Settings

LaraDashboard's Settings area allows you to configure every aspect of your installation, from basic site information to advanced system options.

Accessing Settings#

Navigate to Settings in the sidebar. Settings are organized into categories:

• General Settings
• Theme & Appearance
• Email Configuration
• Authentication
• Modules
• Backups
• Advanced

General Settings#

Site Information#

Configure basic site details:

Setting	Description	Example
Site Name	Your site/app name	LaraDashboard
Site Description	Meta description	Admin panel for Laravel
Admin Email	Primary admin contact	admin@example.com
Site URL	Base URL	https://yourdomain.com

Localization#

Setting	Description	Options
Timezone	Default timezone	UTC, America/New_York, etc.
Date Format	Date display format	Y-m-d, m/d/Y, d/m/Y
Time Format	Time display format	H:i, h:i A
Language	Default language	English, Spanish, etc.

Site Logo & Favicon#

Upload your branding:

1. Logo - Main site logo (recommended: 200x50px)
2. Dark Logo - Logo for dark mode
3. Favicon - Browser tab icon (32x32px or .ico)
4. App Icon - Mobile app icon (192x192px)

Theme & Appearance#

Color Scheme#

Customize your admin panel colors:

Primary Color: #6366f1
Secondary Color: #4f46e5
Success Color: #22c55e
Warning Color: #f59e0b
Danger Color: #ef4444
Info Color: #3b82f6

Sidebar Settings#

Setting	Description	Options
Sidebar Mode	Light or dark sidebar	Light, Dark
Sidebar Collapsed	Default collapsed state	Yes, No
Sidebar Width	Width in pixels	250, 280, 300

Navbar Settings#

Setting	Description	Options
Navbar Mode	Light or dark navbar	Light, Dark
Fixed Navbar	Sticky navbar on scroll	Yes, No
Show Search	Display search bar	Yes, No

Theme Mode#

Setting	Description
Default Theme	Default for new users: Light, Dark, System
Allow Theme Toggle	Let users switch themes

Custom CSS#

Add custom styles:

/* Custom CSS for admin panel */
.sidebar {
    background: linear-gradient(180deg, #1e1b4b, #312e81);
}

.btn-primary {
    border-radius: 8px;
}

Email Configuration#

Email Connections#

Navigate to Settings → Email → Connections → Add Connection and choose a provider:

Provider	Required fields
SMTP	Host, Port, Username, Password, Encryption (TLS/SSL)
Mailgun	Domain, API Key, Region (US / EU)
SendGrid	API Key
Amazon SES	Access Key, Secret Key, Region

Default Sender#

Configure default email sender:

From Name: LaraDashboard
From Email: noreply@yourdomain.com
Reply-To: support@yourdomain.com

Test Email#

Test your configuration:

1. Click Send Test Email
2. Enter recipient address
3. Check inbox for test message

Email Templates#

Configure system email templates:

• Welcome Email
• Password Reset
• Email Verification
• Notification Template

See Email Templates for detailed guide.

Authentication Settings#

Registration#

Setting	Description	Default
Enable Registration	Allow public signup	Yes
Default Role	Role for new users	Subscriber
Require Approval	Admin approval needed	No

Email Verification#

Setting	Description	Default
Require Verification	Email must be verified	Yes
Verification Timeout	Link expiry time	60 minutes
Resend Cooldown	Wait between resends	60 seconds

Password Policy#

Setting	Description	Default
Minimum Length	Minimum characters	8
Require Uppercase	Need uppercase letter	Yes
Require Number	Need numeric digit	Yes
Require Special	Need special character	No

Session Settings#

Setting	Description	Default
Session Lifetime	Minutes until logout	120
Remember Me	Extended session duration	2 weeks
Single Session	One session per user	No

Security Features#

Setting	Description	Default
Enable reCAPTCHA	Bot protection	No
reCAPTCHA Site Key	Google reCAPTCHA key	-
reCAPTCHA Secret	Google reCAPTCHA secret	-
Failed Login Limit	Max failed attempts	5
Lockout Duration	Lock time after failures	15 min

Social Authentication#

Allow users to sign in using their social media accounts:

Setting	Description	Default
Enable Social Login	Show social login buttons	No
Google	Sign in with Google	Disabled
GitHub	Sign in with GitHub	Disabled
Facebook	Sign in with Facebook	Disabled
Twitter/X	Sign in with Twitter	Disabled
LinkedIn	Sign in with LinkedIn	Disabled

For each provider, you'll need:

• Client ID - From the OAuth app
• Client Secret - From the OAuth app

See Also: Social Authentication Guide for complete setup instructions including developer console links and troubleshooting.

