes-and-functions.md, then deploy-checklist.md).
Pattern 2 — standalone deploy
For shipping an existing Laravel app without the orchestrator, start a Claude Code session:
Deploy this Laravel app to AWS Lambda with Bref, using the patterns from this skill.
It uses managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB, SQS queues, and database-backed cache/sessions.
The main session reads this SKILL.md and walks the seven phases. The app must already follow the laravel-enterprise-backend conventions (database-backed cache/sessions, SQS queues, no Redis, no Horizon) — Bref does not retrofit those.
Deploy topology — three Lambda functions
Bref 3.x uses the simplified runtime: key (shorthand for the underlying layers). The deploy is three functions, three runtimes — never one Lambda for everything:
web — the FPM function. Handles all HTTP via API Gateway httpApi. Memory ≥ 1024 MB; bounded reserved concurrency so DB connection fan-out to the managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB host stays sane (no RDS Proxy without a VPC).
worker — the SQS consumer. Created by the serverless-lift queue construct, which provisions the queue + DLQ and wires the event source. The handler is Bref's Bref\LaravelBridge\Queue\QueueHandler (not queue:work).
artisan — the console function. php-84-console is a composite of the php-84 layer + the console layer. Runs one-off commands and is the EventBridge target for schedule:run.
Why separate functions: a slow SQS job must never block HTTP requests, and the console runtime has a different invocation model. One Lambda for web + worker is the classic Bref anti-pattern.
The seven-phase pipeline
Phase 1: Install Bref → composer require bref/bref bref/laravel-bridge; vendor:publish serverless-config; install serverless-lift.
Phase 2: Configure functions → web (php-84-fpm), worker (php-84 QueueHandler), artisan (php-84-console) in serverless.yml.
Phase 3: SQS + scheduler → serverless-lift queue construct (+ DLQ); EventBridge rate(1 minute) → schedule:run.
Phase 4: Assets to S3/CloudFront → build + copy public/ to S3, serve via CloudFront, set ASSET_URL. [owned by storage-s3-cloudfront.md, D8]
Phase 5: Secrets via SSM → APP_KEY, DATABASE_URL, AWS config in SSM Parameter Store; ${ssm:/app/...} or runtime bref-ssm:.
Phase 6: Migrate-then-deploy → run migrations BEFORE deploy (never during boot); osls deploy --stage prod (or bref deploy).
Phase 7: Verify → smoke-test the API, confirm worker + scheduler fire, CloudFront invalidation, JSON logs in CloudWatch.
bref/laravel-bridge >= 3.0 is required for the Laravel 13 / PHP 8.4 runtimes. vendor:publish --tag=serverless-config scaffolds the initial serverless.yml; you then shape it into the three-function topology below. serverless-lift adds the queue construct used in Phase 3.
Phase 2 — Configure the web / worker / artisan functions
See references/serverless-yml.md (full blueprint) and references/runtimes-and-functions.md.
Shape the generated serverless.yml into the three functions: web (php-84-fpm, httpApi: '*'), artisan (php-84-console), and the worker (php-84) inside a serverless-lift queue construct. Set architecture: arm64 (~20% cheaper) and runtime: provided.al2 at the provider level. Give webmemorySize: 1024 and bounded reserved concurrency.
Phase 3 — SQS worker + EventBridge scheduler
See references/sqs-worker.md and references/scheduler-eventbridge.md.
Queue: the serverless-lift queue construct creates the SQS queue and its DLQ and wires the worker function. The app already runs QUEUE_CONNECTION=sqs; set SQS_QUEUE=${construct:jobs.queueUrl}. No queue:work daemon, no Horizon. Keep jobs < 60 s (well under the 15-min Lambda cap); rely on job idempotency (SQS is at-least-once); alarm on the DLQ via CloudWatch.
Scheduler: an EventBridge schedule event on the artisan function fires rate(1 minute) → schedule:run. Cron definitions live in routes/console.php; the audit-prune command runs here.
Phase 4 — Public HTML + static assets to S3/CloudFront (D8)
See references/storage-s3-cloudfront.md — this reference owns asset/HTML handling.
The Lambda filesystem is read-only except /tmp, so public/ cannot serve static files. Build the assets, copy public/ HTML + static assets to S3 on deploy, and serve them via CloudFront. Set ASSET_URL to the CloudFront domain and always use asset() in the app. Invalidate CloudFront on every deploy. For uploads larger than the ~4 MB API Gateway payload cap, use presigned S3 URLs; user uploads live on an S3 disk (allowAcl: true for Flysystem ACLs).
Phase 5 — Secrets via SSM Parameter Store
See references/secrets-ssm.md.
Secrets live in AWS SSM Parameter Store (free tier), never in the repo or serverless.yml. Reference them at deploy time with ${ssm:/app/...} or resolve them at runtime with the bref-ssm: prefix via bref/secrets-loader. APP_KEY (php artisan key:generate, then store), DATABASE_URL (the PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB DSN), and AWS config all come from SSM.
Phase 6 — Migrate, then deploy
See references/deploy-checklist.md and references/postgres-timescale-connection.md.
