How can I trigger an InertiaUI modal from a Laravel controller without encountering the 'shouldRender' error?

Below is an explanation and a workaround based on common pitfalls when trying to trigger InertiaUI modals from a Laravel controller.

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What’s Happening

InertiaUI’s modal system is designed to be controlled on the client side (using components like and ). When you return an Inertia response from the controller (via Inertia::render), it creates a full Inertia page load. In this case, the modal plugin’s internal state isn’t initialized the same way as when you trigger a modal from an existing page. The error:

  TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'shouldRender')

usually occurs because the modal’s internal helper (which might, for example, be checking if it “should render”) isn’t available—since the component wasn’t mounted in the expected modal context.

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Recommended Approaches

1. Trigger Modal from the Client

The InertiaUI modal system is built around navigating to modal URLs from within your Vue components (using ) so that the modal state is properly set up. This means that if possible you should trigger the modal from the front end rather than returning it directly from the controller.

2. Use Session Flash Data + Global Modal Component

If you want to open a modal in response to an action (such as after creating a resource in your controller), you can:

• Flash modal data to the session in your controller.
• Share the flashed data via Inertia’s shared props.
• Use a root modal component (typically added in your layout) that checks for these shared props and programmatically opens the modal if necessary.

For example, in your controller:

PHPCopied
public function store()
{
    // Your code for storing data...
    
    session()->flash('modal', [
        'component' => 'UserGameShow',
        'props' => [
            'game'   => $game,
            'scores' => $scores,
            'gameId' => $game->id
        ]
    ]);

    return Inertia::render('SomePage'); // Navigate to a page that includes your modal provider
}

Then, in your app’s root layout (or an appropriate Vue component that wraps your Inertia pages), include the InertiaUI modal provider, for example:

VUECopied
<template>
  <div id="app">
    <App :initial-page="initialPage" :resolve-component="resolveComponent" />
    <!-- Ensure this is mounted outside of the main app component -->
    <InertiaModal />
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import { InertiaModal } from '@inertiaui/modal' // or the appropriate import per docs

export default {
  // your setup...
}
</script>

Inside the modal provider (or a dedicated watcher component) check if the shared modal property exists and trigger the modal accordingly. The exact implementation depends on the InertiaUI Modal documentation, but the main idea is to “pull” the modal data from the shared props and then render the modal component.

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Key Points

• Backend Inertia::render vs. Frontend Modal: Returning a modal component with Inertia::render bypasses the modal plugin’s setup. It expects to be invoked as part of an existing page.
• Include the Modal Provider: Make sure you have the modal helper component (e.g., ) mounted at the app root so that it can intercept flashed modal data.
• Client-Side Handling: Once the modal data is flashed, use client-side logic to read and open the modal.

By following this pattern, you let the Vue modal plugin initialize its modal state as expected and avoid errors related to undefined properties like “shouldRender.”

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Summary

To avoid the error, ensure that your modal is triggered within a context where the InertiaUI modal provider is active. Instead of returning a modal component directly via Inertia::render, flash modal data and let your front-end (with the component) handle the rendering of the modal. This ensures that the modal’s internal properties such as “shouldRender” are defined and available.

If you have further questions or need additional clarification on the InertiaUI modal setup, feel free to ask!