- How do I install Waterline in a Laravel application?
- Install it with Composer using the laravel-workflow/waterline package, then register the service provider and publish any config and frontend assets the package ships. Because it exposes an operator UI, add it inside an authenticated admin route group protected by middleware rather than leaving the routes public. Confirm the exact publish tags and route registration steps in the repository README before installing, since the public documentation is thin. Run the first install in staging against production-like workflow volume.
- Does Waterline require Laravel Workflow to be installed first?
- Yes. Waterline is the official dashboard for Laravel Workflow and is not a workflow engine itself, so it only makes sense on a Laravel application already running the Durable Workflow runtime. Adopting Waterline before the runtime exists gives you nothing to monitor. Treat the runtime, its database schema, and its queue topology as prerequisites before evaluating the dashboard.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions does Waterline support?
- The supported Laravel, PHP, and Durable Workflow runtime versions are not clearly documented in the available material, so check composer.json constraints and the README before committing. Pin both Waterline and the runtime version together, then test the full Laravel/PHP, database engine, and queue driver matrix. With only a small number of public dependents, version drift between the dashboard and the runtime schema is a real risk, so avoid floating version constraints in production.
- How do I restrict access to the Waterline dashboard?
- Waterline is designed to be configured with Laravel authorization, so wire it into your existing Gate or Policy middleware and keep it behind SSO or VPN as a privileged internal surface. It is an incident-response console, not a customer-facing or multi-tenant UI. Limit access to platform and SRE users and review who holds access on a regular basis. Do not expose the routes publicly even in staging if real workflow payloads are present.
- Can I give some users read-only access and others permission to repair workflows?
- Separating read-only visibility from repair and retry actions is essential because repair actions can duplicate work, trigger queue storms, or cause data loss. Waterline supports Laravel authorization, but you must verify whether the package exposes granular read versus repair abilities or whether you need to enforce that split with your own policies and route middleware. Confirm this during the staging pilot before granting any production user repair access. Add audit logging around any privileged action.
- Does Waterline expose sensitive workflow payloads, secrets, or PII?
- The dashboard lets operators inspect activity inputs, outputs, and exceptions, which means it can display whatever your workflows handle, including PII, credentials, or business-sensitive data. Plan for redaction, retention limits, and access review before pointing it at production data. Because it is an internal admin surface, restrict it to trusted operators and avoid granting broad read access across teams. Verify masking behavior with synthetic workflows carrying realistic payload shapes.
- Will running Waterline add load to my production database?
- Waterline renders workflow runs, activity timelines, and queue views, so its queries read from runtime history data and can be expensive at production volume. Validate query cost against production-like data during the pilot and check whether the package supports a separate reporting or read-replica connection. If it only supports the default connection, consider adding indexes or limiting access during peak load. Watch for heavy filter and search queries on large history tables.
- Does installing Waterline run any database migrations or create new tables?
- It is unclear from the available documentation whether Waterline ships migrations, so inspect the package before installing. If it is UI-only over existing runtime tables, no data migration is expected; if it adds tables or indexes, schedule them through your normal Laravel migration controls. Always back up and test migrations against a production-like copy first. Confirm this during the staging pilot rather than discovering it in production.
- Is Waterline production-ready given it has so few dependents?
- Waterline has a modest star count and no listed dependents, which means there are few public integration patterns or field reports to rely on. The documentation is thin and the listed release date is future-dated, so verify supply-chain and release hygiene before use. Pin versions, review the code, and roll it out in phases: read-only in staging, then restricted SRE access with audit logging, then production behind SSO with a rollback path. Keep a plan to disable the routes and config without affecting workflow execution.
- What are the alternatives to Waterline for monitoring Laravel workflows?
- For general Laravel observability you can use Telescope, Horizon, or your existing logging and APM stack, but those do not understand durable workflow runs and activity timelines. Waterline is the official workflow-specific dashboard and gives you run status, timelines, and exception inspection in one place. Building a custom internal dashboard is possible but duplicates what Waterline already provides. If you are not running Laravel Workflow at all, fix that prerequisite before comparing dashboards.