Litestar Inertia

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; generated templates target Inertia v3 | | Frontend build | vite | Bundling, HMR, dev server, production build | | Python bridge | [litestar-vite](../litestar-vite/SKILL.md) | VitePlugin + InertiaConfig, asset manifest, type generation, page-props codec | | Server framework | [litestar](../litestar/SKILL.md) | 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 `. useForm` handles CSRF, errors, submission state, and navigation in one call
• CSRF via Litestar state — configure Litestar CSRFConfig; generated clients use csrfHeaders() from litestar-vite-plugin/helpers so cookie_httponly=True works.
• 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/litestarintegration.md](references/litestarintegration.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().props;

  return (
    <>
      
      Welcome, {dashboard.user.name}
      Your workspace has {dashboard.workspaceCount} projects.
    
  );
}

→ See [references/protocol.md](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/litestarintegration.md](references/litestarintegration.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 (
     { e.preventDefault(); post("/projects"); }}>
       setData("name", e.target.value)} />
      {errors.name && {errors.name}}

       setData("description", e.target.value)} />
      {errors.description && {errors.description}}

      Create
    
  );
}

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() }).

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:

• [ ] ViteConfig.inertia configured with InertiaConfig(...)
• [ ] One VitePlugin registered for Vite + Inertia
• [ ] Session middleware registered
• [ ] Static/session/request-time shared props have consistent shape across handlers
• [ ] Page components resolve via the resolver function (one place of truth for path→component mapping)
• [ ] TypeScript page-props types generated via litestar assets generate-types
• [ ] Forms use useForm, not bare ``
• [ ] 422 responses from Litestar include errors that the client reads
• [ ] CSRF/session data is exposed through Inertia shared props and useForm picks it up automatically
• [ ] dev_mode toggles correctly between dev (Vite HMR) and prod (manifest-resolved assets)
• [ ] Production build (litestar assets build) emits public/manifest.json + hashed bundles

Example — Authenticated dashboard with forms + partial reload

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

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

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: Request,
    ) -> InertiaBack:
        # 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)
        return InertiaBack(request)

// 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().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 && {flash.success}}

      
         setData("name", e.target.value)} placeholder="Project name" />
        {errors.name && {errors.name}}
         setData("description", e.target.value)} />
        Create
      

       router.reload({ only: ["projects"] })}>Refresh

      
        {projects.map((p) => {p.name})}
      
    
  );
}

References Index

• [Inertia Protocol & Client](references/protocol.md) — Protocol v3, request/response shape, React/Vue/Svelte adapter setup, useForm, usePage, router, partial reloads, lazy props, SSR
• [Litestar Backend Integration](references/litestar_integration.md) — InertiaConfig, component= route handlers, shared props, redirect responses, validation errors, type generation, SSR server

Cross-Skill References

• [../litestar-vite/SKILL.md](../litestar-vite/SKILL.md) — Vite plugin config, VitePlugin, asset manifest, TypeGen pipeline, HMR (the backbone Inertia sits on)
• [../litestar/SKILL.md](../litestar/SKILL.md) — Controllers, Guards, DI, DTO patterns (the request handling layer)
• [../advanced-alchemy/SKILL.md](../advanced-alchemy/SKILL.md) — Data services that produce page props
• [../msgspec/SKILL.md](../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 v3 docs:
• Inertia v2/v3 support and upgrade guide:
• Client-side setup:
• Release notes:
• litestar-vite Inertia docs:
• litestar-vite Inertia API:

Shared Styleguide Baseline

• [General Principles](../litestar-styleguide/references/general.md)
• [Python](../litestar-styleguide/references/python.md)
• [TypeScript](../litestar-styleguide/references/typescript.md)
• [Litestar](../litestar-styleguide/references/litestar.md)

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.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: litestar-org
• Source: litestar-org/litestar-skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://github.com/litestar-org/litestar-skills

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.