# Installation ## Requirements If you can run Laravel 12 or 13, you can install Backpack. Backpack does _not_ have additional requirements. For the following process, we assume: - you have a [working installation of Laravel](https://laravel.com/docs/12.x#installation) (an existing project is fine, you don't need a *fresh* Laravel install); - you have configured your.ENV file with your database and mail information; - you can run the ```composer``` command from any directory (you have ```composer``` registered as a global command); if you need to run ```php composer.phar``` or reference another directory, please remember to adapt the commands below to your configuration; ## Installation ### Install using Composer Go to your Laravel project's directory, then in your terminal, run: ``` bash # first, require Backpack: composer require backpack/crud:"^7.0" # then, run the installation command: php artisan backpack:install ``` Follow the prompts - in the end, the installer will also tell you your admin panel's URL, where you should go and login. > **NOTE:** When the installer asks you if you would like to create an admin user, Backpack assumes that you are using the default user structure with `name, email and password` fields. If that's not the case, please reply **NO** to that question and manually create your admin user. > **NOTE:** The installation command is interactive - it will ask you questions. You can bypass the questions by adding the `--no-interaction` argument to the install command. ### Configure In most cases, it's a good idea to look at the configuration files and make the admin panel your own: - You should change the config values in ```config/backpack/base.php``` to make the admin panel your own. - You can also change ```config/backpack/ui.php``` to change the UI; Backpack is white label, so you can change configs to make it your own: project name, logo, developer name etc. - By default all users are considered admins; If that's not what you want in your application (you have both users and admins), please: - Change ```app/Http/Middleware/CheckIfAdmin.php```, particularly ```checkIfUserIsAdmin($user)```, to make sure you only allow admins to access the admin panel; - Change ```app/Providers/RouteServiceProvider::HOME```, which will send logged in (but not admin) users to `/home`, to something that works for your app; - If your User model has been moved from the default ```App\Models\User.php```, please change ```config/backpack/base.php``` to use the correct user model under the ```user_model_fqn``` config key; ### Create your Eloquent Models Backpack assumes you already have your Eloquent Models properly set up. If you don't, **consider using something to generate Migrations & Models**. You can use anything you want, but here are the options we recommend: - a) Generate from a **web interface** - [Backpack Devtools](https://backpackforlaravel.com/products/devtools) - premium product, paid separately. A simple GUI to generate Migrations, Models, Factories, Seeders and CRUDs, right from your browser. Works well for entities of all sizes. - b) Generate from the **command-line** - [Laracasts Generators](https://github.com/laracasts/Laravel-5-Generators-Extended) - free & open-source. Adds a new artisan command so that you can do `php artisan make:migration:schema create_users_table --schema="username:string, email:string:unique"`. Works well for smaller entities. - c) Generate from a **YAML file** - [LaravelShift's Blueprint](https://blueprint.laravelshift.com/) - free & open-source. Enables you to create a `draft.yml` file in your repo, where you can specify the column using their custom YAML syntax. Works well for small & medium entities. ### Create your CRUDs For each Eloquent model you want to have an admin panel, run: ```bash php artisan backpack:crud {model} # use the model name, in singular ``` Alternatively, you can generate CRUDs for all Eloquent models, by running: ```bash php artisan backpack:build ``` Then go through each CRUD file (Controller, Request, Route Item, Menu Item) and customize as you fit. If you don't know what those are, and how you can customize them... please go through our [Getting Started](https://backpackforlaravel.com/docs/5.x/introduction#how-to-start) section, it's important. At the very least, read our [Crash Course](https://backpackforlaravel.com/docs/5.x/crud-tutorial). ### Install Add-ons In case you want to add extra functionality that's already been built, check out [the installation steps for the add-ons we've developed](/docs/{{version}}/install-optionals). ## Frequently Asked Questions - **Error: The process X exceeded the timeout of 60 seconds.** It might mean GitHub or Packagist is unavailable at the moment. This usually doesn't last for more than a few minutes, so you can run ```php artisan backpack:install --timeout=600``` to increase the timeout to 10 minutes. If this doesn't work either, take a look behind the scenes with ```php artisan backpack:install --timeout=600 --debug```; - **Error: SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access violation: 1071 Specified key was too long**. Your MySQL version might be a bit old. Please [apply this quick fix](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-4-key-too-long-error), then run ```php artisan migrate:fresh```. - **Any other installation error?** If you can't install Backpack because of a different error, you can [try the manual installation process](/docs/{{version}}/crud-how-to#how-to-manually-install-backpack), which you can tweak to your needs.