Inertia v3 for Laravel

Use this skill for app-level Inertia decisions in Laravel. It complements $shadcn-vue-laravel, which should stay focused on shadcn-vue component wiring rather than broader Inertia architecture.

Source of Truth

Prefer official Inertia v3 documentation. These are the pages this skill is built around:

• Upgrade Guide for v3.0
• Forms
• HTTP Requests
• Optimistic Updates
• Layouts
• Flash Data
• Prefetching
• Deferred Props
• Merging Props
• Partial Reloads
• Events
• Testing

Pick the Right Primitive

• Full page navigation or standard server mutation: use <Link>, router.visit, <Form>, or useForm.
• Standalone async request with no page visit: use useHttp.
• Temporary one-time server data: use Inertia::flash(...), then page.flash, onFlash, or the global flash event.
• Shared shell metadata such as page title or sidebar visibility: use default layouts, layout props, and the documented useLayoutProps() hook.
• Expensive props that can arrive later: use Inertia::defer(...) and partial reloads.
• List/detail speedups or likely-next navigation: use prefetching, usePrefetch, and cache tags.
• Immediate local UI change before the server confirms: use optimistic updates instead of ad hoc rollback logic.
• Feature or controller verification in Laravel tests: use the Laravel adapter assertions from the testing docs.

Laravel-Specific v3 Rules

• Treat Inertia v3 packages as ESM-only. Do not reintroduce require() into app bootstrap or Vite config.
• Expect an ES2022 baseline. If older browsers matter, solve that in Vite or deployment, not by downgrading patterns.
• router.cancelAll() replaced router.cancel().
• The old future config block is gone. Remove it rather than trying to carry it forward.
• Initial page data now comes from a <script type="application/json"> element. Do not rebuild the old data-page flow.
• For default layouts, prefer createInertiaApp({ layout: ... }) or mutation in the resolve callback.
• For dynamic layout state, use layout props and useLayoutProps(), not ad hoc globals.

What This Skill Covers

• Load references/forms-and-data.md for forms, flash data, deferred props, merge semantics, partial reloads, and state persistence.
• Load references/async-and-navigation.md for useHttp, optimistic updates, layouts, events, prefetching, and cancellation behavior.
• Load references/testing.md for Laravel adapter endpoint tests, flash assertions, partial reload assertions, and deferred-prop assertions.

Guardrails

• Do not mix page visits and standalone HTTP requests without a clear reason. If the UI expects a new page object, stay inside Inertia visits.
• Do not solve flash messages with shared props by default in new v3 code. Prefer the dedicated flash-data flow.
• Do not hardcode prefetch everywhere. Use it where user intent is strong and invalidation is understood.
• Do not invent a custom layout state channel when layout props already cover the case.
• Do not test deferred props or flash data with generic array assertions when the Laravel adapter already provides explicit helpers.