Quickstart

The easiest way to start building a new Fleetbase extension is to use the Fleetbase CLI.

The CLI provides a scaffold command that generates a complete, working extension skeleton, including both the Backend (Laravel package) and the Frontend (Ember Engine), along with the necessary extension.json manifest.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your local development machine:

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• PHP (v8.2 or higher)
• Composer
• Git
• The Fleetbase CLI

If you haven't installed the CLI yet, you can do so via npm:

npm install -g @fleetbase/cli

Scaffolding the Extension

Scaffold inside your Fleetbase clone's packages/ directory. The platform's Docker application container already mounts ./packages (per Platform → Development Setup), so any extension placed there is visible to both the API container and the Ember dev server without extra mount config.

cd /path/to/fleetbase/packages
flb scaffold my-extension

The CLI will prompt for a few details:

• Extension Name: human-readable name (e.g., "My Custom Extension")
• Description: short summary
• Author: you or your organization
• Namespace: PHP namespace for the backend (e.g., MyOrg\MyExtension)

It then generates the directory structure.

The Generated Structure

fleetbase/
├── api/
├── console/
└── packages/
    └── my-extension/
        ├── addon/                 # Ember.js frontend addon
        ├── server/                # PHP Laravel backend package
        ├── extension.json         # extension manifest
        ├── package.json
        ├── composer.json
        └── README.md

Empty but fully functional — ready to link.

Linking for Development

The platform-side mechanics — Docker volume mounts, the two paths for the Ember dev server, Octane reload — are covered once in Platform → Development Setup. Make sure the platform is up before continuing.

Link the Backend Package

In fleetbase/api/composer.json, add a path repository entry pointing at your extension's server/ directory and require the package:

{
  "repositories": [
    { "type": "path", "url": "../packages/my-extension/server" }
  ],
  "require": {
    "my-org/my-extension-api": "*"
  }
}

Resolve inside the running container:

docker compose exec application composer install
docker compose exec application bash -c "./deploy.sh"

Link the Frontend Addon

cd packages/my-extension
pnpm install

Then in fleetbase/console/package.json, add a link: dependency pointing at your extension root (the addon is at the package root, not inside addon/):

{
  "dependencies": {
    "@my-org/my-extension-engine": "link:../packages/my-extension"
  }
}

Install in the console:

cd fleetbase/console
pnpm install

Running

Follow Development Setup → Frontend Development to start the dev server. Either path works:

• Path A — Ember dev server in Docker via Dockerfile.server-build
• Path B — Ember dev server local (pnpm start:dev in console/)

The console reloads on changes to your extension's addon/. PHP edits to server/ need an Octane reload:

docker compose exec application php artisan octane:reload

Open http://localhost:4200 — your extension shows up in the sidebar. Clicking it loads the default route from your scaffolded engine.

You're ready to begin Backend Development and Frontend Development.