Laravel API and Inertia

Laravel API & Inertia Integration

API Resources and HTTP contracts

• Transform Eloquent models through JsonResource (ModelResource::make($model), ModelResource::collection($paginator)) rather than returning raw Eloquent models, so internal columns, hidden attributes and accidental relations never leak.
• Guard every relationship and pivot attribute in toArray() with $this->whenLoaded('relation'), $this->whenCounted('relation') and $this->whenPivotLoaded(...) so serialized resources never trigger lazy-loading N+1 queries.
• Use $this->when($condition, ...) or $this->mergeWhen(...) for role- or permission-dependent fields.
• Return consistent status codes (200, 201 on creation, 204 on empty delete, 401, 403, 404, 422 for validation, 409 for state conflicts) and preserve pagination metadata (data, links, meta) when wrapping paginators.

Inertia.js server integration

• Render Inertia pages with Inertia::render('Component/Name', [...]) matching the project's page component conventions, passing only the fields the page needs (or wrapping models in Resources/DTOs).
• Keep HandleInertiaRequests::share() lightweight because shared props run on every request; wrap expensive or rarely needed shared data in closures so they are evaluated lazily.
• Support partial reloads (Inertia::lazy(...) / closures) and, on Inertia v2, Inertia::defer(fn () => ...) for slow secondary panels so the initial page shell loads fast and the UI can show targeted loading skeletons.
• After mutations in Inertia controllers, return a redirect (to_route(...) or back()) with flash feedback rather than returning JSON directly, so validation errors (422 -> errors prop / error bags) and Inertia's useForm / <Form> state work seamlessly.