What does php artisan optimize:clear do and how?

• Introduction
• What does optimize:clear clear?
• How to skip commands run by optimize:clear
• How Laravel package developers can hook into optimize:clear
  • Example
• Conclusion

Introduction

When working on Laravel applications, especially during development or deployment, you often need to ensure that your application's cached files are not outdated. Laravel provides a powerful Artisan command for this exact purpose: php artisan optimize:clear. This command clears a variety of cached files to help prevent bugs, misconfigurations, or stale code execution.

But what does this command really do under the hood? How can you customize its behavior? And how can package developers integrate with it? Let’s take a closer look.

What does optimize:clear clear?

The optimize:clear command is responsible for clearing a set of cached files that Laravel uses to improve performance. Here are the commands it executes by default:

• config:clear – Clears the cached configuration.
• cache:clear – Clears the application cache.
• clear-compiled – Clears the compiled classes.
• event:clear – Clears the cached events.
• route:clear – Clears the route cache.
• view:clear – Clears the compiled Blade views.

Additionally, any package can contribute more commands to this list by registering their custom commands.

How to skip commands run by optimize:clear

By default, optimize:clear will run all the commands listed above. However, Laravel provides a way to exclude specific commands using the --except option.

php artisan optimize:clear --except=views,cache

This example skips the view:clear and cache:clear commands, but runs the rest. The option accepts a comma-separated list of keys that correspond to the task names (like views, cache, routes, etc.) or the full Artisan command (like view:clear).

Internally, Laravel parses the --except input and filters out any matching commands before executing the remaining ones.

How Laravel package developers can hook into optimize:clear

Laravel makes it simple for package developers to hook into the optimize:clear process. In your package’s service provider boot method, you can call the optimizes method and pass your custom command signature to register it as part of the cleanup routine:

// In your package's service provider boot() method
$this->optimizes(clear:'my-package:clear-cache');

This will cause optimize:clear to run your custom Artisan command, unless the user explicitly skips it via the --except option.

Example

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
 
class MyPackageServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot()
    {
        $this->optimizes(clear:'my-package:clear-cache');
    }
}

Now when a developer runs php artisan optimize:clear, Laravel will also run your my-package:clear-cache command as part of the cleanup process.

Conclusion

The php artisan optimize:clear command is more than a convenience utility, it's an extensible, customizable gateway to clearing Laravel's performance caches. Whether you're debugging a misbehaving app or deploying a fresh version to production, understanding how this command works (and how to customize or extend it) can save you time and headaches.

Package authors can also hook into this lifecycle, ensuring their cache-clearing logic integrates seamlessly into the Laravel developer experience.

Use it wisely, and keep your application running clean and smooth.