MealBuddy

Full stack: Next.js (frontend) + Laravel (API) + PostgreSQL (database).

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     HTTP (API)      ┌─────────────────┐
│  Next.js :3000  │ ──────────────────► │ Laravel :8000   │
│  frontend/      │   Sanctum + CORS    │ backend/        │
└─────────────────┘                     └────────┬────────┘
                                                 │ SQL
                                                 ▼
                                        ┌─────────────────┐
                                        │ PostgreSQL :5432 │
                                        │ (Docker)         │
                                        └─────────────────┘

Structure

mealbuddy/
├── backend/            # Laravel 13 — REST API, Sanctum, Filament
├── frontend/           # Next.js 16 — React UI
├── docker-compose.yml  # PostgreSQL for local dev
├── package.json        # Root scripts
└── pnpm-workspace.yaml

Prerequisites

• Docker (for PostgreSQL)
• PHP 8.3+ with pdo_pgsql, Composer
• Node 20+, pnpm

Install the PHP PostgreSQL extension if needed:

# macOS (Homebrew PHP)
pecl install pdo_pgsql
# or ensure php is built with pgsql

Setup

1. Start PostgreSQL

pnpm db:up

2. Install dependencies and migrate

pnpm setup
cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env.local

pnpm setup starts Postgres, installs Node/PHP deps, copies backend/.env, generates an app key, and runs migrations.

3. Run the stack

pnpm dev

Service	URL
Frontend	http://localhost:3000
API	http://localhost:8000
PostgreSQL	localhost:5432

Environment

Backend (backend/.env)

Configure your environment variables by copying the example template:

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env
php artisan key:generate

Key environment configuration:

Variable	Description
APP_ENV	local for development, production on server
APP_DEBUG	true for development, false on server
DB_CONNECTION	Database driver (pgsql)
DB_HOST / DB_PORT	PostgreSQL host and port
DB_DATABASE	Database name
DB_USERNAME	Database username
DB_PASSWORD	Strong password (configured in .env)

Frontend (frontend/.env.local)

NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:8000/api

Useful commands

pnpm db:up        # Start PostgreSQL
pnpm db:down      # Stop PostgreSQL
pnpm db:reset     # Wipe volume and recreate DB
pnpm dev          # Laravel + Next.js
pnpm dev:backend  # Laravel only
pnpm dev:frontend # Next.js only

Laravel (from backend/)

php artisan migrate
php artisan migrate:fresh --seed
php artisan tinker

Tests

PHPUnit uses in-memory SQLite (fast, no Docker required):

cd backend && composer test

Security Best Practices

• Never commit .env files: All sensitive secrets (database passwords, application keys, API keys) must remain in local/server .env files and never be checked into version control.
• Production settings: Ensure APP_ENV=production and APP_DEBUG=false in production to prevent stack traces from leaking to users.
• Unique App Key: Always run php artisan key:generate on initial setup so each environment uses its own unique cryptographic encryption key.
• CORS & Sanctum: In production, restrict SANCTUM_STATEFUL_DOMAINS and CORS allowed origins (config/cors.php) strictly to your production domain (meals.monlamit.com).
• File Permissions: Keep backend/storage and backend/bootstrap/cache writable only by the web server user (www-data).

Notes

• CORS and Sanctum allow http://localhost:3000 (backend/config/cors.php, backend/config/sanctum.php).
• Inertia pages under backend/resources/js are for Filament / legacy routes; the main app UI is in frontend/.
• Change Postgres credentials in both root .env (Docker) and backend/.env (Laravel) if you customize them.