Analytics & Tracking#

Google Analytics#

Measurement ID: G-XXXXXXXXXX

Google Tag Manager#

Container ID: GTM-XXXXXXX

Custom Scripts#

Add custom tracking or scripts:

Head Scripts#

<!-- Added to <head> -->
<script>
  // Custom head scripts
</script>

Body Scripts#

<!-- Added before </body> -->
<script>
  // Custom body scripts
</script>

Module Settings#

Installed Modules#

View and manage installed modules:

Module	Version	Status	Actions
CRM	1.0.0	Active	Deactivate, Settings
DocForge	0.0.1	Active	Deactivate, Settings
CustomForm	1.2.0	Inactive	Activate, Delete

Installing Modules#

1. Click Upload Module
2. Select ZIP file
3. Click Install
4. Activate when ready

Module Configuration#

Each module may have its own settings page accessible via:

Settings → Modules → [Module Name] → Configure

Backup Settings#

Manual Backup#

Create a backup on-demand:

1. Navigate to Settings → Backups
2. Click Create Backup
3. Wait for backup to complete
4. Download or store backup

Backup Contents#

Backups include:

• ✅ Database dump
• ✅ Uploaded media
• ✅ Configuration files
• ✅ Custom themes
• ❌ Vendor directory (excluded)
• ❌ Node modules (excluded)

Restore from Backup#

1. Navigate to Backups
2. Select backup file
3. Click Restore
4. Confirm restoration

Warning: Restoration will overwrite current data!

Scheduled Backups#

Configure automatic backups:

Frequency: Daily
Time: 03:00 AM
Retention: 7 days
Storage: Local / S3

System Information#

View system details:

LaraDashboard Version: 0.9.2
Laravel Version: 12.0
PHP Version: 8.3.0
Database: MySQL 8.0
Server: nginx/1.24

Environment: Production
Debug Mode: Off
Cache Driver: Redis
Queue Driver: Redis

Cache Management#

Clear Cache#

Clear different cache types:

Cache	Command	Description
All Cache	Clear All	Clears everything
Application	App Cache	Application data cache
Config	Config Cache	Configuration cache
Route	Route Cache	Compiled routes
View	View Cache	Compiled Blade views
Permission	Permission Cache	RBAC cache

Optimize#

Optimize for production:

1. Click Optimize Application
2. This runs:
   • config:cache
   • route:cache
   • view:cache
   • optimize

Advanced Settings#

Maintenance Mode#

Enable maintenance mode:

1. Toggle Maintenance Mode on
2. Optionally add:
   • Secret bypass token
   • Allowed IPs
   • Custom message

Queue Configuration#

Setting	Description
Queue Driver	sync, database, redis
Retry Attempts	Failed job retries
Timeout	Job timeout seconds

Logging#

Setting	Description
Log Channel	stack, single, daily
Log Level	debug, info, warning, error
Log Retention	Days to keep logs

API Settings#

Setting	Description
Enable API	API access toggle
Rate Limit	Requests per minute
Token Expiry	API token lifetime

Settings that cannot be changed via the UI (like APP_ENV, APP_DEBUG, DB_*, cache drivers) must be set in .env. See the Configuration Guide for details.

Permissions#

Settings permissions:

Permission	Description
settings.view	View settings
settings.edit	Modify settings
settings.backups	Access backups
settings.modules	Manage modules

Best Practices#

Security#

• Disable debug mode in production
• Use strong reCAPTCHA if public registration
• Regularly review authentication settings
• Keep backup encryption enabled

Performance#

• Enable caching in production
• Use Redis for cache/sessions/queues
• Optimize after configuration changes
• Schedule backups during low-traffic

Organization#

• Document custom settings changes
• Test email configuration after changes
• Review module compatibility before updates
• Maintain backup schedule

Troubleshooting#

Settings Not Saving#

1. Check for validation errors
2. Verify session is active
3. Clear config cache:

   php artisan config:clear
   

Email Not Working#

1. Test with simple SMTP first
2. Check credentials
3. Verify server allows SMTP connections
4. Review mail logs

Theme Not Applying#

1. Clear view cache:

   php artisan view:clear
   

2. Hard refresh browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)
3. Check custom CSS for errors

Next Steps#

• Email Templates - Configure email designs
• Social Authentication - Set up Google, GitHub, Facebook login
• Module Management - Install and manage modules
• Backup & Restore - Data protection