Getting Started with Laravel UI: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Laravel is a popular PHP framework known for its elegant syntax and powerful features. IT provides developers with a clean and efficient way to build web applications. With the release of Laravel 7, the framework introduced Laravel UI, a set of tools for managing frontend assets such as JavaScript, SASS, and LESS. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of getting started with Laravel UI, step-by-step. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how to use Laravel UI to manage your frontend assets in a Laravel application.

Step 1: Install Laravel

The first step in getting started with Laravel UI is to install Laravel itself. If you haven’t already installed Laravel, you can do so using Composer, the PHP dependency manager. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel project-name

Replace `project-name` with the name of your project. This command will create a new Laravel project in a directory with the specified name. Once the installation is complete, navigate to the project directory.

Step 2: Install Laravel UI

Once you have installed Laravel, the next step is to install Laravel UI. Laravel UI provides a way to scaffold frontend assets such as JavaScript and Sass. To install Laravel UI, run the following Composer command:

composer require laravel/ui

This command will add the Laravel UI package to your Laravel project. After the installation is complete, you can use Laravel UI to scaffold frontend assets for authentication, such as login and registration views. Additionally, Laravel UI also provides support for Bootstrap and Vue.

Step 3: Scaffold frontend assets

Once Laravel UI is installed, you can use IT to scaffold frontend assets for authentication views. To scaffold the assets for Bootstrap and Vue, run the following Artisan command:

php artisan ui bootstrap --auth

This command will generate the necessary views and routes for user authentication, as well as the frontend assets for Bootstrap. If you prefer to use Vue instead of Bootstrap, you can run the following command:

php artisan ui vue --auth

After scaffolding the frontend assets, you can customize the views and styles to fit the design of your application. The generated assets are located in the `resources` directory of your Laravel project.

Step 4: Compile assets

Once you have scaffolded the frontend assets, you need to compile them to generate the final CSS and JavaScript files. Laravel UI provides support for compiling assets using Laravel Mix, which is a wrapper for the popular build tool Webpack. To compile the assets, run the following NPM command:

npm install

This command will install the necessary dependencies for Laravel Mix. After the installation is complete, you can compile the assets by running:

npm run dev

This command will compile the assets for your application. If you are working in a development environment and want to enable additional features such as source maps and live reloading, you can run:

npm run watch

By following these steps, you can get started with Laravel UI and manage your frontend assets effectively in a Laravel application. Laravel UI simplifies the process of scaffolding and compiling frontend assets, allowing you to focus on building the core features of your application.

Conclusion

Getting started with Laravel UI is a straightforward process that involves installing the package, scaffolding frontend assets, and compiling them using Laravel Mix. With Laravel UI, you can easily manage your frontend assets in a Laravel application, saving time and effort in the development process. By following the step-by-step tutorial in this article, you can begin using Laravel UI to handle frontend assets in your Laravel projects effectively.

FAQs

What is Laravel UI?

Laravel UI is a set of tools for managing frontend assets such as JavaScript, SASS, and LESS in a Laravel application. IT provides support for scaffolding authentication views, as well as compiling assets using Laravel Mix.

Can I use Laravel UI with other frontend frameworks?

Yes, Laravel UI provides support for Bootstrap and Vue out of the box. Additionally, you can customize the scaffolding process and integrate other frontend frameworks as per your requirements.

Is Laravel UI easy to use?

Yes, Laravel UI simplifies the process of managing frontend assets in a Laravel application. IT offers a clean and efficient way to scaffold and compile assets, allowing developers to focus on building the core features of their applications.