LaraContact — Installation & Deployment Guide

# Installation & Deployment Guide

LaraContact is a multi-user, AI-assisted CRM built on Laravel 13 with two-way SMS/WhatsApp, click-to-call, queued email, real-time inbound notifications, audit logging, and a Sanctum-powered JSON API. This guide walks you from a fresh download to a live deployment.

Laravel 13 PHP 8.3+ Tailwind + Alpine Multi-tenant REST API

## 1System requirements

Requirement | Minimum | Recommended
--- | --- | ---
PHP | 8.3 | 8.3+
Composer | 2.6+ | 2.8+
Node.js | 22+ | 24+
Database | SQLite (dev) | MySQL 8 or PostgreSQL 15
Web server | PHP built-in (dev) | Nginx + PHP-FPM
Memory | 256 MB | 1 GB
Disk | 500 MB | 2 GB
PHP extensions | `mbstring`, `openssl`, `pdo`, `pdo_sqlite` or `pdo_mysql`, `tokenizer`, `xml`, `json`, `bcmath`, `fileinfo`, `curl`, `gd` (logo resizing)
Optional | Redis (cache + queue), Mailpit (local email capture)

## 2Quick start (5 minutes, local dev)

    # 1. Extract the archive
    unzip laracontact-v2.zip && cd laracontact-v2

    # 2. Install dependencies
    composer install
    npm install

    # 3. Bootstrap environment
    cp .env.example .env
    php artisan key:generate

    # 4. Initialize the database (defaults to SQLite)
    touch database/database.sqlite
    php artisan migrate --seed

    # 5. Link the public storage disk (needed for logo uploads)
    php artisan storage:link

    # 6. Build frontend assets
    npm run build

    # 7. Start the dev environment
    composer run dev

`composer run dev` starts the web server, queue worker, Vite, and Laravel Reverb concurrently. Open `http://localhost:8000` and sign in with the seeded demo user:

- Email: `demo@laracontact.test`
- Password: `password`

## 3Deployment options

### 3.1 Laravel Cloud (easiest)

1. Push the project to a GitHub repository.
2. Sign in to Laravel Cloud and create a new project pointing at the repo.
3. Add a Postgres add-on or attach an external database; copy the connection vars into the environment editor.
4. Set the environment variables listed in §4 below.
5. Cloud auto-runs `composer install`, `php artisan migrate --force`, and `npm ci && npm run build` on every push.
6. Add a Cron rule for the scheduler:

       * * * * * php artisan schedule:run

### 3.2 Laravel Forge (recommended for production)

1. Provision a server (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, AWS, etc.) through Forge.
2. Create a new site pointing at your domain. Web directory: `public`. PHP: 8.3.
3. Set up a Git deployment from your repo with this script:

       cd $FORGE_SITE_PATH
       git pull origin main
       $FORGE_COMPOSER install --no-interaction --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
       $FORGE_PHP artisan migrate --force
       npm ci
       npm run build
       $FORGE_PHP artisan storage:link
       $FORGE_PHP artisan optimize

4. Add the daemon for queue workers under Daemons:

       php /home/forge/your-site/artisan queue:work --sleep=1 --tries=3 --max-time=3600

5. Add the scheduler under Scheduler:

       * * * * * php /home/forge/your-site/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

6. (Optional, for real-time SMS notifications) Add a second daemon:

       php /home/forge/your-site/artisan reverb:start --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8080

   Then proxy `wss://yourdomain.com/app` to `localhost:8080` via Nginx.

### 3.3 Manual VPS (Nginx + PHP-FPM)

    # Install OS packages (Ubuntu 24.04 example)
    sudo apt update
    sudo apt install -y nginx php8.3 php8.3-fpm php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-bcmath \
                        php8.3-curl php8.3-mysql php8.3-sqlite3 php8.3-zip php8.3-intl \
                        mariadb-server composer nodejs npm git

    # Clone + install
    cd /var/www && sudo git clone https://your-repo laracontact && cd laracontact
    sudo composer install --no-interaction --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader
    sudo npm ci && sudo npm run build

    # Configure
    sudo cp .env.example .env
    sudo nano .env  # set APP_URL, APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false, DB_*, MAIL_*
    sudo php artisan key:generate
    sudo php artisan migrate --force
    sudo php artisan storage:link
    sudo php artisan config:cache route:cache view:cache

    # Permissions
    sudo chown -R www-data:www-data storage bootstrap/cache database
    sudo chmod -R ug+rwX storage bootstrap/cache database

Nginx site config:

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name yourdomain.com;
        root /var/www/laracontact/public;
        index index.php;

        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
        }

        location ~ \.php$ {
            include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
            fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
        }

        location ~ /\.(?!well-known).* { deny all; }
    }

Then run `certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com` for free SSL.

### 3.4 Shared hosting (cPanel / Plesk)

LaraContact works on shared hosting if the host supports PHP 8.3:

1. Upload the project ZIP via File Manager and extract above `public_html`.
2. Point the domain's document root to `your-project/public`.
3. Use the hosting panel's "Composer" and "Node.js" tools to run `composer install` and `npm run build` (or upload pre-built `vendor/` and `public/build/`).
4. Use the panel's MySQL Wizard to create a DB; fill the credentials in `.env`.
5. SSH (if available): `php artisan migrate --force && php artisan storage:link`.
6. Queue/Scheduler: Shared hosts typically only support cron. Add:

       * * * * * cd /home/user/your-project && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

   Queued mail and reminders rely on this.

