Developing With Turbo Frames

Turbo Frames

Turbo Frames decompose pages into independent segments that scope navigation. Clicking links or submitting forms inside a <turbo-frame> only updates that frame, keeping the rest of the page intact.

The Frame Component

Use the <x-turbo::frame> Blade component to render a <turbo-frame> element:

@verbatim

@endverbatim

The :id Prop

The :id prop accepts multiple formats and auto-generates DOM IDs:

@verbatim

{{-- Model instance: generates dom_id($post) e.g. "post_1" --}} <x-turbo::frame :id="$post">...

{{-- Array [model, prefix]: generates dom_id($post, 'edit') e.g. "edit_post_1" --}} <x-turbo::frame :id="[$post, 'edit']">...

@endverbatim

Scoped Navigation

By default, links and forms inside a frame target that same frame. When the server responds, Turbo extracts the matching <turbo-frame> from the response and swaps its content:

@verbatim

{{-- Submitting this form updates only this frame with the response --}}
<form action="{{ route('posts.update', $post) }}" method="POST">
    @csrf
    @method('PUT')
    <input name="title" value="{{ $post->title }}">
    <button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>

@endverbatim

Targeting Other Frames

Override the default frame target using data-turbo-frame:

@verbatim

{{-- Break out of the frame and navigate the entire page --}} View full page

@endverbatim

You can also set a default target on the frame itself:

@verbatim

@endverbatim

Lazy Loading

Frames can defer loading their content using the :src attribute. The frame fetches its content automatically:

@verbatim

{{-- Viewport lazy load: fetches when the frame enters the viewport --}} <x-turbo::frame :id="$post" :src="route('posts.comments.index', $post)" loading="lazy"> Loading comments...

@endverbatim

Promoting Frame Navigations to Page Visits

Use data-turbo-action to make a frame navigation also update the browser URL and history:

<a href="/posts/1" data-turbo-frame="post_detail" data-turbo-action="advance">View</a>

This updates the frame content AND pushes the URL to the browser history, allowing Back button navigation.

Detecting Frame Requests on the Server

Use request macros to detect if a request came from a Turbo Frame:

@verbatim

// Check if it came from a specific frame if ($request->wasFromTurboFrame(dom_id($post, 'create_comment'))) { // Return response for that specific frame }

@endverbatim

Morphing Within Frames

Add refresh="morph" to morph frame content instead of replacing it, preserving DOM state:

<turbo-frame id="post_1" refresh="morph">
    <!-- Content will be morphed on refresh -->
</turbo-frame>

Frame Rendering Customization

Customize how frame content is rendered using the turbo:before-frame-render event in JavaScript:

document.addEventListener("turbo:before-frame-render", (event) => {
    // Access event.detail.newFrame to modify before rendering
});

Benefits of Frames

1. Efficient caching: Each frame is cached independently, giving longer-lived caches.
2. Parallelized execution: Lazy-loaded frames are fetched concurrently, reducing total page load time.
3. Mobile-ready: Frames with independent URLs can be rendered as native sheets/screens in Hotwire Native apps.