- How do I install calebporzio/laravel-frontend-preset?
- Install it as a dev dependency with composer require --dev calebporzio/laravel-frontend-preset into a fresh Laravel application, then run php artisan preset followed by the preset name. The command is a build-time scaffolding step that copies stubs over your app and then exits, so it leaves almost nothing behind at runtime. Always commit or branch first, because the preset rewrites committed source files such as webpack.mix.js, resources/js/app.js, and your Blade layouts.
- Which Laravel versions does this frontend preset support?
- It was built for the Artisan preset mechanism that shipped in Laravel 5.7 through 7.x, and the v0.1.3 release notes only claim Laravel 6 and 7. It has never been reconciled with the removal of php artisan preset in Laravel 8 or the later Vite migration. Treat any claim that it works on modern Laravel as unverified until you read src/ and stubs/ yourself.
- Does laravel-frontend-preset work with Laravel 8 or newer?
- No, not as designed. Laravel 8 removed the php artisan preset command that this package hooks into, so the install flow no longer exists on Laravel 8, 9, 10, or 11. You can still read the stubs and copy the parts you want by hand, but that is manual harvesting rather than Composer adoption. First-party starter kits and php artisan ui cover the same ground on current versions.
- What files does the preset actually write into my Laravel app?
- It copies an opinionated set of stubs over the fresh application: webpack.mix.js, resources/js/app.js, a Tailwind config and CSS entry point, Blade layout files under resources/views/layouts/, and ready-made auth views. Because it overwrites existing files rather than adding isolated ones, the generated inventory is the real deliverable and should be diffed against your target app. Run it in a throwaway repo and inspect the diff before letting it near real code.
- How is this different from php artisan ui tailwind, Breeze, or Jetstream?
- It predates all of them and overlaps heavily: a Blade-first layout, a minimal JS setup, and a Tailwind build pipeline. The genuine differentiator is Caleb Porzio's specific 2020-era opinions on Mix, Alpine, and Blade structure, not unique capability. In most evaluations the honest conclusion is that php artisan ui tailwind, Breeze, or a current laravel new starter kit gives you a maintained version of the same thing.
- Can I use this preset with Vite instead of Laravel Mix?
- Not directly. The stub output is Webpack and Laravel Mix era, so you would be porting webpack.mix.js and its package.json entries into a Vite pipeline by hand. If your app is already on Vite, skip the package entirely and take only the Blade and Tailwind config ideas that still apply. Plan on upgrading Tailwind, PostCSS, and Node as part of that port.
- Is it safe to add laravel-frontend-preset to a production Laravel composer.json?
- It does not belong in a long-lived composer.json. It is a scaffolding artifact with no runtime role, so at most it is a temporary require-dev entry in a throwaway branch. Adding an archived 2020 package as a standing dev dependency creates a permanent compliance exception with no accountable approver. Keep it out of the main manifest and capture anything useful as your own stubs instead.
- Is the package still maintained, and are there security concerns?
- It is archived, single-maintainer, last released on 2020-03-03, with roughly 31 stars and zero dependents. There is no CVE response path and no one to merge fixes, which is fine for a template you copy but not for a dependency you install. The bigger practical risk is that it silently rewrites committed source at install time, which is hard to audit after the fact.
- How do I uninstall or revert the preset if I do not like it?
- There is no clean revert beyond version control. The provider implements install() and uninstall(), but the practical recovery path is git checkout of the branch you created before running php artisan preset. That is exactly why the recommended workflow is a disposable repo or a checkpoint commit, plus composer remove calebporzio/laravel-frontend-preset to drop the dev dependency.
- Should I fork this preset or rebuild the useful parts myself?
- Rebuild, unless the spike proves real differentiation. The reusable surface is small: a thin post-install script plus your own Blade layouts, app.js, and Tailwind config. If that replication is measured in days rather than weeks, ownership wins because you get a named owner, a named repo, an update cadence, and license provenance you can actually document. Fork only if the exact 2020 output is a hard requirement.