Introducing NertiaKit: A Modern Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

Today, I'm excited to share a project that I've been working on — NertiaKit, a modern starter kit designed to streamline the development of SaaS applications using Laravel and Inertia.js. This project emerged from my experiences building multiple SaaS applications and recognizing common patterns and challenges that developers face.

The Genesis of NertiaKit

Every SaaS project starts with the same foundational requirements: authentication, user management, role-based access control, and a solid frontend architecture. I found myself repeatedly setting up these components, and I thought, "There must be a better way." That's how NertiaKit was born — a solution to help developers jump straight into building their unique features instead of spending weeks on boilerplate code.

What Makes NertiaKit Different

While there are many starter kits available, NertiaKit focuses on providing a clean, minimalistic foundation with modern tools and best practices. Here's what makes it special:

Modern Tech Stack

Laravel 11 for a robust backend
Inertia.js + React for seamless SPA experience
TypeScript for better type safety
ShadcnUI for beautiful, accessible components
TailwindCSS for responsive styling

Developer Experience

The real magic of NertiaKit lies in its developer experience. I've included features that I wish I had when starting my SaaS projects:

Pre-configured layouts for authenticated and guest views
Type-safe data sharing between Laravel and React
Role-based navigation system
Organized route and controller structure
Comprehensive type definitions
Hot module replacement in development

Here's a quick look at how NertiaKit handles shared data between backend and frontend:

const { auth, app } = usePage<PageProps>().props;

return (
    <div>
        <h1>{app.name}</h1>
        {auth.user && <p>Welcome, {auth.user.name}</p>}
    </div>
);

The type system ensures that you'll catch errors early:

export type PageProps<T = {}> = T & {
    auth: { user: User };
    app: {
        name: string;
        tagline: string;
    };
    flash: {
        success?: string;
        error?: string;
    };
};

Role-Based Access Control

NertiaKit implements role-based access control using Spatie's Laravel Permission package. This provides a flexible way to manage user permissions:

// database/seeders/RoleSeeder.php
public function run(): void
{
    Role::create(['name' => 'admin']);
    Role::create(['name' => 'user']);
}

// Assigning roles on registration
$user->assignRole('user');

The navigation system is built with role-based access in mind:

const navigation = [
    {
        title: 'Dashboard',
        url: route('dashboard'),
        icon: LayoutDashboard,
        isActive: route().current('dashboard')
    },
    {
        title: 'Users',
        url: route('admin.users.index'),
        icon: Users,
        isActive: route().current('admin.users.*'),
        viewBy: 'admin'
    }
];

Route Organization

Routes are organized by access level for better maintainability:

// routes/admin.php
Route::middleware(['auth', 'role:admin'])
    ->prefix('admin')
    ->name('admin.')
    ->group(function () {
        Route::resource('users', UserController::class);
    });

Getting Started

Using NertiaKit is straightforward. You can either use it as a template or fork and customize:

Option 1: Use as Template

Click "Use this template" on GitHub
Create your repository
Clone and setup:

git clone https://github.com/your-username/your-project.git
cd your-project

composer install
npm install
npm run dev

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --seed

Option 2: Fork and Customize

Fork the repository and follow the same setup steps. The default admin credentials are:

Email: admin@example.com
Password: password

Future Development

NertiaKit is actively maintained and new features are being added regularly. Planned enhancements include:

API authentication setup
More UI components and layouts
Enhanced testing setup
Additional role presets
Improved documentation

I hope NertiaKit helps you build your next SaaS project faster and with better practices. Feel free to contribute or raise issues on GitHub! View Project on GitHub