Laravel Nova 5 Development

When to Apply

Activate this skill when:

• Creating or editing Nova resources, fields, or relationships
• Implementing actions, filters, lenses, or metrics
• Setting up authorization policies for Nova
• Configuring dashboards, menus, tabs, or panels
• Creating custom tools, cards, or resource tools
• Working with dependent fields, repeater fields, or file uploads

Requirements

PHP 8.1+, Laravel 10+, Nova 5.x. Frontend: Vue 3.5, Inertia.js 2.x, Heroicons 2.x.

Reference Guide

Load detailed guidance based on context:

Topic	Reference	Load When
Actions, Filters & Lenses	references/actions-and-filters.md	Actions (sync/queued/batchable), filters, lenses
Metrics & Dashboards	references/metrics-and-dashboards.md	Value, Trend, Partition, Progress, Table metrics; dashboards
Customization	references/customization.md	Custom tools, resource tools, menus, notifications, stubs

Constraints

MUST DO

• Use PHP 8.1+ features (readonly, enums, typed properties)
• Type hint all method parameters and return types
• Follow Nova conventions for resource naming (singular class, plural display)
• Use HasMany::make('Posts') with plural names for HasMany relationships
• Add relationships to $with when used in title() or subtitle()
• Use asBigInt() on ID for big integer primary keys
• Implement ShouldQueue for heavy actions to avoid timeouts
• Run php artisan storage:link when using public disk with local driver
• Use @import "tailwindcss" in custom components (Nova 5 uses Tailwind v4)

MUST NOT DO

• Use singular names for HasMany relationships
• Define dependsOn on unsupported field types (File, Image, Audio, VaporFile, VaporImage)
• Use creationRules/updateRules inside Repeatable fields
• Use @tailwind directives in custom components (deprecated in Tailwind v4)
• Forget to register policies — Nova silently allows all when no policy exists
• Skip eager loading for relationships used in resource display

---

Resource Basics

Resources live in app/Nova and map to Eloquent models:

php artisan nova:resource Post

namespace App\Nova;

use Laravel\Nova\Fields\ID;
use Laravel\Nova\Fields\Text;
use Laravel\Nova\Http\Requests\NovaRequest;

class Post extends Resource
{
    public static string $model = \App\Models\Post::class;

    public static $title = 'title';

    public static $search = ['id', 'title'];

    public function fields(NovaRequest $request): array
    {
        return [
            ID::make()->sortable(),
            Text::make('Title')->sortable()->rules('required', 'max:255'),
        ];
    }
}

Key resource properties:

public static $with = ['user'];           // eager-load for fields/title/subtitle
public static $perPageOptions = [25, 50, 100];
public static $debounce = 0.5;            // search debounce in seconds
public static $polling = true;            // enable index polling
public static $pollingInterval = 5;
public static $showPollingToggle = true;

---

Fields

Defined in fields() via static make(). Nova auto-converts names to snake_case columns:

Text::make('Full Name');              // → full_name column
Text::make('Email', 'email_address'); // explicit column mapping

Available Field Types

ID, Text, Textarea, Boolean, Number, Select, Date, DateTime, Currency, Badge, Markdown, Trix, Image, File, Avatar, KeyValue, Sparkline, Tag, Hidden.

Visibility & Configuration

Text::make('Name')
    ->sortable()->readonly()->required()->nullable()
    ->placeholder('Enter name')->help('Display name.')
    ->default('Default')->copyable()
    ->showOnIndex()->hideWhenUpdating()
    ->onlyOnForms()->exceptOnForms()
    ->canSee(fn ($request) => $request->user()->is_admin);

Select

Select::make('Size')->options(['S' => 'Small', 'M' => 'Medium', 'L' => 'Large'])
    ->displayUsingLabels()->searchable();

Badge

Badge::make('Status', fn () => match ($this->status) {
    'active' => 'Active', default => 'Inactive',
})->map(['Active' => 'success', 'Inactive' => 'danger']);

Big Integer IDs

ID::make()->asBigInt()->sortable();

---

Computed Fields (Nova 5)

Nova 5 gives computed fields a unique $attribute, enabling them as dependent fields:

Boolean::make('Leave a comment?', 'comment_boolean')->computed(),

Text::make('Comment')->hidden()
    ->dependsOn('comment_boolean', function (Text $field, NovaRequest $request, FormData $formData) {
        if ($formData->boolean('comment_boolean')) {
            $field->show();
        }
    }),

Dependent Fields

Reactively modify field config based on other field values:

Select::make('Purchase Type', 'type')
    ->options(['personal' => 'Personal', 'gift' => 'Gift']),

Text::make('Recipient')->readonly()
    ->dependsOn(['type'], function (Text $field, NovaRequest $request, FormData $formData) {
        if ($formData->type === 'gift') {
            $field->readonly(false)->rules(['required', 'email']);
        }
    }),

Use dependsOnCreating / dependsOnUpdating for mode-specific behavior. Retrieve related resource IDs: $formData->resource(Book::uriKey(), $formData->books).