## 4Environment variables

Minimum required in `.env`:

    APP_NAME=LaraContact
    APP_ENV=production
    APP_KEY=                          # php artisan key:generate
    APP_DEBUG=false
    APP_URL=https://yourdomain.com

    # Database — pick one
    DB_CONNECTION=sqlite              # or mysql / pgsql
    # DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
    # DB_PORT=3306
    # DB_DATABASE=laracontact
    # DB_USERNAME=your_user
    # DB_PASSWORD=your_password

    # Mail — defaults to writing to laravel.log
    MAIL_MAILER=log                   # log | smtp | resend | mailgun | postmark | ses

    # Queue (use database for shared hosting, redis for VPS+)
    QUEUE_CONNECTION=database         # or redis

    # Sessions / cache
    SESSION_DRIVER=database
    CACHE_STORE=database

    # Broadcasting (optional, for real-time inbound SMS toasts)
    BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverb
    REVERB_APP_ID=
    REVERB_APP_KEY=
    REVERB_APP_SECRET=
    REVERB_HOST=yourdomain.com
    REVERB_PORT=443
    REVERB_SCHEME=https
    VITE_REVERB_APP_KEY="${REVERB_APP_KEY}"
    VITE_REVERB_HOST="${REVERB_HOST}"
    VITE_REVERB_PORT="${REVERB_PORT}"
    VITE_REVERB_SCHEME="${REVERB_SCHEME}"

Most credentials are configured in-app. Twilio, Anthropic, and most mail providers (Resend, Mailgun, Postmark) are managed from Settings → Integrations inside the running app — you do not need to set them in `.env`.

## 5Connecting Twilio (SMS, WhatsApp, Calls)

1. Sign up at twilio.com.
2. Buy a phone number with SMS + Voice capability (~$1/month US).
3. (Optional) For WhatsApp, activate the WhatsApp Business sandbox or apply for a verified sender.
4. In LaraContact: Settings → Twilio, paste:
   - Account SID (from Twilio Console homepage)
   - Auth Token
   - Phone Number in E.164 format (e.g. `+14155558881`)
   - API Key SID + Secret and Application SID (only if enabling browser-based voice calling)
5. Uncheck "Fake mode" to enable real delivery.
6. In Twilio Console, set the "A Message Comes In" webhook for your number to:

       https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/twilio/sms

   This enables two-way SMS — inbound replies will arrive in the app and trigger real-time toasts.

## 6Connecting Anthropic Claude (AI features)

1. Sign up at console.anthropic.com.
2. Create an API key (starts with `sk-ant-`).
3. In LaraContact: Settings → AI, paste the key.
4. Pick a model. Recommended:
   - `claude-opus-4-7` — best for AI enrichment + translation (smartest)
   - `claude-haiku-4-5-20251001` — faster + cheaper for spell-check + tag suggestions
5. Click Test AI connection to confirm.

If no key is set, AI features fall back to regex/heuristic mode and continue to work.

## 7Mail provider setup

LaraContact supports multiple drivers through Settings → Mail:

Driver | Best for | Setup
--- | --- | ---
`log` | Local dev only | Writes to `storage/logs/laravel.log`
`smtp` | Most providers | Host / port / user / password / encryption
`resend` | Easiest API setup | API key only
`mailgun` | High-volume sending | API key + domain
`postmark` | Transactional | API key only
`ses` | AWS users | Configure via `.env` AWS keys

Click Send test email in the settings page to verify.

## 8Updating to a new version

    cd /your/project
    git pull origin main            # or replace files from new ZIP
    composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
    npm ci
    npm run build
    php artisan migrate --force
    php artisan optimize:clear
    php artisan optimize

If you use queue workers / Reverb, restart them: `php artisan queue:restart`.

## 9Backup

The two things to back up:

1. Database — `mysqldump`, `pg_dump`, or copy `database/database.sqlite`
2. `storage/app/public/` — uploaded logos, custom field attachments

`.env` should be backed up to a secrets vault (not your DB backup).

## 10Troubleshooting

Symptom | Likely cause | Fix
--- | --- | ---
500 on every page | `APP_KEY` not set | `php artisan key:generate`
Mixed-content errors on HTTPS | Reverse proxy not trusted | Set `APP_URL=https://...` and ensure `TrustProxies` middleware sees your proxy
`Class "Spatie\..." not found` after upgrade | Composer cache | `composer dump-autoload -o`
Logo doesn't appear | Storage link missing | `php artisan storage:link`
Reminders never fire | Scheduler not running | Add the cron line in §3.x
Queued emails never send | Worker not running | Run `php artisan queue:work` or add daemon
Twilio webhook 403 | Signature mismatch | Token in app must match Twilio Auth Token; webhook URL must be exact match (including `https://`)
`Inappropriate ioctl for device` | GPG signing in CLI | Set `GPG_TTY=$(tty)` or commit unsigned

## 11License & Support

This product is licensed per the Envato CodeCanyon license you purchased. See `LICENSE.md` for details.

Support is provided via the Envato item page or the contact listed in the product description. Include your Envato Purchase Code, server stack details (`php -v`, OS, web server), and the relevant `storage/logs/laravel.log` excerpt when filing a ticket.