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🔥 Blaze

Speed up your Laravel app with optimized Blade component rendering.

Rendering 25,000 anonymous components:

Without Blaze  ████████████████████████████████████████  500ms
With Blaze     █                                          13ms

Introduction

Out of the box, Blaze is a drop-in replacement for anonymous Blade components that requires no changes to your existing code.

It works by compiling your templates into optimized PHP functions instead of using the standard rendering pipeline — eliminating 91-97% of the overhead while maintaining near full feature parity with Blade.

For even greater performance, Blaze offers two additional strategies. These require extra configuration and careful consideration:

  • Memoization: caching for repeated renders
  • Folding: pre-rendering into static HTML

Installation

You may install Blaze via Composer:

composer require livewire/blaze:^1.0@beta

Tip

If you're using Flux UI, simply install Blaze and you're ready to go — no configuration needed!

Getting started

There are two ways to enable Blaze:

A) Add the @blaze directive to individual components — great for trying it out or enabling Blaze on specific templates.

B) Optimize entire directories from your service provider — ideal for optimizing many components at once.

After enabling Blaze with either approach, clear your compiled views:

php artisan view:clear

Option A: The @blaze directive

Add @blaze to the top of any anonymous component to enable Blaze for that template:

@blaze

<button {{ $attributes }}>
    {{ $slot }}
</button>

Strategies may be specified as arguments:

@blaze(memo: true)

@blaze(fold: true)

Option B: Optimize directories

Call Blaze::optimize() in your AppServiceProvider to enable Blaze for entire directories at once:

use Livewire\Blaze\Blaze;

/**
 * Bootstrap any application services.
 */
public function boot(): void
{
    Blaze::optimize()->in(resource_path('views/components'));

    // ...
}

We recommend starting with specific directories, as your app may rely on features Blaze doesn't support. Gradually expand coverage and verify compatibility with known limitations.

Blaze::optimize()
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/button'))
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/modal'));

To exclude a subdirectory, use compile: false.

Blaze::optimize()
    ->in(resource_path('views/components'))
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/legacy'), compile: false);

You may also enable different optimization strategies per folder.

Blaze::optimize()
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/icons'), memo: true)
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/cards'), fold: true);

Component-level @blaze directives override directory-level settings.

Limitations

Blaze supports all essential features and produces HTML output identical to Blade. While the focus is on maximizing performance with full compatibility, there are some limitations to be aware of:

  • Class-based components are not supported

  • The $component variable is not available

  • View composers / creators / lifecycle events do not fire

  • Auto-injecting View::share() variables is not supported

    Access shared data manually using $__env->shared('key')

  • Cross boundary @aware between Blade and Blaze

    Both parent and child must use Blaze for values to propagate

  • Rendering Blaze components using view() will not work

    Blaze components can only be rendered using the component tag

Optimization Strategies

By default, Blaze uses the Function Compiler. It works for virtually all components and provides significant performance improvements — sufficient for most use cases.

For even greater gains, you may consider the advanced strategies below. These require additional thought and care.

Strategy Parameter Default Best For
Function Compiler compile true General use
Runtime Memoization memo false Repeated components
Compile-Time Folding fold false Maximum performance

Function Compiler

This is the default behavior. It's a reliable optimization that requires no changes and can be safely applied to nearly all templates without concerns about stale data or dynamic content.

Rendering 25,000 anonymous components in a loop:

Scenario Blade Blaze Reduction
No attributes 500ms 13ms 97.4%
Attributes only 457ms 26ms 94.3%
Attributes + merge() 546ms 44ms 91.9%
Props + attributes 780ms 40ms 94.9%
Default slot 460ms 22ms 95.1%
Named slots 696ms 49ms 93.0%
@aware (nested) 1,787ms 129ms 92.8%

These numbers reflect rendering pipeline overhead. If your templates perform expensive operations internally, that work will still affect performance.

How it works

When you enable Blaze, your templates are compiled into optimized PHP functions that skip the standard rendering pipeline while maintaining compatibility with Blade syntax.

@blaze 

@props(['type' => 'button'])

<button {{ $attributes->merge(['type' => $type]) }}>
    {{ $slot }}
</button>

Compiles to:

function _c4f8e2a1($__data, $__slots) {
    $type = $__data['type'] ?? 'button';
    $attributes = new BlazeAttributeBag($__data);
    // ...
}

When you include the component, Blaze calls this function directly.

<x-button type="submit">Send</x-button>

Becomes:

_c4f8e2a1(['type' => 'submit'], ['default' => 'Send']);

Runtime Memoization

This strategy is ideal for icons, avatars, and other elements that frequently appear with the same props. When a memoized component appears multiple times on a page, it renders only once.

Important

Memoization only works on components without slots.

How it works

The output is cached based on the component name and props passed to it.

@blaze(memo: true)

@props(['name'])

<x-dynamic-component :component="'icon-' . $name" />

When you include the component, Blaze wraps it in a cache check and only renders it the first time it's used with those props.

