Migrating to Laravel with Lenny the Larva. The Artisan of the Day Is Dave Kiss.
"If you don't have a wingman yet at this point in the conference, please come find me. Let's be friends."
When it comes to making tech conferences less intimidating and JavaScript migrations surprisingly entertaining, Dave Kiss knows how to connect with his audience.
Dave is a Senior Developer Community Lead at Mux, the video API platform that processes billions of minutes of video every day. Previously a "solo-developreneur," he's now focused on developer community building and is "happy to ride a bike, hike a hike, high-five a hand, and listen to spa music." His approach to both video technology and community building is very human-centered, always looking for ways to help developers let their guard down and just be themselves.
Dave's energy on stage is infectious. Like other Laravel Community members, he believes the best technology experiences happen when complexity fades into the background and humans can focus on building meaningful things.
Migrating to Laravel with Lenny the Larva: Making Framework Migration Fun
At Laracon US, Dave transformed the intimidating experience of learning a new framework into an adventure with an unlikely guide. Using Mux's video guestbook project migration from Next.js to Laravel as a real-world example, he showed that switching frameworks doesn't have to be scary when you have the right wingman.
Key highlights:
- You can't spell Laravel without larva: Meet Lenny, Dave's mascot for representing the growth mindset needed when approaching a new framework. Brand new, willing to grow, and squirming around trying to find the way.
- Inertia.js makes JavaScript migrations painless: Dave essentially drag-and-dropped his React components from Next.js into Laravel. "It took me more time to remove old code than to introduce new code," he discovered.
- Laravel has native solutions for common problems: From form handling with Inertia’s
useFormhook to server-sent events for real-time updates, Laravel provides built-in alternatives to third-party JavaScript packages. - Starter kits are more than GitHub clones: The Laravel React Starter Kit automatically runs migrations, installs dependencies, and can be customized with prompts to guide new users through setup.
- Wayfinder brings type safety: Generate TypeScript definitions from Laravel routes, ensuring client-side code always matches server endpoints.
- The ecosystem is self-contained: Laravel's integrated approach eliminated the need for multiple third-party services that were required in the Next.js version.
"Does Laravel have it all?" asked Dave. The answer, after his migration experience, was yes. What he expected to take eight weeks took eight hours, leaving him wondering where all the typical migration pain had gone.
His practical demonstration included building a video guestbook that captures three-second moments where conference attendees let their guard down, take off their lanyards, and "just become human." The technical implementation showcased Laravel's strengths: clean routing with Inertia, elegant webhook handling with event listeners, real-time updates with server-sent events, and seamless integration with external APIs like Mux.
The talk concluded with the same philosophy that drives both the guestbook and Dave's approach to technology: "When you let your guard down and stop trying to be what other people are telling you to be, and just be unapologetically you, a lot of really beautiful and simple experiences can come of it."
Dave ended with an invitation that perfectly captured the Laravel Community spirit: "If you don't have a wingman yet at this point in the conference, please come find me. Let's be friends."
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