Nova Fa Icon Laravel Package

Getting Started

• Install into a Laravel 10/11/12 app running Nova 5:

  composer require <vendor>/nova-fa-icon:^1.1
  

• Publish any package assets/config so Nova can serve them (typical Nova tool/field packages need this):

  php artisan vendor:publish --tag=nova-fa-icon-config
  php artisan vendor:publish --tag=nova-fa-icon-lang
  php artisan nova:publish
  

• Look first at config/nova-fa-icon.php (icon set / default set) and resources/lang/ (now includes en, pt_BR, es, it, ru). The README is the fastest reference for the field namespace and registration.
• First use case: add a Font Awesome icon picker to a Nova resource form. Drop the field into fields():

  use Vendor\NovaFaIcon\NovaFaIcon;
  
  public function fields(NovaRequest $request)
  {
      return [
          NovaFaIcon::make('Icon', 'icon')
              ->rules('required', 'string', 'max:255'),
      ];
  }
  

  The field stores the selected icon class (e.g. fa-solid fa-star) as a plain string column, so it works with Text/String migrations out of the box.

Implementation Patterns

• Resource form field. The primary workflow — a searchable Font Awesome selector bound to a string attribute. Pair with ->help() and validation to keep stored values predictable.
• Index/detail display. Render the stored class in a card or custom component: <i class="{{ $resource->icon }}"></i>. Keep the class string as the single source of truth rather than storing an enum.
• Config-driven icon sets. Centralize which Font Awesome version/style is exposed in the package config, then reference it from both the field and any front-end rendering helper so the picker and output never drift.
• Namespaced translations (v1.1.0+). All package strings resolve via __('nova-fa-icon::messages.key'). To brand or reword, publish the lang files and override under lang/vendor/nova-fa-icon/{locale}/messages.php rather than editing vendor code.
• Multi-language apps. The new pt_BR, es, it, ru catalogs mean the picker UI labels localize automatically based on app()->getLocale(). For locales not shipped, copy en/messages.php into your overrides and translate the keys — no code changes needed.
• Custom tools/cards. When embedding the picker inside a Nova tool, use the same namespaced __() calls in your Vue labels so translations stay consistent with the field.
• Locale switching in tests. Assert localized labels with $this->withSession(['locale' => 'es']) or App::setLocale('es') before rendering the form, verifying the new catalogs load.

Gotchas and Tips

• Upgrade to ≥1.1.0 if you saw raw keys. On Laravel 10, keys like nova-fa-icon::messages.key previously rendered as literal text. v1.1.0 switches to PHP-based namespaced translations, the stable approach across Laravel 10/11/12. If you pinned 1.0.x, that bug is your symptom.
• Clear caches after upgrading. Translation loading is cached aggressively: run php artisan optimize:clear (and config:clear, view:clear) — otherwise the old broken loading path can persist.
• Namespace must be registered. If you override translations and they don't take effect, confirm the override sits at lang/vendor/nova-fa-icon/{locale}/messages.php and that the package service provider's loadTranslationsFrom() namespace (nova-fa-icon) matches. A stray space or wrong folder name silently falls back to English.
• Locale fallback masks gaps. Missing keys fall back to the fallback locale, so a half-translated it catalog won't error — it will show English. Verify with __('nova-fa-icon::messages.key') directly in tinker under the target locale.
• Nova asset publishing. Vue/JS changes only appear after php artisan nova:publish. A "picker shows old labels" report is almost always a stale published asset, not a translation bug.
• Version pinning. Nova 5 + Laravel 10/11/12 is the supported matrix for 1.1.0. Pin ^1.1 and run your Nova test suite after upgrading; older Nova versions are untested.
• Extension point for new languages. Adding a locale is data-only — drop a messages.php into the vendor lang path. Keep keys identical to en so future releases don't break your overrides.
• Don't store labels. The field should persist the icon class, not the translated label — otherwise locale changes corrupt stored data.