Skill

litestar-inertia

Litestar + Inertia.js integration: server-driven React/Vue/Svelte SPAs with Python backend. Covers route handlers returning Inertia pages, useForm-based forms, partial reloads, lazy props, shared auth/flash data, and typed page props via litestar-vite.

Python

Popularity

Stars

Invocation

How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both

Slash command

/litestar:litestar-inertia

User invocable

Model invocable

Inline context

Default effort

Context Preview

The summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill

`litestar-inertia` is the four-library story:

Supporting Files

references/litestar_integration.mdreferences/protocol.md

SKILL.md

344 lines · ~3.9k tokens

Stats

LanguagePython

Stars7

MaintenanceExcellent

Last CommitJun 9, 2026

Actions

View Source View Plugin View on GitHub View README

Litestar + Inertia.js Integration

litestar-inertia is the four-library story:

Layer	Library	Role
Client SPA	`@inertiajs/react` / `@inertiajs/vue3` / `@inertiajs/svelte`	Page resolution, forms, navigation, shared data access
Frontend build	`vite`	Bundling, HMR, dev server, production build
Python bridge	`litestar-vite`	`VitePlugin` + `InertiaConfig`, asset manifest, type generation, page-props codec
Server framework	`litestar`	Routes, Controllers, Guards, DI, DTOs — returning Inertia responses

You can't skip any of these. Using Inertia with Litestar requires all four, and the skills form a chain: Litestar routes produce page data → ViteConfig.inertia configures the Inertia response layer → Vite-served client bundle mounts the page component → Inertia client takes over for subsequent navigations.

This skill covers that integration end-to-end. For anything that's purely about one layer (e.g., Vite config internals) see the corresponding sibling skill.

When this skill activates

Python files importing litestar_vite.inertia, InertiaConfig, or route handlers with component=
*.tsx / *.vue / *.svelte files importing from @inertiajs/*
createInertiaApp({ resolve, setup }) in a frontend entrypoint
A resources/ or resources/js/pages/ directory alongside a src/py/ — classic litestar-vite + Inertia layout
inertia.config.ts or an InertiaConfig invocation in vite.config.ts
User asks about "building an SPA with a Python backend", "server-driven React/Vue", "form validation errors from Python", "shared auth data across pages"

Code Style Rules

PEP 604 unions, from __future__ import annotations in consumer Python modules — standard Litestar rules apply
TypeScript typed pages — generate page-props types via litestar-vite's TypeGen, never hand-roll
Forms via useForm — never a plain <form onSubmit>. useForm handles CSRF, errors, submission state, and navigation in one call
Shared data for auth + flash, never page-specific. Static page props go in InertiaConfig.extra_static_page_props; session-backed props go in extra_session_page_props; request-time flashes use share(request, ...).
camelCase on the wire — Python msgspec Structs use Meta(rename="camel"), JS consumes camelCase directly
Partial reloads over full-page reloads when only a subset of props changes (router.reload({ only: ['notifications'] }))
Lazy props for expensive-to-compute page data the user may not need on first paint

Quick Reference

Backend — Python route returning an Inertia page

from __future__ import annotations

from litestar import Controller, get

from app.domain.accounts.guards import requires_active_user
from app.domain.dashboard.schemas import Dashboard


class DashboardController(Controller):
    path = "/dashboard"
    guards = [requires_active_user]

    @get("/", component="dashboard/Index")
    async def index(self, dashboard_service) -> Dashboard:
        return await dashboard_service.get_for_current_user()

→ See references/litestar_integration.md

Client — page component (React)

// resources/js/pages/dashboard/Index.tsx
import { usePage, Head } from "@inertiajs/react";
import type { Dashboard } from "@/types/generated";   // TypeGen output

export default function DashboardIndex() {
  const { dashboard } = usePage<{ dashboard: Dashboard }>().props;

  return (
    <>
      <Head title="Dashboard" />
      <h1>Welcome, {dashboard.user.name}</h1>
      <p>Your workspace has {dashboard.workspaceCount} projects.</p>
    </>
  );
}

→ See references/protocol.md

App wiring — VitePlugin owns the Inertia bridge

from __future__ import annotations

from litestar import Litestar
from litestar.middleware.session.client_side import CookieBackendConfig
from litestar_granian import GranianPlugin
from litestar_vite import PathConfig, TypeGenConfig, ViteConfig, VitePlugin
from litestar_vite.inertia import InertiaConfig

from app.domain.accounts.schemas import CurrentUser
from app.lib.settings import get_settings


settings = get_settings()
session_backend = CookieBackendConfig(secret=settings.secret_key.encode("utf-8"))
vite = VitePlugin(
    config=ViteConfig(
        mode="hybrid",
        dev_mode=settings.debug,
        paths=PathConfig(
            root=settings.base_dir,
            resource_dir="resources",
            bundle_dir="public",
        ),
        inertia=InertiaConfig(
            root_template="index.html",
            extra_static_page_props={"appName": settings.app_name},
            extra_session_page_props={"currentUser": CurrentUser},
        ),
        types=TypeGenConfig(output="resources/generated"),
    )
)

app = Litestar(
    route_handlers=[DashboardController, ...],
    plugins=[GranianPlugin(), vite],
    middleware=[session_backend.middleware],
)

