Quick Start

Get your first Laju application running in 5 minutes.

Choose Your Path

Laju supports two development workflows:

🤖 Path A: AI-Assisted (Recommended)

Let AI handle the coding. You just describe what you want.

Time: 5 minutes
Effort: Minimal — just describe features
Best for: Rapid prototyping, beginners, MVPs

💻 Path B: Manual Coding

Write every line of code yourself.

Time: 15-20 minutes
Effort: Full control
Best for: Learning, custom requirements

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Path A: AI-Assisted Development

Step 1: Create Project (30 seconds)

npx create-laju-app my-app && cd my-app
npm run migrate && npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:5555 — you should see the welcome page.

Step 2: Initialize with AI (1 minute)

Open your AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) and type:

@workflow/INIT_AGENT.md

I want to build a blog system with:
- Posts with title, content, and cover image
- Categories for organizing posts
- Comments system (users must login)
- Clean, modern design with blue accents
- Mobile responsive

What AI will do:

• Create README, PRD, TDD, PROGRESS documents
• Setup design system (Tailwind config, colors)
• Create database migrations
• Prepare project structure
• Initialize git

Step 3: Build Features (2 minutes)

After AI finishes initialization, mention:

@workflow/TASK_AGENT.md

Create the blog index page showing:
- List of posts with pagination
- Category filter sidebar
- Search functionality
- "New Post" button for authenticated users

What AI will do:

• Create BlogController.ts
• Create resources/js/Pages/blog/index.svelte
• Add routes to routes/web.ts
• Run migrations
• Test the feature

Step 4: Review & Continue (1 minute)

Open http://localhost:5555/blog — your blog is live!

Continue building:

@workflow/TASK_AGENT.md
"Now create the individual post page with comments section"

Total time: 5 minutes ⏱️

---

Path B: Manual Development

Step 1: Create Project

npx create-laju-app my-app
cd my-app
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run migrate
npm run dev

Step 2: Create Your First Controller

node laju make:controller PostController

Edit app/controllers/PostController.ts:

import { Request, Response } from "../../type";
import DB from "../services/DB";

class PostController {
  public async index(request: Request, response: Response) {
    const posts = await DB.selectFrom("posts")
      .selectAll()
      .orderBy("created_at", "desc")
      .limit(10)
      .execute();
    
    return response.inertia("posts/index", { posts });
  }
}

export default new PostController();

Step 3: Create Database Migration

Create migrations/20250130000000_create_posts.ts:

import { Kysely } from "kysely";

export async function up(db: Kysely<any>): Promise<void> {
  await db.schema
    .createTable("posts")
    .addColumn("id", "text", (col) => col.primaryKey().notNull())
    .addColumn("title", "text", (col) => col.notNull())
    .addColumn("content", "text")
    .addColumn("user_id", "text", (col) => col.references("users.id"))
    .addColumn("created_at", "integer")
    .addColumn("updated_at", "integer")
    .execute();
}

export async function down(db: Kysely<any>): Promise<void> {
  await db.schema.dropTable("posts").execute();
}

Run migration:

npm run migrate

Step 4: Create Svelte Page

Create resources/js/Pages/posts/index.svelte:

<script>
  let { posts } = $props()
</script>

<div class="max-w-4xl mx-auto p-6">
  <h1 class="text-3xl font-bold mb-6">Blog Posts</h1>
  
  <div class="space-y-4">
    {#each posts as post}
      <div class="bg-slate-800 rounded-lg p-4">
        <h2 class="text-xl font-semibold text-white">{post.title}</h2>
        <p class="text-slate-400 mt-2">{post.content}</p>
      </div>
    {/each}
  </div>
</div>

Step 5: Add Route

Edit routes/web.ts:

import PostController from "../app/controllers/PostController";

// Add this line
Route.get("/posts", PostController.index);

Visit http://localhost:5555/posts — your blog is live!

Total time: 15-20 minutes ⏱️

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Next Steps

Choose your path:

AI Path

• Learn AI Agent Workflows — Deep dive into INIT_AGENT, TASK_AGENT, MANAGER_AGENT
• AI Best Practices — Get better results from AI

Manual Path

• Project Structure — Understand the layout
• Routing — Full routing guide
• Controllers — Build backend logic
• Database — Master Kysely queries
• Authentication — Add login/register

Both Paths

• Testing — Write tests for your app
• Production — Deploy to production
• CI/CD — Setup GitHub Actions

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Troubleshooting

Port already in use

# Kill process on port 5555
lsof -ti:5555 | xargs kill -9

Database locked

# WAL mode handles this — just retry
# Or reset database (DEVELOPMENT ONLY)
npm run refresh

Module not found

npm install

Full Troubleshooting Guide