<x-icon :name="$task->status->icon" />

Becomes:

<?php $key = Memo::key('icon', ['name' => $task->status->icon]); ?>

<?php if (! Memo::has($key)): ?>
    <!-- Render and store into cache: -->
    <x-icon :name="$task->status->icon">
<?php endif; ?>

<?php echo Memo::get($key); ?>

Compile-Time Folding

Compile-time folding is Blaze's most aggressive optimization. The component ceases to exist at runtime — no function call, no variable resolution, no overhead whatsoever. Just the HTML.

Rendering time remains constant regardless of component count:

Components Blade Blaze (folded)
25,000 500ms 0.68ms
50,000 1,000ms 0.68ms
100,000 2,000ms 0.68ms

Caution

Folding requires careful consideration. Used incorrectly, it can cause subtle bugs that are difficult to diagnose. Make sure you fully understand how it works before enabling this strategy.

How It Works

Blaze pre-renders components during compilation, embedding the HTML directly into your template. This eliminates all runtime overhead, enabling exceptional performance gains. However, these gains come at a cost — folding requires a thorough understanding of its mechanics and careful consideration.

The following sections explore how folding works so you can use it safely.

Overview

The most important thing to understand is that folding produces static HTML. All internal logic, conditions, and dynamic content are baked in at compile time. This can create subtle bugs where a component works correctly in some places but breaks in others.

Blaze tries to avoid folding when it's likely to cause problems, but it cannot detect all cases. You'll need to analyze each component individually and configure when folding should be aborted.

Global state

Components that use global state should never be folded. This includes anything not passed in from the outside — data accessed via helper functions, facades, or Blade directives. Using any of these patterns inside the component will produce incorrect results when folded.

Warning

Components that use global state must not be marked with fold: true. Blaze attempts to detect global state usage and will throw an exception when it does, but it cannot catch everything.

Category Examples
Database User::get()
Authentication auth()->check(), @auth, @guest
Session session('key')
Request request()->path(), request()->is()
Validation $errors->has(), $errors->first()
Time now(), Carbon::now()
Security @csrf

This applies to internal logic. Passing global state into the component via attributes or slots can be fine — however, there are exceptions. We'll explore these in the following sections.

Static attributes

Let's explore the folding process with a simple example where everything works smoothly.

Consider a button component that dynamically resolves Tailwind classes based on the color prop.

@blaze(fold: true)

@props(['color'])

@php
$classes = match($color) {
    'red' => 'bg-red-500 hover:bg-red-400',
    'blue' => 'bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-400',
    default => 'bg-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-400',
};
@endphp

<button {{ $attributes->class($classes) }}>
    {{ $slot }}
</button>

When you include it with a static prop:

<x-button color="red">Submit</x-button>

Blaze renders the component and replaces it with static HTML during compilation:

<button class="bg-red-500 hover:bg-red-400">
    Submit
</button>

The component only needed to be rendered once — subsequent requests simply serve the static HTML. All dynamic parts have been folded away, and the color="red" prop has been transformed into a static class name.

This worked because all props were static. They never change, so Blaze can safely remove all dynamic parts while still producing the correct output.

Dynamic pass-through attributes

The next example illustrates a scenario with dynamic attributes where folding still works correctly.

Even though Blaze doesn't have access to runtime data, it works around this by replacing dynamic attributes with placeholders and substituting the original expressions back into the final output.

Let's assign a random id to the button:

<x-button color="red" :id="Str::random()">Submit</x-button>

During compilation, Blaze identifies dynamic attributes and stores their values:

Placeholder Dynamic value
ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1 Str::random()

Next, it pre-renders the component using the placeholder:

<x-button color="red" id="ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1">Submit</x-button>

Which results in:

<button class="bg-red-500 hover:bg-red-400" id="ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1">
    Submit
</button>

Finally, Blaze substitutes the original expression back into the HTML:

<button class="bg-red-500 hover:bg-red-400" id="{{ Str::random() }}">
    Submit
</button>

This worked because id is a pass-through attribute — it's output directly without transformation or use in internal logic.

Dynamic non-pass-through attributes

The next example illustrates a scenario with dynamic attributes where folding breaks.

Blaze automatically aborts folding when a component receives a dynamic attribute that is also defined in @props. It falls back to function compilation and the performance benefits of folding are not realized.

Blaze assumes that attributes defined in @props are likely used in internal logic and therefore should not be folded. This defensive behavior avoids most common errors. However, there are cases where this is too restrictive, which we'll explore in Selective folding.

To understand why folding breaks, let's see what would happen if it weren't aborted.

