Add active class to bootstrap link components in Laravel 5

helpers.php

<?php 

/**
 * Load this file with composer autoload 
 */

if (! function_exists('active')) {
   	function active($route, $class = 'active')
	{
		/**
		 * Route checking can be done here, 
		 * but doing it in a seperate class file is a bit cleaner and maintainable 
		 */
	    return RouteActiveStateChecker::active($route, $class);
	}
}

RouteActiveStateChecker.php

<?php 

use Route;

/**
 * Create this file in app/ directory.
 * Set namespace.
 * Import it in helpers.php to use the static methods
 */

class RouteActiveStateChecker
{
	/**
     * Determine if the provided route is active.
     *
     * @param  string  $route
     * @return bool
     */
	static function isActiveRoute($route)
	{
		if (Route::currentRouteName() == $route) {
	    	return true;
	    }

	    return false; 
	}

	/**
     * Get the active class if the active path is provided.
     *
     * @param  string $route
     * @param  string  $class
     * @return string|null
     */
	static function active($route, $class='active')
	{
		return self::isActiveRoute($route) ? $class : null;
	}

}

test.blade.php

<ul class="nav">
    <li class="{{ active('dashboard.index') }}">
        ...
    </li>
    <li class="{{ active('posts.index') }}">
        ....
    </li>
    <li class="{{ active('categories.index') }}">
        ...
    </li>
</ul>