From project to deployment (and maintenance)?

Certainly! Here’s a step-by-step solution that addresses your questions about deploying and maintaining a Laravel + Inertia + Vue app with a MySQL backend. While Laracasts has many series on deployment and best practices, there isn’t a single series that covers the entire end-to-end process in one place. Here’s a practical guide to help you:

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1. Getting Your Application Ready for Deployment (Build and Bundle)

• Environment Configuration:
  Set your .env variables for production (e.g., APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false, correct DB credentials, etc.).
• Build Assets:
  Run your frontend build process to compile and minify assets:

  npm install
  npm run build
  

• Optimize Laravel:
  Run Laravel’s optimization commands:

  php artisan config:cache
  php artisan route:cache
  php artisan view:cache
  

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2. 3rd Party Considerations (e.g., Stripe, Mail, etc.)

• Environment Variables:
  Ensure all 3rd party service keys (Stripe, Mailgun, etc.) are set in your production .env file.
• Testing:
  Test integrations in a staging environment before going live.

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3. Moving to Your Host Server

• Code Deployment:
  You can use Git, SFTP, or deployment tools (like Envoyer, Forge, Deployer, GitHub Actions, etc.) to move your code to the server.
• Dependencies:
  On the server, run:

  composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev
  npm ci --production
  

• Permissions:
  Set correct permissions for storage and bootstrap/cache directories.

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4. Moving Your Database

• Export/Import:
  Use mysqldump to export your local database and import it on your production server:

  mysqldump -u username -p database_name > backup.sql
  mysql -u username -p production_db < backup.sql
  

• Migrations/Seeders:
  Alternatively, use Laravel migrations and seeders for structure and master data:

  php artisan migrate --force
  php artisan db:seed --force
  

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5. Turning "On" Your "Live" Application

• Web Server Configuration:
  Point your web server (Nginx/Apache) to the public directory.
• SSL:
  Set up SSL (Let’s Encrypt is free and easy).
• Queue/Cache:
  Start any necessary queue workers and cache systems.

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6. Deploying Updates (Bug Fixes, Features)

• Zero Downtime Deployment:
  Use tools like Envoyer or Deployer for zero-downtime deployments.
• Manual Steps:
  For small projects, you can pull changes, run migrations, and rebuild assets:

  git pull origin main
  composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev
  php artisan migrate --force
  npm run build
  php artisan config:cache
  

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7. Basic App/Site Maintenance After It Is "Live"

• Backups:
  Schedule regular backups of your database and important files.
• Monitoring:
  Use tools like Laravel Telescope, Sentry, or Bugsnag for error monitoring.
• Updates:
  Keep dependencies up to date and regularly patch security vulnerabilities.
• Logs:
  Monitor logs for errors (storage/logs/laravel.log).

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Further Learning

• Laracasts: Deploying Laravel
• Laravel Docs: Deployment
• Laravel Forge (for server management and deployment)

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Summary:
While there isn’t a single Laracasts series that covers every step from project to deployment and maintenance, the above workflow should help you get your app live and keep it running smoothly. Each step can be explored in more detail via Laracasts and the official Laravel documentation.

If you have specific questions about any step, feel free to ask!