LaravelCloud
The year in Laravel
A capability story
Laravel has broadcasting in the framework, a WebSocket server of its own in Reverb, and Echo to listen in the browser. On Laravel Cloud, Reverb runs as a managed cluster you attach like a database. No second account, and no second set of credentials to copy.
The idea in one line Same event, same listener; one setting decides who carries it.
The wireOne event, end to end
BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverb
Socket open
One event, numbered
An order ships and the customer's open page updates without a refresh. Six steps, four of them the framework's own. The shaded steps are the ones Cloud runs for you.
Echo joins a private channel. It calls /broadcasting/auth, and a callback in routes/channels.php says yes or no.
Echo.private(`orders.${id}`)The application fires an event that implements ShouldBroadcast and names its channel in broadcastOn().
OrderShipped::dispatch($order)The framework queues a broadcast job on the default queue. ShouldBroadcastNow skips the queue.
implements ShouldBroadcastA queue worker sends the payload to the broadcaster's HTTP API. On Cloud, the REVERB_* variables are injected for you.
BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverbReverb pushes the message to every socket on that channel. Across several servers it relays through Redis pub/sub; on Cloud that is the cluster's job.
private-orders.42The Echo listener fires. In Livewire, an attribute does the same, and the component re-renders.
#[On('echo-private:orders.{order.id},OrderShipped')]Sources: Broadcasting docs, Reverb docs (scaling), Cloud WebSockets docs (injected variables).
Why a process
A WebSocket is a connection held open for as long as the page is. Something has to hold it. That is why realtime has usually meant a separate service, and why Reverb is a long-running server rather than a request handler.
A serverless function ends when its request does. On Vapor, realtime meant a separate hosted service.
A ReactPHP event loop. Past about 1,000 connections it wants ext-uv; open files, ports and Supervisor need raising. Forge configures the proxy for it by default.
Choose a region and a maximum of concurrent connections, split it across applications, and read connection and message metrics in the dashboard.
After a developer preview from 31 October 2025.
Sources: Reverb docs, Running Reverb in production; Cloud WebSockets docs; Monitor 508 (developer preview, 31 October 2025), 501 (GA, 1 December 2025).
Who carries it
Laravel's broadcasting is a framework contract, and Reverb is its first-party server. Run it yourself or let Cloud run it: the choice is about who operates the sockets.
A managed WebSocket cluster in the same dashboard as the application. Attach it, redeploy, and the server and Vite variables Echo needs are injected.
Source: Cloud WebSockets docs, Plans and Pricing (Laravel Reverb).
Open source and free to run. Forge sets up the proxy; on a VPS you run reverb:start under Supervisor yourself.
Source: Reverb docs.
In use, in their figures
Each figure is the customer's own, from their published story. Redberry's campaign used Pusher as its broadcaster; the event, the queue and the Echo listener were the framework's, as they would be on Reverb.
Three questions for a team with a live feature: which realtime service do you pay for separately today; how many connections are open at your busiest hour; and would you rather run the socket server, or attach one.