→ See references/litestar_integration.md for full wiring

Forms — `useForm` with Litestar validation errors

import { useForm } from "@inertiajs/react";

export default function CreateProject() {
  const { data, setData, post, processing, errors } = useForm({
    name: "",
    description: "",
  });

  return (
    <form onSubmit={(e) => { e.preventDefault(); post("/projects"); }}>
      <input value={data.name} onChange={(e) => setData("name", e.target.value)} />
      {errors.name && <div className="error">{errors.name}</div>}

      <textarea value={data.description} onChange={(e) => setData("description", e.target.value)} />
      {errors.description && <div className="error">{errors.description}</div>}

      <button type="submit" disabled={processing}>Create</button>
    </form>
  );
}

On the Python side, raising a ValidationException with a dict of field errors auto-maps into errors on the client — no manual serialization.

Partial reloads — only re-fetch what changed

import { router } from "@inertiajs/react";

// After a background task finishes, reload only notifications:
router.reload({ only: ["notifications"] });

Lazy props — defer expensive data

from litestar import get
from litestar_vite.inertia import lazy

@get("/reports", component="reports/Index")
async def reports_page(self, reports_service) -> dict:
    return {
        "summary": await reports_service.summary(),            # eager
        "fullExport": lazy(lambda: reports_service.export()),  # deferred
    }

Client fetches fullExport only on router.reload({ only: ["fullExport"] }).

Workflow

Step 1 — Wire the bridge

Register GranianPlugin and one VitePlugin(config=ViteConfig(inertia=InertiaConfig(...))). Add session middleware. Do not register a second Inertia plugin in normal app scaffolds; VitePlugin reads ViteConfig.inertia and configures the Inertia bridge.

Step 2 — Define shared props

Put static values in InertiaConfig.extra_static_page_props. Put session-backed values in extra_session_page_props so the integration pulls them from request.session. For request-time flash/auth additions, call share(request, key, value) before returning an Inertia response. These are available on every page via usePage().props without threading them through each handler.

Step 3 — Set up the client entrypoint

resources/js/app.tsx (React) or equivalent: createInertiaApp({ resolve: (name) => resolvePageComponent(name, ...), setup: ({ el, App, props }) => createRoot(el).render(<App {...props} />) }).

Step 4 — Build page components

One .tsx / .vue / .svelte file per route, keyed by name. @get(..., component="path/Name") on the Python handler maps to resources/js/pages/path/Name.tsx.

Step 5 — Generate types

litestar assets generate-types (from litestar-vite) reads your Python msgspec/DTO schemas and emits TypeScript types the page components consume directly.

Step 6 — Validate

/ returns text/html (full initial render) on first visit
Subsequent navigations return application/json with Inertia envelope (X-Inertia: true)
DevTools Network tab shows X-Inertia-* response headers
useForm().post() with invalid data returns 422 + errors populated

Guardrails

Don't mix Inertia and plain JSON API routes in the same app surface — pick one per domain. Mixing confuses auth, CSRF, and response shape expectations. If you need both, use separate route prefixes (/api/* for JSON, /dashboard/* for Inertia).
CSRF is enabled by default in Litestar-Vite's Inertia integration — don't disable unless you know what you're breaking. useForm handles the token transparently.
Shared props must be cheap — session props are read on every page request. Cache user lookup; don't hit the DB for feature flags; use Redis for session state.
Version strings matter — Inertia tracks an asset version; mismatched versions force a full page reload. Let litestar-vite generate the version hash; don't hand-roll.
No mixed-framework pages — React + Vue in the same app breaks Inertia's resolver. Pick one adapter per project.
Deep-link routes need real URLs — every Inertia page should have a Litestar route returning it. SPA-only client routes (React Router inside an Inertia page) exist but are an escape hatch.
Don't forget the root template — InertiaConfig.root_template points at the template that mounts the SPA. Default is index.html; Jinja-backed Inertia apps set a Litestar TemplateConfig as well.

