Nova Snowball Laravel Package

Getting Started

1. Check Nova version compatibility first. This package's last release was 2020-12-31, so it targets Nova v2/v3 styling. Confirm your installed Nova version before committing:

   composer show laravel/nova
   

   If you're on Nova 4/5, expect to either skip this package or treat it as CSS reference material rather than a drop-in theme.

2. Install via Composer.

   composer require stephenlake/nova-snowball
   

3. Register the theme. Depending on your Nova version, this is either:

   • Nova v3: set the theme in config/nova.php (or call Nova::theme('snowball') in NovaServiceProvider::boot()), or
   • Let a package service provider auto-register it (verify with php artisan package:discover).

4. Publish Nova assets so the theme's CSS is served:

   php artisan vendor:publish --tag=nova-assets
   php artisan nova:publish
   

5. Clear caches (Nova caches its manifest and views aggressively):

   php artisan optimize:clear
   

6. First use case: internal admin panels, ops dashboards, or client back-offices where you want Nova to match a dark-blue/white brand palette without building a custom theme from scratch. Load the dashboard, confirm typography, sidebar, buttons, and form controls picked up the theme.

7. Where to look first: the package's resources/ (or dist/) folder for the compiled CSS, and the README for the exact registration line for your Nova version. If registration is ambiguous, search Nova's config/nova.php for 'theme' and compare against other installed tools.

Implementation Patterns

Baseline swap-in. Install once, register, publish, and leave it. Best for a single Nova app where the theme is global and no per-user toggling is needed.

Environment-scoped theming. Only register the theme in non-production or internal environments to avoid surprising client-facing admin users:

// NovaServiceProvider::boot()
if (! app()->environment('production')) {
    Nova::theme('snowball');
}

Brand-override layer. Don't fork the package. Publish the theme CSS and append a small override file that targets Nova's CSS custom properties or class selectors:

/* resources/css/nova-overrides.css */
:root {
    --color-primary: #0d1b2a;
    --color-primary-dark: #08121c;
}

Then publish/compile through Nova's asset pipeline (php artisan nova:publish) so overrides land after the theme styles.

Theme-as-reference for a custom theme. Clone the repo, use its SCSS/CSS structure as the starting point for php artisan nova:theme, and keep the package installed only if you want the baseline. This is the most realistic long-term pattern given the package's age.

CI/CD integration.

- run: composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
- run: php artisan nova:publish
- run: php artisan optimize:clear

Ensure public/vendor/nova is either committed or built in the deploy pipeline — a missing published asset is the most common "theme not applied" failure.

Pair with custom branding. Themes only handle colors/typography; add your logo, name, and footer via Nova::brand() and Nova::footer() in the same service provider for a cohesive result.

Gotchas and Tips

• Version drift is the big one. Last release 2020-12-31 means Nova 4/5 class names and CSS variables may not match. Before adopting, diff the theme's selectors against your Nova version's compiled CSS in public/vendor/nova/app.css.
• "Nothing changed" usually means assets weren't published. Confirm public/vendor/nova/ exists and contains the theme files. Run php artisan nova:publish and hard-refresh; Nova's asset manifest is cached.
• Browser cache. Nova manifests assets with hashes; if you edited CSS, re-publish and hard reload. In dev, php artisan optimize:clear && php artisan view:clear fixes most ghost issues.
• Registration ambiguity. Older Nova themes sometimes required manual provider registration, sometimes config/nova.php. If php artisan package:discover doesn't pick it up, add the service provider manually or check the README for the exact Nova::theme() call.
• No per-user toggling. Themes are global. If users need light/dark choice, this package won't give you that out of the box — you'd need to layer CSS variable switching yourself.
• Nova-only scope. This affects Nova's UI, not your public app. Don't expect Laravel Blade views or emails to inherit the palette.
• CSS specificity fights. If a custom tool or field ships its own styles, theme overrides may lose. Append your overrides last or use a higher-specificity selector scoped to .nova / #nova.
• Extension points are thin. There's no documented plugin API — treat it as static CSS. Your real extension surface is (a) a small overrides file and (b) forking the SCSS if you need structural changes.
• Maintenance risk. 38 stars and no releases since 2020 means no security patches or Nova-version updates. Budget for a fork or a migration to a maintained theme if you depend on Nova upgrades.
• Debugging tip. Inspect the computed CSS variable values in DevTools on :root and on .nova — if your overrides aren't winning, the theme's declaration order or specificity is the culprit, not the framework.