README

Laravel 13, React 19, TypeScript, Inertia 3, and Tailwind CSS 4, with shadcn/ui on Base UI, Nova styling, and Inter.

Registration and account email verification are optional during installation. Password reset, two-factor authentication, passkeys, and password confirmation are included in every installation. Changing an email address always requires verification of the new address.

Requirements

• PHP 8.5 or later in the PHP 8 series, Composer 2, and the extensions required by your database and Composer dependencies. The PHP requirement is declared in composer.json.
• Node.js 24.21.0 or later in the Node 24 LTS series, with npm. The Node requirement is declared in package.json under engines.node.
• SQLite for local development, or a configured database supported by Laravel.

Install and run

Create an application using the Laravel installer:

laravel new my-app --using=daleweaver777/custom-react-starter-kit
cd my-app
composer run dev

Open the address printed by the server, normally localhost:8000. The development command starts Laravel, the queue listener, Vite, and the log viewer when supported. If Herd already serves Laravel, use npm run dev for the frontend alone.

For a fresh clone of an installed application in a new local environment:

composer run setup
composer run dev

Configure .env first if you need a different database. setup installs dependencies, creates .env when missing, generates an application key, migrates, and builds assets. Run it only for a new environment: it replaces APP_KEY. For existing environments, install dependencies and run migrations/builds individually.

Configuration

Start with .env.example:

• Set APP_NAME and the canonical APP_URL.
• Configure your database; sessions, cache, and queues use it by default. Run php artisan migrate after database changes.
• Configure a mail provider for verification, email changes, and password recovery. The default MAIL_MAILER=log writes messages to storage/logs/laravel.log instead of sending them.

Sensitive account actions require recent password or passkey confirmation. AUTH_PASSWORD_TIMEOUT controls its duration in seconds (default 300). Password changes always require the current password. An email change leaves the existing sign-in/recovery address active until the new address is confirmed.

Pages live in resources/js/pages, shared components in resources/js/components, and themes/focus styles in resources/css/app.css. Backend routes live in routes and application code in app.

Tests and builds

php artisan wayfinder:generate --with-form --no-interaction
npm run build
composer run ci:check

Wayfinder also generates route helpers during development and builds. ci:check runs frontend formatting/lint, TypeScript, PHP formatting/static analysis, and application tests. PHP tests use an in-memory SQLite database. Use php artisan test for tests alone, npm run check:fix to format frontend code, and composer run lint to format PHP.

Server-side rendering and deployment

Build both client and server assets:

npm run build:ssr

On Laravel Cloud, enable Use Inertia SSR on the App compute cluster and use npm run build:ssr in the build commands. Cloud manages the SSR process. See Cloud's Inertia SSR setup.

For a local production-build check, run php artisan inertia:start-ssr in a separate terminal. Check the worker with php artisan inertia:check-ssr. Set INERTIA_SSR_ENABLED=false for deliberate client rendering; INERTIA_SSR_URL defaults to http://127.0.0.1:13714.

Deploy with APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false, a canonical HTTPS APP_URL, working mail, and a persistent database. Preserve your application key and commit the installed application's dependency lockfiles. Follow Cloud's deployment configuration and verify enabled edge protections, your final domain, and actual recovery-email links before launch.