Managing a Laravel Admin Panel Across Multiple Client Projects Using Git Submodules

When managing multiple client projects that share a common Laravel admin panel, keeping all projects synchronized while allowing for individual client customizations can be challenging. This guide explains how to set up a Laravel Admin Panel as a Git submodule and manage updates efficiently across multiple client projects.

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1. Initial Commit for the Admin Panel

First, create a dedicated repository for the admin panel, which will act as the centralized version for all client projects.

Steps to Set Up the Admin Panel Repository

1. Create a new Laravel project:
   

   composer create-project laravel/laravel admin-panel
   

2. Initialize a Git repository and commit the initial files:
   

   cd admin-panel
   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit for Admin Panel"
   git branch -M main
   git remote add origin https://github.com/your-org/admin-panel.git
   git push -u origin main
   

Now, the admin panel is ready to be integrated into client projects.

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2. Initial Commit for a Client Project

Each client project is a separate Laravel application that will include the admin panel as a submodule.

Steps to Set Up a Client Project

1. Create a new Laravel project for a client:
   

   composer create-project laravel/laravel client-project-1
   

2. Initialize Git and push it to a remote repository:
   

   cd client-project-1
   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit for Client Project 1"
   git branch -M main
   git remote add origin https://github.com/your-org/client-project-1.git
   git push -u origin main
   

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3. Adding the Admin Panel as a Submodule in Client Projects

To maintain a single source of truth for the admin panel, we will add it as a Git submodule in each client project.

Steps to Add the Admin Panel as a Submodule

Inside the client project’s root directory:

cd client-project-1
# Add the admin panel repository as a submodule
git submodule add https://github.com/your-org/admin-panel.git admin-panel
# Commit the changes
git add .
git commit -m "Added admin panel as a submodule"
git push origin main

Now, the admin-panel directory inside client-project-1 is linked to the centralized admin-panel repository.

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4. Testing the Admin Panel Endpoints in Each Client Project

After adding the submodule, register the admin panel routes and test the endpoints.

Steps to Load Routes in the Client Project

1. Open routes/web.php in client-project-1 and include the admin panel routes:
   

   require __DIR__.'/admin-panel/routes/web.php';
   

2. Run the Laravel development server:
   

   php artisan serve
   

3. Test the admin panel routes in your browser:
   

   http://localhost:8000/admin
   

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5. Making Changes and Propagating Updates

Go to the admin-panel repository on your local machine:

cd path/to/admin-panel

Make your changes (update controllers, models, migrations, etc.), then commit and push:

git add .
git commit -m "Updated admin panel with feature X"
git push origin main

✅ Now, the latest version of the admin panel is available in the repository.

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Update the Admin Panel in Each Client Project

Since the admin-panel is a Git submodule in each client project, you need to pull the latest changes.

Inside client-project-1, update the submodule:

cd client-project-1/admin-panel
git pull origin main
cd ..
git add admin-panel
git commit -m "Updated admin panel submodule to latest version"
git push origin main

Repeat this for client-project-2, client-project-3, etc.

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6. Handling Different Client Requirements

Some clients may request custom features that should not be applied to all projects. Here are a few ways to manage this:

Option 1: Use Feature Flags

Use Laravel’s configuration system to enable or disable features for specific clients.

Example in config/admin.php:

return [
    'feature_x_enabled' => env('FEATURE_X_ENABLED', false),
];

Enable it for Client 1 in .env:

FEATURE_X_ENABLED=true

Option 2: Use Git Branches

1. Create a new branch for a client-specific feature:
   

   git checkout -b client1-custom-feature
   

2. Make changes and push the branch:
   

   git push origin client1-custom-feature
   

3. In Client 1’s project, switch to that branch:
   

   cd client-project-1/admin-panel
   git checkout client1-custom-feature
   

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7. Automating Updates Across Client Projects

If you have multiple client projects, automating updates will save time.

Automate Updates with a Script

Create an update-admin.sh script to update all client projects at once:

#!/bin/bash

projects=("client-project-1" "client-project-2" "client-project-3")

for project in "${projects[@]}"; do
    echo "Updating admin panel in $project..."
    cd $project/admin-panel
    git pull origin main
    cd ..
    git add admin-panel
    git commit -m "Updated admin panel submodule"
    git push origin main
    cd ..
done

echo "All projects updated!"

Run the script:

bash update-admin.sh

This ensures that all client projects receive the latest admin panel updates efficiently.

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Conclusion

Using Git submodules, you can efficiently manage and update a Laravel admin panel across multiple client projects while maintaining flexibility for individual client customizations. This approach ensures:
✅ Centralized maintenance of the admin panel.
✅ Easy updates across multiple projects.
✅ Ability to handle custom features per client.