Laravel Wayfinder generates TypeScript helpers for Laravel routes and controller actions. If a deployment builds those helpers while Laravel is reading a route cache from an earlier release, a newly added route can be missing from the generated files and Vite can fail to resolve its import. For that documented case, clear the route cache before the build: php artisan route:clear, then npm run build.
What Wayfinder adds to a Laravel and TypeScript project
Wayfinder reads Laravel’s registered routes and creates importable TypeScript helpers for named routes and controller actions. The helpers can provide typed parameters and expose URL and HTTP method information, allowing frontend code to refer to backend routes without manually duplicating every path. See the Wayfinder project README for installation and usage details.
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The documented setup installs the PHP package through Composer and the Vite plugin as an npm development dependency. The Vite plugin can run generation as part of the Vite build, so the generated files need to be available when Vite resolves the application’s imports.
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Why a deploy can fail when local imports work
Wayfinder’s documented failure mode involves a stale Laravel route cache. If Laravel boots during generation with a cache left by a previous release, the route table it exposes may not contain routes newly added in the current release. Wayfinder can then omit those routes from generated output. Application code may still import a route helper that is absent, and Vite can report a missing generated module, with an error resembling Could not load resources/js/routes/<name>.
This explanation applies to the stale-cache failure described in the official README; a missing route import by itself does not establish that every deployment error has this cause. A similar Forge build failure appears in Wayfinder issue 114, but that report does not show that all such failures share one cause or that every affected project uses Forge.
Clear the route cache before Vite builds
For the documented stale-cache condition, put route clearing before the build step that invokes Wayfinder generation:
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npm run buildIf the Vite plugin generates the files during npm run build, the ordering is essential: clearing the cache afterward cannot change files already generated from the stale route table.
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The Wayfinder README specifically calls out deploy scripts that run php artisan optimize or php artisan route:cache at the end of a deploy. Its instruction is to run php artisan route:clear before regenerating on the next deploy. Arrange the pipeline so generation sees the current release’s intended routes, rather than a cache left from the previous one.
Does this mean Laravel route caching should be disabled?
No. Laravel’s deployment documentation recommends route caching as a production optimization for large applications. The concern is not route caching in general; it is generating Wayfinder files from a route table that does not match the current application. Treat route-cache creation and TypeScript generation as separate lifecycle steps, and order them deliberately.
Choose how Wayfinder generation fits your build
| Approach | What it does | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Vite plugin | Can generate helpers during the Vite build. | Convenient when the frontend build should handle generation; ensure route clearing happens before npm run build. |
| Explicit Artisan command | php artisan wayfinder:generate generates helpers as a distinct command. |
Useful when deployment needs explicit control over the point at which generation runs. |
Both methods depend on generating against the intended route table. Choose based on the build ordering your deployment can reliably enforce, and keep local and deployment workflows consistent.
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Check output paths and generated files
Wayfinder documents a configurable output path and options to skip action or route generation. Its README also notes that generated wayfinder, actions, and routes directories may be gitignored because they are regenerated on each build. Before changing an import or adding a path-specific command, check the project’s actual plugin configuration and generated output location; the default is not guaranteed to match every application.
Version status and compatibility
The Wayfinder README describes the package as beta and says its API may change before v1.0.0. Packagist lists laravel/wayfinder v0.1.21 dated 2026-08-04, with PHP ^8.2 and Illuminate console, filesystem, routing, and support packages ^11.0|^12.0|^13.0 for that release. These are release-specific details, not a guarantee for later versions; consult the Packagist package page and Wayfinder changelog when checking a project’s installed version. The changelog records the stale route-cache deployment issue in v0.1.21.
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