Open source: tools built from real problems

When I encounter a problem that doesn't have a good solution, I build one. And when that solution might help others facing the same challenge, I release it as open source.

Every package I maintain started as code I needed for a real project, solving a real problem. The decision to open source comes afterward, when it becomes clear that others are dealing with the same issues.

laravel-vat-eu-validator

My most widely used package is laravel-vat-eu-validator, which provides VAT number validation for European businesses within Laravel applications.

If you've built e-commerce software for the European market, you know the complexity involved. VAT numbers need to be validated against the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) database. Formatting rules differ by country. Edge cases abound: timeouts, invalid responses, countries that handle things differently.

The package handles all of this: validation rules that integrate cleanly with Laravel's validation system, proper error handling for the quirks of the VIES service, and formatting utilities that normalize the messy input you get from real users.

With over 370,000 downloads, this package is used in production by businesses across Europe.

The Italian data ecosystem

Working on projects that deal with Italian geographic and administrative data, I kept running into the same problem: ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics) provides useful datasets, but integrating them into a Laravel application was always a manual, repetitive process.

laravel-istat-geography solves this by providing a clean, queryable interface to ISTAT's geographic data (regions, provinces, municipalities) within Laravel. With over 5,000 downloads, it might seem like a niche tool, but after needing it on the third project, I decided to build it properly.

laravel-istat-foreign-countries is its companion, handling ISTAT's foreign country classification data with over 2,200 downloads. Together, they cover the full geographic dataset that Italian public administration and business applications typically need.

Clean architecture

laravel-clean-architecture is a scaffolding package for structuring Laravel applications using Hexagonal Architecture principles, with nearly 4,000 downloads. It provides generators and conventions that help teams organize code around domain boundaries rather than technical layers.

This came from my ongoing work with start-ups where codebases grow fast and structure decisions made early have outsized impact. Having a consistent, architecture-aware scaffold reduces the friction of doing things the right way from the start.

Other tools

laravel-email-fixer handles email normalization and common typo correction in Laravel applications. Small but useful when you're tired of seeing "gmail.con" and "hotmal.com" in your user database.

Community

Beyond my own packages, I'm a co-organizer of PUG Torino and take every opportunity to share what I've learned as a speaker, including at LaravelDay. I also help organize Open Source Saturday in Turin, a recurring event where developers get together to contribute to open source projects.

The PHP and Laravel communities have given me tools that make my work possible. Contributing back is part of being a responsible participant in that ecosystem.

What this means for clients

When you work with me, you're working with someone who understands software from both sides: as a consumer of libraries and as a maintainer who's responsible for code that others depend on.

I'm careful about introducing dependencies, because I've seen what happens when a package is abandoned or takes a breaking turn. I write code that's designed to last, because I know what maintenance actually requires. I document decisions and edge cases, because I've experienced the confusion when that context is missing.

The discipline of open source maintenance (attention to detail, consideration for breaking changes, clear communication about what code does and why) applies directly to client work.

Working together

If you need help with Laravel or PHP systems, whether that's stabilizing an MVP, bringing in fractional engineering support, engaging on a daily rate, or setting up a monthly collaboration, let's talk.