Cannot be depended upon: File, Image, Audio, VaporFile, VaporImage.

---

Panels & Tabs

Collapsible Panels

use Laravel\Nova\Panel;

Panel::make('Profile', [
    Text::make('Full Name'),
    Date::make('Date of Birth'),
])->collapsible()->collapsedByDefault()->limit(1);

Tab Panels (Nova 5)

use Laravel\Nova\Tabs\Tab;

Tab::group('Details', [
    Tab::make('Purchases', [
        Currency::make('Price')->asMinorUnits(),
        Number::make('Tickets Available'),
    ]),
    Tab::make('Info', [Text::make('Venue')]),
]),

Tab::group('Relations', [
    HasMany::make('Orders'),
    HasManyThrough::make('Tickets'),
]),

Omit group titles by providing fields directly to Tab::group().

---

Repeater Fields

Store repeatable data as JSON or HasMany. Generate with php artisan nova:repeatable LineItem.

// app/Nova/Repeaters/LineItem.php
class LineItem extends Repeatable
{
    public function fields(NovaRequest $request): array
    {
        return [
            Textarea::make('Description')->rules('required'),
            Number::make('Quantity')->rules('required', 'numeric', 'min:1'),
            Currency::make('Unit Price')->rules('required'),
        ];
    }
}

// In resource:
Repeater::make('Line Items')->repeatables([LineItem::make()])->asJson();

Limitations: No dependsOn, no creationRules/updateRules, no MorphToMany inside repeaters.

---

Relationships

All Eloquent types supported: HasOne, HasMany, BelongsTo, BelongsToMany, HasOneThrough, HasManyThrough, MorphOne, MorphMany, MorphTo, MorphToMany.

BelongsTo::make('Author', 'author', User::class)
    ->searchable()->withoutTrashed()
    ->showCreateRelationButton()->modalSize('5xl'),

HasMany::make('Posts'),  // always use plural

BelongsToMany::make('Roles')
    ->fields(fn ($request, $relatedModel) => [Text::make('Notes')])
    ->actions(fn () => [new Actions\MarkAsActive])
    ->searchable(),

Tag::make('Tags')->showCreateRelationButton()->preload(),

---

Validation

Text::make('Name')->rules('required', 'max:255'),

Text::make('Email')
    ->rules('required', 'email', 'max:254')
    ->creationRules('unique:users,email')
    ->updateRules('unique:users,email,{{resourceId}}'),

---

Authorization

Nova leverages Laravel Policies automatically. Define a policy and Nova checks viewAny, view, create, update, delete, restore, forceDelete:

class PostPolicy
{
    use HandlesAuthorization;

    public function viewAny(User $user): bool { return true; }
    public function create(User $user): bool { return $user->is_admin; }
    public function update(User $user, Post $post): bool { return $user->id === $post->user_id; }
    public function delete(User $user, Post $post): bool { return $user->is_admin; }
}

Differentiate Nova vs. application authorization:

public function viewAny(User $user)
{
    return Nova::whenServing(
        fn (NovaRequest $request) => in_array('nova:view-posts', $user->permissions),
        fn ($request) => in_array('view-posts', $user->permissions),
    );
}

Nova 5 supports resource-specific policy classes for separate Nova authorization logic.

---

File Fields

Image::make('Photo')->disk('public')->path('photos')
    ->maxWidth(200)->rounded()->disableDownload()->prunable(),

File::make('Document')->disk('s3')
    ->storeOriginalName('document_name')->storeSize('document_size'),

File::make('Attachment')->store(fn ($request, $model) => [
    'attachment' => $request->attachment->store('/', 's3'),
    'attachment_name' => $request->attachment->getClientOriginalName(),
    'attachment_size' => $request->attachment->getSize(),
]),

Run php artisan storage:link when using the public disk with the local driver.

---

Soft Deletes

Add SoftDeletes to your model. Nova automatically shows restore/force-delete options and a "With Trashed" filter.

---

Common Pitfalls

• Forgetting to register policies — Nova silently allows all when no policy exists
• Singular names for HasMany — always use plural: HasMany::make('Posts')
• Not adding relationships to $with when used in title() or subtitle()
• Missing asBigInt() on ID for big integer primary keys
• Using @tailwind directives in custom components instead of @import "tailwindcss" (Nova 5 uses Tailwind v4)
• Defining dependsOn on unsupported field types (File, Image, etc.)
• Not implementing ShouldQueue for heavy actions, causing timeouts
• Forgetting php artisan storage:link for public disk file fields
• Using creationRules/updateRules inside Repeatable fields (not supported)
• Nova 5 requires PHP 8.1+ and Laravel 10+ — verify composer.json constraints