Run migrations BEFORE the deploy, never during boot. A boot-time migrate races every cold-starting Lambda. Migrate against the managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB host, then deploy:
php artisan config:clear
osls bref:cli --args="migrate --force"# migrate FIRST, against the managed Postgres host
osls deploy --stage prod # then deploy
Audit the deploy package against the 250 MB Lambda limit (watch aws/aws-sdk-php — pin to the services you use). The managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB host is reached over the public internet with no VPC (avoids ~$32/mo NAT + ENI cold starts); the trade-off is bounded reserved concurrency on web to cap connection fan-out.
Phase 7 — Verify
See references/deploy-checklist.md.
After deploy: smoke-test GET /api/v1/health over the API Gateway URL; dispatch a test job and confirm the worker drains it; confirm the scheduler fires (schedule:run invocation in CloudWatch); run the CloudFront invalidation and load an asset via ASSET_URL; confirm CloudWatch log lines are JSON with request_id / workspace_id; confirm nothing is leaking secrets to stdout.
Deploy tool
Default: OSS Serverless (osls). The original Serverless Framework is no longer open-source (it moved to a paid license for larger orgs), so the default deploy CLI here is osls — the free, open-source fork that is a drop-in for the serverless command:
npm i -g osls
osls deploy --stage prod
osls bref:cli --args="migrate --force"# run an Artisan command against the deployed stack
osls remove --stage prod # tear down
Alternative: Bref Cloud (bref deploy). Bref Cloud is the documented managed alternative — it handles the AWS account wiring and provides a dashboard. Same serverless.yml, simpler operator experience:
bref deploy
Do not install or invoke the original serverless CLI by name — use osls for the OSS path or bref deploy for the managed path. The serverless.yml format is identical for both.
Reference files
File
When to read
references/serverless-yml.md
Phase 2 (the complete serverless.yml blueprint — provider, three functions, queue construct, env)
references/runtimes-and-functions.md
Phase 1–2 (the three Bref 3.x runtimes php-84-fpm / php-84 / php-84-console, memory/timeout, ARM64, cold-start budget)
When deploying a fullstack Inertia monolith — Vite npm run build (client-only), asset sync, session-auth config
Validation checklist
serverless.yml defines three functions — web (php-84-fpm, httpApi), worker (php-84, Bref\LaravelBridge\Queue\QueueHandler), artisan (php-84-console)
The SQS worker is created via the serverless-lift queue construct, with a DLQ and a CloudWatch alarm; SQS_QUEUE=${construct:jobs.queueUrl}; QUEUE_CONNECTION=sqs; no queue:work, no Horizon
The EventBridge scheduler fires rate(1 minute) → schedule:run on the artisan function
Public HTML + static assets are copied to S3 and served via CloudFront; ASSET_URL is set; CloudFront is invalidated on deploy (D8)
Secrets are in SSM Parameter Store (APP_KEY, DATABASE_URL, AWS config); nothing committed; ${ssm:/app/...} or runtime bref-ssm:
Cache + sessions are database-backed (CACHE_STORE=database, SESSION_DRIVER=database); no /tmp, no Redis
Managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB is reached over the public internet with no VPC; web has bounded reserved concurrency; sslmode=require
Migrations run BEFORE deploy (osls bref:cli --args="migrate --force"), never during boot
Deploy command documented for bothosls deploy --stage prod (default) and bref deploy (Bref Cloud); the original Serverless Framework is not used
Post-deploy: /api/v1/health smoke test passes; a test job drains through the worker; CloudWatch logs are JSON with request_id / workspace_id
Anti-patterns
A1 — One Lambda for web + worker (+ scheduler). A slow SQS job blocks HTTP, and the console runtime is invoked differently. Use the three separate functions / runtimes (php-84-fpm, php-84, php-84-console).
A2 — Migrating during boot. A boot-time php artisan migrate races every cold-starting Lambda and can corrupt schema. Migrate before deploy (osls bref:cli --args="migrate --force").
A3 — Serving public/ from Lambda. The Lambda filesystem is read-only except /tmp. Static assets must be copied to S3 + CloudFront; set ASSET_URL and use asset(). Never write app data outside /tmp.
A4 — Putting the app in a VPC for the database. Managed PostgreSQL + TimescaleDB (Timescale Cloud or self-managed) is reached over the public internet; a VPC adds ~$32/mo NAT cost and ENI cold-start latency for no benefit. Stay VPC-less and bound web reserved concurrency instead.
A5 — Using queue:work or Horizon. Both assume a long-running daemon and Redis. The Bref SQS worker is event-driven via QueueHandler; the DLQ + CloudWatch alarms replace the Horizon dashboard.
A6 — Installing the original serverless CLI. It is no longer OSS. Use osls (default) or bref deploy (Bref Cloud). The serverless.yml is identical for both.
A7 — Committing secrets to serverless.yml or .env. All secrets resolve from SSM (${ssm:/app/...} or runtime bref-ssm:). Generate APP_KEY and store it in SSM; never commit it.
A8 — Ignoring the 250 MB package / 4 MB payload limits. Audit the package (especially aws/aws-sdk-php) and use presigned S3 URLs for uploads over ~4 MB; do not stream large bodies through API Gateway.
