Building Mobile Apps with Laravel: A Guide to NativePHP v3

Prerequisites

To follow along, you should be comfortable with the

framework and basic terminal usage. Your project must be responsive;

NativePHP

essentially wraps your web view, so a mobile-first design is non-negotiable.

Key Libraries & Tools

• NativePHP
  Mobile v3: The core package that bridges Laravel and mobile OS environments.
• Jump
  : A mobile app available on the
  Play Store
  and App Store that allows for instant hot-reloading and testing without
  Android Studio
  or
  Xcode
  .
• Livewire
  : Used for dynamic, reactive components without leaving the PHP ecosystem.
• Tailwind CSS
  : The preferred utility-first framework for crafting the mobile UI.
• SQLite
  : The default on-device database engine for local data storage.

Code Walkthrough

1. Installation and Initial Sync

First, pull in the mobile-specific version of the package.

composer require nativephp/mobile:^3.0

To see your app on a physical device immediately, use the Jump command. This generates a QR code. Ensure your phone and development machine share the same Wi-Fi network.

php artisan native:jump

2. Handling Local Data

uses

SQLite

on-device. Because the environment resets or initializes differently than a standard server, you must seed your data within migrations rather than separate seeder files to ensure it exists on the device upon launch.

public function up(): void
{
    Schema::create('quizzes', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('title');
    });

    // Seed directly in migration for NativePHP compatibility
    DB::table('quizzes')->insert([
        ['title' => 'Laravel Basics'],
        ['title' => 'Advanced Eloquent'],
    ]);
}

Syntax Notes

When building for mobile, focus on

patterns like w-full for touchable buttons and min-h-screen to prevent layout jumping.

Livewire

components often use single-file syntax in this context to keep the logic and view together, which is highly efficient for small-screen interactions.

Practical Examples

This setup is perfect for offline-first applications like quiz apps, field data collection tools, or internal company utilities where you want to reuse your existing

business logic without a rewrite.

Tips & Gotchas

Avoid hardcoding database credentials.

enforces

SQLite

largely for security, preventing the accidental exposure of sensitive

MySQL

or

PostgreSQL

credentials on a distributed mobile binary. Always check your viewport meta tags to ensure the scale is locked for a native feel.