Pass a dynamic attribute to the color prop:

<x-button :color="$deleting ? 'red' : 'blue'" />

Blaze creates the mapping table and pre-renders with a placeholder:

Placeholder Dynamic value
ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1 $deleting ? 'red' : 'blue'
<x-button color="ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1">

Here's where the problem occurs. Inside the component, $color now evaluates to the literal string "ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1":

@php
$classes = match("ATTR_PLACEHOLDER_1") {
    'red' => 'bg-red-500 hover:bg-red-400',
    'blue' => 'bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-400',
    default => 'bg-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-400',
};
@endphp

The match lookup fails and falls back to the default — the button is always gray:

<button class="bg-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-400 ❌" type="button">
    Submit
</button>

Slots

Slots are handled similarly to attributes — replaced with placeholders during pre-rendering and restored afterwards. Unlike attributes, slots are always considered pass-through and will never abort folding unless marked as unsafe (see Selective folding).

<x-button>{{ $action }}</x-button>

During compilation, Blaze stores slot values:

Placeholder Dynamic value
SLOT_PLACEHOLDER_1 {{ $action }}

Blaze pre-renders with the placeholder:

<x-button>SLOT_PLACEHOLDER_1</x-button>

Which results in:

<button class="bg-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-400">
    SLOT_PLACEHOLDER_1
</button>

Finally, Blaze substitutes the original expression back into the HTML:

<button class="bg-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-400">
    {{ $action }}
</button>

Selective folding

By default, Blaze errs on the side of caution and aborts folding when dynamic values are detected in attributes defined in @props. This prevents many common mistakes but can be overly restrictive. Similarly, slots are always considered pass-through, which may not suit every case.

You may fine-tune this behavior using the safe and unsafe parameters of the @blaze directive.

Using safe

Use safe to mark props that are pass-through — they're not transformed or used in internal logic. This allows folding to proceed even when those props are dynamic.

@blaze(fold: true, safe: ['level'])

@props(['level' => 1])

<h{{ $level }}>{{ $slot }}</h{{ $level }}>
<x-heading :level="$isFeaturedSection ? 1 : 2" />

The component now folds successfully, producing:

<h{{ $isFeaturedSection ? 1 : 2 }}></h{{ $isFeaturedSection ? 1 : 2 }}>

Using unsafe for slots

Use unsafe to mark slots that are not pass-through — they're transformed or used in internal logic. This forces folding to abort.

@blaze(fold: true, unsafe: ['slot'])

@if ($slot->hasActualContent())
    <span>No results</span>
@else
    <div>{{ $slot }}</div>
@endif
<x-items>
    @if(isPro())
        ...
    @endif
</x-items>

This also works with named slots:

@blaze(fold: true, unsafe: ['footer'])

<div>
    @if($footer->hasActualContent())
        ...
    @endif
</div>

The component now correctly aborts folding whenever it receives a slot.

Important

Blaze does not inspect slot content to determine if it's dynamic or static. When a slot is marked as unsafe, folding is always aborted regardless of the actual content. Self-closing components will still fold successfully.

Using unsafe for attributes

You may also mark attributes that are not defined in @props as unsafe.

This prevents folding errors when non-pass-through attributes are resolved dynamically via $attributes:

@blaze(fold: true, unsafe: ['href'])

@php
$active = $attributes->get('href') === url()->current();
@endphp

<a {{ $attributes->merge(['data-active' => $active]) }}>
    {{ $slot }}
</a>

You may also mark the entire attribute bag as unsafe:

@blaze(fold: true, unsafe: ['attributes'])

@php
$active = $attributes->get('href') === url()->current();
$external = $attributes->get('target') === '_blank';
@endphp

<a {{ $attributes->merge(['data-active' => $active]) }}>
    @if($external)
        ...
    @endif
</a>

Any dynamic attributes will now cause folding to abort.

The Unblaze Directive

When a component is mostly foldable but contains a dynamic section, use @unblaze to exclude that section:

@blaze(fold: true)

@props(['name', 'label'])

<div>
    <label>{{ $label }}</label>
    <input name="{{ $name }}">

    @unblaze(scope: ['name' => $name])
        @if($errors->has($scope['name']))
            {{ $errors->first($scope['name']) }}
        @endif
    @endunblaze
</div>

Variables from the component scope must be passed explicitly using the scope parameter.

Reference

Directive Parameters

@blaze(fold: true, safe: ['title'], unsafe: ['attributes'])
Parameter Type Default Description
fold bool false Enable compile-time folding
memo bool false Enable runtime memoization
safe array [] Props that may fold even when dynamic
unsafe array [] Props that should abort folding when dynamic

Accepted values for safe and unsafe:

Value Target
* All props / attributes / slots
slot The default slot
[name] A property / attribute / slot
attributes Attributes not defined in @props

Directory Configuration

Blaze::optimize()
    ->in(resource_path('views/components'))
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/ui'), fold: true)
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/icons'), memo: true)
    ->in(resource_path('views/components/legacy'), compile: false);
Option Default Description
compile true Enable Blaze compilation. Set false to exclude.
fold false Enable compile-time folding
memo false Enable runtime memoization

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.

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