I’m currently evaluating options for building a REST API alongside a Filament-based Laravel application and would appreciate some input from people who’ve solved this cleanly.
Context
This is not a public multi-tenant API — it’s a fairly controlled setup: • 1 API client (for now) • Static API key authentication • 1 main endpoint: orders • Required includes: • customer_company • customer_contact • budgets • Filtering • Sorting • Pagination
What I’ve tried
1. “API Package” Initial setup was smooth and promising. However: • sort is giving me trouble in more complex cases • include behavior doesn’t fully match my expectations (nested/controlled includes)
2. Spatie Query Builder (manual controllers) This works reliably and is predictable. But: • Quite a bit of boilerplate • Concern about long-term maintainability as the API grows • Feels somewhat “manual” compared to more declarative approaches
I really like the architecture and philosophy behind API Platform. However, it clearly leans towards Symfony, and the Laravel documentation feels a bit thin in certain areas — especially from the perspective of someone not deeply familiar with its ecosystem.
What I’m looking for • Something that plays nicely with Filament (ideally not fighting the admin architecture) • Clean include/filter/sort handling • Minimal repetitive controller logic • Reasonable long-term maintainability
Has anyone here successfully used Orion with Filament in a production setup? Or would you recommend sticking with Spatie Query Builder and abstracting the boilerplate instead?
Curious to hear how others approach this in real-world Filament projects