Backpack 7.x-dev Backpack 6.x Backpack 5.x Backpack 4.1 Backpack 4.0 Backpack 3.6 Backpack 3.5 Backpack 3.4 Backpack 3.3
Edit

Introduction

Backpack is a collection of Laravel packages that help you build custom administration panels, for anything from presentation websites to complex web applications. You can install them on top of existing Laravel installations or fresh projects.

In a nutshell:

  • UI - Backpack will provide you with a visual interface for the admin panel (the HTML, the CSS, the JS), authentication functionality & global bubble notifications; you can choose from one of the 3 themes we have developed (powered by Tabler, CoreUI v4 or CoreUI v2), a third-party theme or create your own theme; the enormous advantage of using a Bootstrap-based HTML theme is that when you need custom pages, you already have the HTML blocks for the UI, you don't have to design them yourself;
  • CRUDs - Backpack will also help you build sections where your admins can manipulate entries for Eloquent models; we call them CRUD Panels after the most basic operations: Create, Read, Update & Delete; after understanding Backpack, you'll be able to create a CRUD panel in a few minutes per model:

If you already have your Eloquent models, generating Backpack CRUDs is as simple as:

# -------------------------------
# For one specific Eloquent Model
# -------------------------------
# Create a Model, Request, Controller, Route and sidebar item, so
# that one Eloquent model you specify has an admin panel.

php artisan backpack:crud tag # use singular, not plural (like the Model name)

# -----------------------
# For all Eloquent Models
# -----------------------
# Create a Model, Request, Controller, Route and sidebar item for
# all Eloquent models that don't already have one.

php artisan backpack:build

If you have NOT created your Eloquent models yet, you can use whatever you want for that. We recommend:

  • FREE - laravel-shift/blueprint as the best YAML-based tool for this;
  • PAID - backpack/devtools as the best web interface for this; it makes it dead simple to create Eloquent models, from the comfort of your web browser;

How to Start

We heavily recommend you spend a little time to understand Backpack, and only afterwards install and use it. Fortunately, it's super simple to get started. Using any of the options below will get you to a point where you can use Backpack in your projects:


Video Course Text Course

Need to Know

Requirements

  • Laravel 10.x or 11.x
  • MySQL / PostgreSQL / SQLite / SQL Server

How does it look?

Take a look at our live demo. If you've purchased "Everything" you can even install the demo and fiddle with the code. Otherwise, you can just start a new Laravel project, install Backpack\CRUD on top, and follow our text course to create a few CRUDs.

Security

Backpack has never had a critical vulnerability/hack. But there have been important security updates for dependencies (including Laravel). Please register using Github or subscribe to our twice-a-year newsletter, so we can reach you in case your admin panel becomes vulnerable in any way.

Maintenance

Backpack v6 is the current version and is actively maintained by the Backpack team, with the help of a wonderful community of Backpack veterans. See all contributors.

License

Backpack is open-core:

  • Backpack CRUD is free & open-source, licensed under the MIT License; it is perfect if you're building a simple admin panel - it's packed with features! it's also perfect if you're building an open-source project, the permissive license allows you to do whatever you want;
  • Backpack PRO is a paid, closed-source add-on, licensed under our EULA; PRO adds additional functionality to CRUD, that will be useful when your admin panel grows (see our FREE vs PRO comparison);
  • Of the other add-ons we've created, some are FREE and some are PAID; please see our add-ons list for more info;

Our documentation covers both CRUD and PRO, with all the PRO features clearly labeled PRO.

Versioning, Updates and Upgrades

Starting with the previous version, all our packages follow semantic versioning. Here's what major.minor.patch (e.g. 7.0.1) means for us:

  • major - breaking changes, major new features, complete rewrites; released once a year, in February; it adds features that were previously impossible and upgrades our dependencies; upgrading is done by following our clear and detailed upgrade guides;
  • minor - new features, released in backwards-compatible ways; every few months; update takes seconds;
  • patch - bug fixes & small non-breaking changes; historically every week; update takes seconds;

When we release a new Backpack\CRUD version, all paid add-ons receive support for it the same day.

When you buy a premium Backpack add-on, you get access to not only updates, but also upgrades (for 12 months), that means that any time you buy a Backpack add-on, it is very likely that you're not only buying the current version (v7 at the moment), but also the upgrade to the next version (v8 for example).

Add-ons

Backpack's core is open-source and free (Backpack\CRUD). FREE

The reason we've been able to build and maintain Backpack since 2016 is that Laravel professionals have supported us, by buying our paid products. As of 2022, these are all Backpack add-ons, which we highly recommend:

In addition to our open-source core and our closed-source add-ons, there are a few other add-ons you might want to take a look at, that treat common use cases. Some have been developed by our core team, some by our wonderful community. You can just install interfaces to manage site-wide settings, the default Laravel users table, users, groups & permissions, content for custom pages, using page templates, news articles, categories and tags, etc. FREE

For more information, please see our add-ons page.

Like our open-core?

Then you'll love our premium add-ons - productivity tools and tons of new features.

See Premium Add-ons