Laravel Debugbar v4.0.0 marks a major release with php-debugbar 3.x support and includes several new collectors and improvements for modern Laravel applications like dedicated collectors for Livewire, Inertia, and HTTP Client requests.

Laravel News

Laravel Debugbar v4.0.0 has been released with package ownership transferring from barryvdh to fruitcake. The major release includes php-debugbar 3.x support, new collectors for HTTP Client, Inertia.js, and enhanced Livewire support (versions 2-4). It adds Laravel Octane compatibility, removes jQuery in favor of modern JavaScript, and includes UI improvements like themes and positioning options. Breaking changes include namespace changes to Fruitcake\LaravelDebugbar, removal of socket storage, Lumen support, and PDO extension functionality. Manual package removal and reinstallation is required for upgrading.

Laravel Debugbar v4.0.0 is released

Nice to see Debugbar getting modern updates and Octane support. The move away from jQuery and better Livewire/Inertia support will make this much more future-proof for Laravel apps.

Does barryvdh still owns the package? I missed some news.

while lumen support was removed, and did work with lumen prior, now we have the the whole api route with full laravel functionality , so yeah, lumen was good, but this is better

This release is a very positive and much-needed step for the long-term stability and growth of the Laravel ecosystem.
The transfer of ownership from barryvdh to Fruitcake brings renewed maintenance, clearer stewardship, and a future-proof roadmap for one of the most critical developer tools in Laravel. Debugbar is not just a convenience package—it’s part of the daily workflow for thousands of teams, so having it actively maintained by a dedicated organization is essential.
From a technical perspective, v4.0.0 clearly focuses on modern Laravel realities: support for php-debugbar 3.x, first-class compatibility with Octane, improved Livewire (v2–v4) and Inertia.js integration, and the removal of legacy dependencies like jQuery. These changes align the package with how Laravel applications are actually built and scaled today.
Yes, the breaking changes require a manual upgrade, but that’s a fair trade-off. Cleaning up namespaces, dropping Lumen and outdated storage mechanisms, and simplifying internals are exactly the kind of decisions that reduce long-term technical debt and make the package more reliable going forward.
Overall, this release prioritizes stability, maintainability, and forward compatibility over short-term convenience—and that’s precisely what the Laravel ecosystem needs to keep growing in a healthy way.