- What does marshmallow/nova-fields-help actually do?
- It is a single-purpose Laravel Nova custom field that renders inline help or warning text inside Nova resources. You add it to a resource's fields() array so operators see hints and descriptions next to form inputs. It is a thin additive layer and does not touch your domain model, database schema, or public application surface.
- Which Laravel Nova versions does this package support?
- Compatibility is defined by the Nova constraint in the package's composer.json, which is not stated in the provided context. Verify that constraint against your installed Nova major before merging. Nova 4 and later moved to Vue 3 and Vite, so mixed-version support is the most likely integration blocker.
- How do I install and use this package in a Nova resource?
- Install it with composer require marshmallow/nova-fields-help, then add the field to a resource's fields() array. The service provider is auto-discovered, so manual registration is typically unnecessary. There is no migration or runtime service, but confirm asset publishing requirements in staging before rolling out.
- Does this package require migrations or configuration?
- No migrations are required, and the package has effectively no configuration surface to speak of. It is a display-only field, so it should not alter your schema or persist data. That makes both adoption and removal cheap and low-commitment.
- Do I need to build or publish frontend assets for this Nova field?
- The provided context does not confirm whether compiled assets ship in the release or must be built locally. If only source ships, you need a Node build step or a published asset bundle. Confirm this early, because a missing asset pipeline can fail silently in CI.
- Does the help field persist a value to the database?
- It is described as display-only and intended to render help or warning content in the Nova UI. The assessment notes no persistence to the resource, but you should confirm that in the source before assuming it. If it does persist a value, that changes your removal and upgrade considerations.
- Can I use HTML or markdown in the help text, and is it sanitized?
- The context does not state whether the field renders raw HTML or markdown or whether output is sanitized. Treat unsanitized HTML as an XSS risk in an admin context, especially if non-developers can edit the text. Review the Vue component and sanitize or escape input if needed.
- Is this package safe to use in production?
- Adoption signals are weak: 4 stars, 0 dependents, and a single publishing organization, so treat it as a bus-factor-1 dependency. The blast radius is small, because a break misrenders admin help text and cannot corrupt data or affect end users. Vendor or fork it internally before broad rollout so a future Nova upgrade is not blocked upstream.
- Does it support dark mode, localization, and Nova detail views?
- Nova detail versus form contexts, dark mode, and localization support are not confirmed in the provided context. Validate rendering in form, detail, and inline-relationship contexts in staging before rollout. If localization matters, check whether the field passes text through Nova's translation helpers.
- What are the alternatives if this package is unmaintained or incompatible?
- Nova's built-in HelpText field covers many hint use cases without a third-party dependency. You could also build a small custom field in-house or fork this package under your own namespace. Weigh those against the low commitment of a trial install in one low-traffic resource.