Inertia.js for The Boring JavaScript Stack

Inertia.js is the bridge between Sails.js and your frontend framework (React, Vue, or Svelte) in The Boring JavaScript Stack. It lets you build modern single-page apps using classic server-side routing and controllers — no API required. The inertia-sails package implements the full Inertia.js v2 protocol as a Sails hook.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Rendering pages with Inertia (responseType: 'inertia')
• Handling form submissions and redirects (responseType: 'redirect' vs 'inertiaRedirect')
• Sharing data globally across all pages (sails.inertia.share(), once(), refreshOnce())
• Working with flash messages (sails.inertia.flash())
• Handling validation errors (responseType: 'badRequest', form.errors)
• Using advanced props: deferred, optional, always, merge, scroll
• Building frontend components with useForm, usePage, Link, Head, router
• Setting up createInertiaApp and persistent layouts
• Handling server errors with the Inertia error modal
• Working with partial reloads, history encryption, or asset versioning

Rules

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

• rules/getting-started.md – How Inertia works, the protocol, client and server setup
• rules/rendering-pages.md – Server-side rendering, page objects, the inertia response type
• rules/actions-and-exits.md – Action2 patterns, exit response types, the four action patterns
• rules/redirects-and-responses.md – redirect vs inertiaRedirect, when to use each, location visits
• rules/shared-data-and-flash.md – share(), once(), refreshOnce(), flushShared(), flash()
• rules/forms-and-validation.md – useForm, form submission, validation errors, badRequest flow
• rules/props-system.md – AlwaysProp, DeferProp, MergeProp, OnceProp, OptionalProp, ScrollProp
• rules/client-side-components.md – Link, router, usePage, Head, layouts, createInertiaApp
• rules/error-handling.md – Server errors, the dev error modal, production error handling
• rules/advanced-features.md – History encryption, partial reloads, asset versioning, CSRF, SSR

Framework-Specific APIs

• rules/react.md – React: useForm, usePage, Link, Head, Deferred, WhenVisible, usePoll, layouts
• rules/vue.md – Vue: useForm, usePage, Link, Head, Deferred, WhenVisible, usePoll, defineOptions layouts
• rules/svelte.md – Svelte: useForm (stores), page store, Link, inertia action, svelte:head, layouts