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Pro Analyzer — Available with ShieldCI Pro

CDN Configuration Analyzer ​

Analyzer IDCategorySeverityTime To Fix
cdn-configuration⚡ PerformanceLow60 minutes

What This Checks ​

Validates that ASSET_URL in your .env file points to a CDN for serving static assets (JavaScript, CSS, images) in production environments. Checks for:

  • ASSET_URL not set or empty (assets served from origin)
  • ASSET_URL is not a valid absolute URL (missing scheme or host)
  • ASSET_URL points to a local address (localhost, 127.0.0.1, ::1)
  • ASSET_URL uses HTTP instead of HTTPS
  • ASSET_URL points to the same host as APP_URL (not a CDN)

Only runs when compiled assets exist (Mix or Vite manifest detected).

Why It Matters ​

  • Latency: CDNs serve assets from edge locations geographically closer to users, reducing round-trip time for every asset request
  • Bandwidth: Origin server handles less static file traffic, freeing capacity for dynamic requests
  • Scalability: CDN edge networks absorb traffic spikes without impacting your origin
  • Security: HTTPS on the CDN prevents mixed-content browser warnings and protects asset integrity in transit

For public-facing applications with global users, a CDN can reduce asset loading times by 50–80%.

How to Fix ​

Quick Fix (10 minutes) ​

Set ASSET_URL in your .env to point to your CDN distribution:

ini
ASSET_URL=https://cdn.yourdomain.com
# or using a provider-issued hostname:
ASSET_URL=https://d123456789.cloudfront.net

Ensure config/app.php reads from the environment:

php
'asset_url' => env('ASSET_URL'),

Laravel's asset() helper and Vite/Mix will automatically prefix all asset URLs with this value. No template changes needed.

Proper Fix (60 minutes) ​

1. Choose a CDN Provider

ProviderFree TierNotes
CloudflareYesEasy setup, includes DDoS protection
AWS CloudFrontPay-as-you-goIntegrates with S3 and Laravel Vapor
Bunny CDN~$1/TBCost-effective, good global performance
DigitalOcean Spaces CDNWith SpacesSimple S3-compatible storage + CDN
FastlyPay-as-you-goEnterprise-grade

2. Sync Assets and Configure

AWS CloudFront with S3:

bash
# Build assets
npm run build

# Sync to S3 (your CDN origin)
aws s3 sync public/build s3://my-app-assets/build \
  --cache-control "max-age=31536000,public" \
  --delete

# Optionally invalidate cache after deploy
aws cloudfront create-invalidation \
  --distribution-id E1234567890 \
  --paths "/build/*"
ini
ASSET_URL=https://d123456789.cloudfront.net

Cloudflare (proxy mode):

  1. Add your domain to Cloudflare and enable proxy status
  2. Assets are automatically cached at the edge. No ASSET_URL change needed

Bunny CDN:

ini
ASSET_URL=https://your-zone.b-cdn.net

Laravel Vapor / Laravel Cloud:

Both platforms automatically configure CloudFront and upload assets on every deploy. No manual CDN setup is required — ShieldCI skips this analyzer for Vapor and Cloud projects entirely.

ShieldCI Configuration ​

This analyzer is automatically skipped in CI environments ($runInCI = false) and only runs in production and staging environments. It also skips when no compiled assets are detected (no public/mix-manifest.json or public/build/manifest.json).

Why skip in CI and development?

  • CDN setup is a deployment concern, not a CI or local development concern
  • ASSET_URL is typically unset in development and CI, which is expected and acceptable
  • Production and staging should have a CDN configured for optimal asset delivery

Environment Detection: The analyzer checks your Laravel APP_ENV setting and only runs when it maps to production or staging. Custom environment names can be mapped in config/shieldci.php:

php
// config/shieldci.php
'environment_mapping' => [
    'production-us' => 'production',
    'production-blue' => 'production',
    'staging-preview' => 'staging',
],

Laravel Vapor: This analyzer is automatically skipped on Laravel Vapor. Vapor injects ASSET_URL at deploy-time via its environment management system — the value is never present in the project's source files, so static analysis would always produce a false positive.

Laravel Cloud: This analyzer is automatically skipped on Laravel Cloud. Cloud provisions and manages the CDN automatically, so no ASSET_URL configuration is required in the project.

References ​

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