Designing React Native + Laravel backends that stay simple

React Native on the front end and Laravel on the backend is a powerful combo — but it's also easy to over‑engineer. The result is an API that feels heavy, hard to change and painful to debug.

Here are the patterns I use to keep React Native + Laravel projects small, predictable and easy to extend as products grow.

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1. Model the app as a few clear resources

Before writing controllers, I map out the real‑world nouns in the product: users, projects, tasks, subscriptions, invoices. Each becomes a first‑class resource in Laravel with its own model, controller and policies.

If I catch a controller that is touching three or four unrelated models, it’s usually a sign the resource boundaries need to be clearer.

2. Keep API responses boring and consistent

On the mobile side, the fastest way to slow the team down is an API that changes shape on every endpoint. I stick to a simple pattern for responses.

• data for the main payload
• meta for pagination and counts
• error with a machine‑readable code and message

3. Push view logic to React Native

Laravel should be excellent at serving clean JSON, enforcing business rules and talking to the database. It shouldn’t know about how many tabs you have in a screen or what order UI components appear in.

When I see presentation logic in controllers or resources, I move that work into React Native and keep the API focused on data and rules.

4. Use form requests and policies everywhere

Validation and authorisation are two areas where Laravel really shines. I lean on FormRequest classes for input validation and Policy classes for permissions.

5. Keep background work out of request cycles

Anything that doesn’t need to happen while the user is staring at a loading spinner should move to a job or queue: sending emails, syncing with third‑party services, generating reports.

6. Design endpoints for screens, not tables

A common anti‑pattern is one endpoint per database table. Instead I look at the main screens in the React Native app and design endpoints that return exactly what those screens need — no more, no less.

7. Keep things simple as you grow

The goal with React Native + Laravel isn’t to show off every framework feature. It’s to give your users a fast, stable product that can evolve without a rewrite every six months.

If you’d like help designing a backend that stays simple as your app grows, you can reach out via the contact form on the homepage.