Livewire Development

Documentation

Use search-docs for detailed Livewire 3 patterns and documentation.

Basic Usage

Creating Components

Use the php artisan make:livewire [Posts\CreatePost] Artisan command to create new components.

Fundamental Concepts

• State should live on the server, with the UI reflecting it.
• All Livewire requests hit the Laravel backend; they're like regular HTTP requests. Always validate form data and run authorization checks in Livewire actions.

Livewire 3 Specifics

Key Changes From Livewire 2

These things changed in Livewire 3, but may not have been updated in this application. Verify this application's setup to ensure you follow existing conventions.

• Use wire:model.live for real-time updates, wire:model is now deferred by default.
• Components now use the App\Livewire namespace (not App\Http\Livewire).
• Use $this->dispatch() to dispatch events (not emit or dispatchBrowserEvent).
• Use the components.layouts.app view as the typical layout path (not layouts.app).

New Directives

• wire:show, wire:transition, wire:cloak, wire:offline, wire:target are available for use.

Alpine Integration

• Alpine is now included with Livewire; don't manually include Alpine.js.
• Plugins included with Alpine: persist, intersect, collapse, and focus.

Best Practices

Component Structure

• Livewire components require a single root element.
• Use wire:loading and wire:dirty for delightful loading states.

Using Keys in Loops

<!-- Wire Key in Loops -->

@foreach ($items as $item)
    <div wire:key="item-{{ $item->id }}">
        {{ $item->name }}
    </div>
@endforeach

Lifecycle Hooks

Prefer lifecycle hooks like mount(), updatedFoo() for initialization and reactive side effects:

<!-- Lifecycle Hook Examples -->

public function mount(User $user) { $this->user = $user; }
public function updatedSearch() { $this->resetPage(); }

JavaScript Hooks

You can listen for livewire:init to hook into Livewire initialization:

<!-- Livewire Init Hook Example -->

document.addEventListener('livewire:init', function () {
    Livewire.hook('request', ({ fail }) => {
        if (fail && fail.status === 419) {
            alert('Your session expired');
        }
    });

    Livewire.hook('message.failed', (message, component) => {
        console.error(message);
    });
});

Testing

<!-- Example Livewire Component Test -->

Livewire::test(Counter::class)
    ->assertSet('count', 0)
    ->call('increment')
    ->assertSet('count', 1)
    ->assertSee(1)
    ->assertStatus(200);

<!-- Testing Livewire Component Exists on Page -->

$this->get('/posts/create')
    ->assertSeeLivewire(CreatePost::class);

Common Pitfalls

• Forgetting wire:key in loops causes unexpected behavior when items change
• Using wire:model expecting real-time updates (use wire:model.live instead in v3)
• Not validating/authorizing in Livewire actions (treat them like HTTP requests)
• Including Alpine.js separately when it's already bundled with Livewire 3