Laravel provides powerful tools to handle background tasks, decouple logic, and observe model changes. Here's how Jobs, Events, and Observers work, explained with clean examples.
🔧 Jobs (Queued Background Tasks)
Step 1: Jobs are ideal for time-consuming tasks like sending emails or generating PDFs.
Step 2: Create a job with:
php artisan make:job SendWelcomeEmail
Step 3: Dispatch the job:
dispatch(new SendWelcomeEmail($user))
Step 4: Jobs can run instantly or via queue drivers like
redis or
database.
Step 5: Use Jobs when logic should run in the background without delaying user response.
📣 Events & Listeners
Step 1: Events are used to trigger multiple listeners when something happens.
Step 2: Create an event:
php artisan make:event UserRegistered
Then a listener:
php artisan make:listener SendWelcomeEmail --event=UserRegistered
Step 3: Fire the event:
event(new UserRegistered($user))
Step 4: Register events and listeners in
EventServiceProvider.
Step 5: Use Events when one action leads to multiple reactions (e.g. send email, create log, notify admin).
👁️ Observers (Model-Based Triggers)
Step 1: Observers hook into Eloquent model events like
created,
updated, or
deleted.
Step 2: Create an observer:
php artisan make:observer UserObserver --model=User
Step 3: Register the observer in
AppServiceProvider:
User::observe(UserObserver::class);
Step 4: Observers are great for auto-logic tied to model lifecycle, like sending a welcome email when a user is created.
🧠 When to Use What?
-
Jobs: For background processing (email, exports)
-
Events: For broadcasting actions to multiple listeners
-
Observers: For reacting to model changes automatically
✅ Use all three together for a clean, decoupled, and scalable Laravel architecture.