React, the Laravel way
summary
Claims that Laravel plus Inertia lets a React developer ship solo full‑stack apps fast backed by specifics: uses Breeze starter kit with React and Inertia, authentication via Sanctum, Tailwind + JSX for rapid prototyping, Inertia form components and usePage to read flash.success. Builds a small athletics portal (goals, reports) that works end to end. Surprise metrics: first playthrough in “four minutes and four coffees,” then nine days / two weeks with 20+ hours of learning and a working product.
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chapters (22)
- 0:00Start
- 0:49Hot take: React has a big problem with a Laravel shaped solution; Laravel makes React better
- 2:22Simon’s history: from Drupal and WordPress to a decade in JavaScript frameworks and design engineering
- 3:11Prototyping in the browser and embracing chaos
- 4:14Tailwind and JSX as rapid prototyping syntaxes
- 5:03JSX explained
- 6:57Loops in JSX versus Vue’s DSL, and using JavaScript’s .map to generate components
- 8:12Colocating functions and components in a single file for rapid iteration
- 9:52Why JSX plus Tailwind is ideal for design engineers
- 10:48React’s core mental model
- 12:05The big problem: React is only the UI layer
- 12:52The overwhelming size and speed of the JavaScript ecosystem
- 14:29Simon’s personal struggle
- 16:04Acknowledging the broader problem of ecosystem fatigue
- 17:02Returning again to Laravel, questioning PHP in 2020 and early confusion around Inertia’s messaging
- 17:48Attempting Laravel as a backend API for Next.js
- 18:55The TypeScript and PHP gap, leading to another abandoned attempt
- 19:23Seeking guidance from experienced Laravel devs, reconnecting with Adam Wathan
- 20:07Adam’s advice and why he still loves Laravel and uses Inertia with React
- 20:37Simon commits to trying Laravel properly this time
- 20:54Inertia’s ergonomics on the frontend feel native to React
- 21:31Realising Inertia already solved issues he celebrated in Remix
