I didn’t start with a startup idea or a business goal.
I just wanted to try Inertia.js and the latest Laravel in something real.
Instead of writing random demo code, I decided to build an actual project. Not because I needed it, but because fake examples don’t teach much.
Why I Did This
My only goal was to understand how Inertia feels in a real setup:
- real routes
- real forms
- real validation
- real deployment I wanted to see where it helps and where it gets in the way.
Time and Constraints
The whole thing took three evenings, usually working until 3–4 AM.
That time included:
- setting up a VPS
- buying and configuring a domain
- DNS records
- server setup
- CI/CD with deploying Laravel
- connecting Inertia with React
- wiring analytics
- and of course a lot of tests
So this wasn't just coding a feature. It was the full loop.
The Stack
I used:
- Laravel (12.44.0)
- Inertia.js (2.1.4)
- React (19.2.0)
I didn’t want to:
- design an API
- duplicate validation logic
- deal with token-based auth
Inertia let me keep Laravel in control while still writing React on the frontend.
What I Actually Built
Nothing fancy.
A small but complete project where:
- Laravel handles routing and validation
- Inertia returns page data
- React renders the UI
- everything runs in production
- analytics is enabled from day one
The point wasn't features — it was the process.
An Unexpected Side Effect
I enjoyed working with React in this setup much more than I expected.
Because of that, I'm now planning to migrate the frontend of vulnwatch.tech to React as well. The development flow felt cleaner and faster, especially with Laravel still handling all the backend logic.
This small experiment ended up influencing decisions on a much larger project.
What Stood Out
The biggest takeaway was how much simpler things get when you stop thinking in APIs.
Once I treated pages as server-driven state instead of API responses, the amount of glue code dropped significantly.
Final Thoughts
This wasn't about launching a product.
It was about learning a stack properly — with real deployment, DNS, and constraints.
For experiments, MVPs, and solo projects, Laravel + Inertia + React feels like a very efficient setup.
If You’re Curious
If anyone is interested, here’s the link to what I ended up building:
linkstobio.com
Happy to answer any questions or share more details about the setup.
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