Fine Software

PHP (opens in a new tab) at the core, Laravel (opens in a new tab) and Symfony (opens in a new tab) as my tools of choice. TypeScript (opens in a new tab), React (opens in a new tab), Next.js (opens in a new tab) and Node (opens in a new tab) when the product calls for them.

I'm Daniele Barbaro. Freelance since 2012, in Turin and remote.

Book a call Write me

Pencil portrait of Daniele Barbaro, arms crossed, wearing round glasses and a burgundy t-shirt with the Plin Code agnolotto printed in gold.

At the core: PHP
Specialities: Laravel
Symfony
When the product calls for it: TypeScript
React
Next.js
Node.js
NestJS
Vue.js
Data and infrastructure: PostgreSQL
MySQL
MongoDB
Redis
Docker
Nginx
Tailwind CSS

On the back end I work with Symfony and Laravel. On the front end I use React, often on Next.js, for modern web applications.

Four recipes I cook most often

Each one lists what goes in and how long it takes.

Fractional tech lead

Ongoing technical leadership: someone who knows your codebase, understands your business context and can guide architectural decisions, without the cost of a permanent hire.

Ingredients: A growing product team, usually on PHP with Laravel or Symfony. From you: a seat at standups and planning, and your pull requests to review.
Time: 12 or 16 days per monthan ongoing commitment, not a one-off

How fractional leadership works

Laravel and Symfony consultant

Your team is capable, your product is working, but something feels off. Architecture reviews and specific technical challenges.

Ingredients: A Laravel or Symfony application. From you: the problem in your own words and access to the code.
Time: A few days to a couple of weeks

What consulting covers

Legacy refactoring

Restoring maintainability to an aging codebase without a risky rewrite, in small reversible steps.

Ingredients: An application that has run in production for years. From you: the developers I work alongside.
Time: 12 or 16 days per monthor focused days for a first assessment

How refactoring works

Codebase audit

Before significant technical decisions, an honest assessment of where your application stands: what works well, what needs attention, what risks to address first.

Ingredients: Your repository. From you: a first conversation about what prompted the audit. You get a written report that you own.
Time: 2 to 5 daysdepending on the size of the application

What an audit covers

My rates are published, with no form in between: see the rates page.

How I work on existing code

I don't believe in big-bang rewrites. They're risky, expensive, and often unnecessary. Instead, I practice incremental refactoring: making the codebase better step by step while keeping the system running and delivering value.

I work alongside your developers, not instead of them. Knowledge transfer is built into everything I do.

How legacy refactoring works

app/Actions/RegisterToContestAction.php+12 -5

@@ -9,8 +9,15 @@ public function execute(Contest $contest, RegistrationData $data): Registration {removed:      if ($contest->registrations()->count() >= $contest->max_participants) {         throw new ContestFullException;     }      return $contest->registrations()->create($data->toArray());added:      return DB::transaction(function () use ($contest, $data) {         $locked = Contest::query()             ->whereKey($contest->getKey())             ->lockForUpdate()             ->sole();          if ($locked->registrations()->count() >= $locked->max_participants) {             throw new ContestFullException;         }          return $locked->registrations()->create($data->toArray());     }); }

Two people, one seat left: both got in. The check and the insert now happen under a lock, so the second one gets a clear "full" instead. From my own Laravel code, trimmed.

Open source I maintain

Every package started the same way: I needed something, I had already used it in at least two places, it did not exist, so I built it. Then I released it because someone else probably had the same problem.

downloads in total: 531,894
downloads a month: 28,803

Across 22 packages. Read from Packagist on 4 November 2026.

I am a maintainer and main contributor of PHPVector (opens in a new tab), a pure-PHP vector database with HNSW (opens in a new tab) and BM25 (opens in a new tab) algorithms.

All packages and contributions My Packagist profile (opens in a new tab)

Main packages by downloads

laravel-vat-eu-validator
506,851 downloads
A simple package that validates EU VAT numbers against the central ec.europa.eu database.
Packagist GitHub
laravel-istat-geography
10,029 downloads
Laravel package for importing and managing Italian geography data from ISTAT.
Packagist GitHub
laravel-clean-architecture
4,342 downloads
Laravel package for generating Clean Architecture structure.
Packagist GitHub
kml-parser
3,920 downloads
A Laravel package to parse KML and KMZ files.
Packagist GitHub
laravel-istat-foreign-countries
2,617 downloads
Laravel package for importing and managing foreign countries data from ISTAT.
Packagist GitHub

Job boards: 8 packages, seven ATS connectors on one shared core.

Why "Plin"

The name Plin Code reflects my passion for clean code and my roots in Turin, where the plin agnolotto is a symbol of tradition and perfection.

I'm Daniele, a Software Engineer, freelance since 2012. I build robust, scalable software with care for the details. Laravel on the back end, TypeScript on the front end: software that solves real problems, not demos.

More about me

Who: Daniele Barbaro
Since: Freelance since 2012
Where: Toolbox Coworking (opens in a new tab), Turin, and remote
Code: github.com/Plin-Code (opens in a new tab)

Events

Active participation in PHP Day (opens in a new tab), meetups hosted by GRUSP (opens in a new tab) in Turin and Milan, and the monthly Open Source Saturday (opens in a new tab) in Turin.

Speaker at LaravelDay 2025 (opens in a new tab) with the talk "CI/CD per applicazioni Laravel" and at LaravelDay 2026 (opens in a new tab) (Verona, 18 November 2026) with "Un anno di architettura esagonale in Laravel".

Other ways to work together

MVP rescue: Your MVP works and customers are using it, but deployments feel risky. I stabilize the foundations without a full rewrite.
Vibecode rescue: A security audit for software written with AI, by a person rather than a scanner. Italian page.
Daily rate: A flat rate per day, without the complications of hourly billing.
Monthly collaboration: Senior engineering capacity embedded in your workflow, 12 or 16 days per month.
Training: Ready-to-deliver courses from 1 to 3 days on Laravel, NestJS, Next.js and PestPHP, with hands-on mentoring.

Ready to discuss your project, in Turin or remotely?

Let's talk about how I can help you achieve your goals.

me@plincode.tech

Write me

In TurinToolbox Coworking (opens in a new tab)
via Agostino da Montefeltro 2
Torino, TO 10134

The door is always open for a chat over coffee.

RemoteNot in Turin? Book a call (opens in a new tab) or write to me.