# Inertia

> The Inertia standard — conventions for writing and reviewing Inertia.js code, the bridge between Laravel backends and frontend apps.

- Skill: `elliottlawson/inertia` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add elliottlawson/inertia`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/elliottlawson/inertia/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- License: MIT
- Author: elliottlawson (https://skillmd.com/u/elliottlawson)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/elliottlawson/inertia

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# Inertia

Apply these conventions alongside the `laravel` conventions.

## Server side

- **Controllers return `Inertia::render()`**, not views or raw JSON for page
  responses.
- **Props are lazy.** Wrap expensive values in closures so they resolve only
  when the page actually needs them — otherwise every partial reload pays for
  every query.
- **Shared data lives in middleware** (`HandleInertiaRequests::share()`), not
  repeated per controller.
- **Only what the page needs.** Passing entire models or unbounded collections
  as props ships the database to the browser — shape props deliberately.

## Client side

- **Forms use `useForm` (or `<Form>`)** — not hand-rolled fetch/axios against
  the same endpoints. Validation errors come back through the form helper.
- **Page components are thin.** Data arrives as props; a page component that
  fetches its own data on mount is working against the pattern.
- **Partial reloads** (`router.reload({ only: [...] })`) instead of full visits
  when only part of the page's data changed.