Incredibly, despite what Simon says in this video, NativePHP for Mobile is now free!

https://nativephp.com/blog/nativephp-for-mobile-is-now-free

However, at the same time, some of the native features (geolocation, biometrics, etc) have moved to plugins, which are NOT free. But the core native functionality is.

@christogonus I had a similar issue and faffed for ages before I managed to get it working. It just kept spinning.

For me, I think it was a PHP CLI issue causing it.

I got it working by upgrading to php 8.5 on command line (I use homebrew) , updating composer.json to require php ^8.5, did a composer update and then fixed a couple of constant deprecation in config/database.php in the project (relating to PHP 8.5).

I then did php artisan boost:install again and then it allowed me to start the server in settings.

Of course, it doesn't require PHP 8.5, but this info may help to debug your installation.

Also, you can try running php artisan boost:mcp in your terminal and see if there's any errors or anything else in the output. There shouldn't be. It's just supposed to look like it's hanging and waiting for a connection.

Whilst I can see your error message is different, this may help you or someone else.

@russellxu For an APPLICATION for a job, yes. 20 hours is far too much. After having a chance to speak with the hiring manager to make sure the job is for me - the right opportunity, reward, culture, team, etc - then sure, I'll put far more effort in.

If you were going to be my manager and I found out that you expect me to put in 20 hours of work just to even APPLY, then I think you've told me everything I need to know about what it's like to work for you.

You both seem to be forgetting that this is a two-way street.

I am not even looking for a job and this sounds exasperating and depressing, can't imagine if someone really needs the job and are looking. Maybe these things are only meant to be done for a specific job that you really, really want get and not for every single potential job because it is just impossible. It is called "job hunting" not "job luring".

I'd rather apply to 50 positions a day with the same resume and hope for the best than spend a couple of days conceptualizing, designing, developing a website for a specific role, only to find that applications are closed the moment the website build is complete, or even if I do send it through, not receive any reply at all.

And doing all of this stuff would not really guarantee the candidate a job anyway, but it would make sorting through the applications easier for the recruiter. So it is actually helping the recruiter more than the candidate. So it makes sense coming from you now because I assume you do more job applications reviewing than actually applying in the way you described.

@JeffreyWay But that person has an interview and is sat in front of the interviewer - that's worth the 2.5 hours investment. In fact, as I said, I'd spend 20 hours to be in the same position for the right job.

But my 20 hours worth of effort may not even be seen by anyone. I don't know what happens to my application after I submit it (AI filtering? Filtered by a recruitment team in a different department?). My point is that this is a lot of time to spend at the application stage.

Anyway, I didn't want to argue necessarily because I entirely agree with your fundamental point of needing to stand out. I just don't think anyone should be spending 20 hours on an application.

I think you've touched on a lot of important points and there are useful takeaways here. Being a hiring manager for the last 10 years, I recognise a lot of this.

But suggesting that someone needs to spend "maybe 20 hours" on building a website for a job application is, honestly, ridiculous. There's a part of me that might even look upon such an application with suspicion.

If it was a perfect opportunity at a company that I really want to work for, and I met you, the hiring manager, in a bar and you promised me that you'd genuinely spend some time looking at it and guarantee to bring me in for an interview, then perhaps I would put the 20 hours worth of effort in, in order to have a decent opportunity.

But spending 20 hours on an application? When I can't even guarantee that someone will even look at my email, let alone the website? That's just nonsense.