Validation Checkpoint

Before shipping an Inertia-integrated Litestar app:

Example — Authenticated dashboard with forms + partial reload

# app/domain/projects/controllers.py
from __future__ import annotations

from litestar import Controller, get, post
from litestar.exceptions import ValidationException
from litestar_vite.inertia import back

from app.domain.accounts.guards import requires_active_user
from app.domain.projects.schemas import Project, ProjectCreate
from app.domain.projects.services import ProjectService


class ProjectsController(Controller):
    path = "/projects"
    guards = [requires_active_user]

    @get("/", component="projects/Index")
    async def index(self, projects_service: ProjectService, request) -> dict:
        return {
            "projects": await projects_service.list_for_user(request.user.id),
        }

    @post("/")
    async def create(
        self, data: ProjectCreate, projects_service: ProjectService, request,
    ) -> None:
        # Validation
        if await projects_service.exists(name=data.name, owner_id=request.user.id):
            raise ValidationException(extra={"name": "You already have a project with this name."})

        await projects_service.create(data.to_dict(), owner_id=request.user.id)
        # `back()` redirects Inertia back to the previous page with flash data intact
        return back()

// resources/js/pages/projects/Index.tsx
import { useForm, usePage, router } from "@inertiajs/react";
import type { Project } from "@/types/generated";

export default function ProjectsIndex() {
  const { projects, flash } = usePage<{ projects: Project[]; flash: { success?: string } }>().props;

  const { data, setData, post, processing, errors, reset } = useForm({ name: "", description: "" });

  const onSubmit = (e: React.FormEvent) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    post("/projects", { onSuccess: () => reset() });
  };

  return (
    <>
      {flash.success && <div className="flash">{flash.success}</div>}

      <form onSubmit={onSubmit}>
        <input value={data.name} onChange={(e) => setData("name", e.target.value)} placeholder="Project name" />
        {errors.name && <div className="error">{errors.name}</div>}
        <textarea value={data.description} onChange={(e) => setData("description", e.target.value)} />
        <button disabled={processing}>Create</button>
      </form>

      <button onClick={() => router.reload({ only: ["projects"] })}>Refresh</button>

      <ul>
        {projects.map((p) => <li key={p.id}>{p.name}</li>)}
      </ul>
    </>
  );
}

References Index

Inertia Protocol & Client — Protocol v2, request/response shape, React/Vue/Svelte adapter setup, useForm, usePage, router, partial reloads, lazy props, SSR
Litestar Backend Integration — InertiaConfig, component= route handlers, shared props, back(), validation errors, type generation, SSR server

Cross-Skill References

../litestar-vite/SKILL.md — Vite plugin config, VitePlugin, asset manifest, TypeGen pipeline, HMR (the backbone Inertia sits on)
../litestar/SKILL.md — Controllers, Guards, DI, DTO patterns (the request handling layer)
../advanced-alchemy/SKILL.md — Data services that produce page props
../msgspec/SKILL.md — Struct definitions that TypeGen consumes

Canonical Reference Implementation

The canonical Litestar + Inertia stack lives at litestar-fullstack-inertia. When in doubt about wiring or file layout, mirror it.

Official References

Inertia.js v2 docs: https://inertiajs.com/docs/v2
Upgrade guide v1 → v2: https://inertiajs.com/docs/v2/getting-started/upgrade-guide
Client-side setup: https://inertiajs.com/docs/v2/installation/client-side-setup
Release notes: https://github.com/inertiajs/inertia/releases
litestar-vite Inertia docs: https://litestar-org.github.io/litestar-vite/inertia/
litestar-vite Inertia API: https://litestar-org.github.io/litestar-vite/reference/inertia/

Shared Styleguide Baseline

Keep this skill focused on the Litestar ↔ Vite ↔ Inertia integration surface. Framework-agnostic React/Vue/Svelte patterns belong in the respective framework skills (if we ever port them) or inertiajs.com docs.

litestar-inertia

Popularity

Invocation

Context Preview

Supporting Files

SKILL.md

litestar-inertia

Popularity

Invocation

Context Preview

Supporting Files

SKILL.md

Litestar + Inertia.js Integration

When this skill activates

Code Style Rules

Quick Reference

Backend — Python route returning an Inertia page

Client — page component (React)

App wiring — VitePlugin owns the Inertia bridge

Forms — useForm with Litestar validation errors

Partial reloads — only re-fetch what changed

Lazy props — defer expensive data

Workflow

Step 1 — Wire the bridge

Step 2 — Define shared props

Step 3 — Set up the client entrypoint

Step 4 — Build page components

Step 5 — Generate types

Step 6 — Validate

Guardrails

Validation Checkpoint

Example — Authenticated dashboard with forms + partial reload

References Index

Cross-Skill References

Canonical Reference Implementation

Official References

Shared Styleguide Baseline

Similar Skills

Litestar + Inertia.js Integration

When this skill activates

Code Style Rules

Quick Reference

Backend — Python route returning an Inertia page

Client — page component (React)

App wiring — VitePlugin owns the Inertia bridge

Forms — useForm with Litestar validation errors

Partial reloads — only re-fetch what changed

Lazy props — defer expensive data

Workflow

Step 1 — Wire the bridge

Step 2 — Define shared props

Step 3 — Set up the client entrypoint

Step 4 — Build page components

Step 5 — Generate types

Step 6 — Validate

Guardrails

Validation Checkpoint

Example — Authenticated dashboard with forms + partial reload

References Index

Cross-Skill References

Canonical Reference Implementation

Official References

Shared Styleguide Baseline

Similar Skills

Forms — `useForm` with Litestar validation errors

Forms — `useForm` with Litestar validation errors