Settings
Complete guide to configuring LaraDashboard settings, theme, modules, email, MCP, and core upgrades.
Settings
LaraDashboard splits administration across several sidebar areas. The main Settings page holds site-wide options in tabs; related features like Theme, Modules, Emails, MCP, and Core Upgrades live on their own pages under the More menu group.
Admin navigation overview
| Area | Sidebar path | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Settings (tabs) | More → Settings | /admin/settings |
| MCP | More → Settings → MCP | /admin/settings/mcp |
| Emails | More → Settings → Emails | /admin/settings/emails |
| Translations | More → Settings → Translations | /admin/translations |
| Menus | More → Settings → Menus | /admin/menus |
| Core Upgrades | More → Settings → Core Upgrades | /admin/core-upgrades |
| Theme | More → Theme | /admin/theme |
| Modules | More → Modules | /admin/modules |
| Monitoring | More → Monitoring | Action Logs, Laravel Pulse |
Note: Theme and Modules are not tabs on the main Settings page. Backups for upgrades are managed from Core Upgrades, not a separate Backups tab.
Settings page tabs
Open More → Settings (/admin/settings). Available tabs:
| Tab | Key | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| General Settings | general |
Site name, logos, favicon, pagination defaults |
| Authentication | authentication |
Registration, verification, social login, reCAPTCHA |
| Content Settings | content |
Content pagination and related options |
| Integrations | integrations |
AI providers, Google Analytics, third-party services |
| Security | performance-security |
reCAPTCHA pages, cache manager, log download |
| Notifications | notifications |
Daily error digest email — see Notifications |
Modules may inject additional tabs (for example Payment Gateway when the marketplace module is active).
General Settings
Site information
| Setting | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Site Name | Your site/app name | LaraDashboard |
| Site Description | Meta description | Admin panel for Laravel |
| Admin Email | Primary admin contact | admin@example.com |
| Site URL | Base URL | https://yourdomain.com |
Site logo & favicon
- Logo — main site logo (recommended: 200×50px)
- Dark Logo — logo for dark mode
- Favicon — browser tab icon (32×32px or
.ico) - App Icon — mobile app icon (192×192px)
Authentication tab
Configure registration, email verification, password rules, session options, reCAPTCHA, and social login toggles.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Registration | Allow public signup | Yes |
| Default Role | Role for new users | Subscriber |
| Require Verification | Email must be verified | Yes |
| Enable reCAPTCHA | Bot protection on selected pages | No |
| Enable Social Login | Show OAuth buttons on login/register | No |
For OAuth provider setup, see Social Authentication.
For registration honeypot and spam guards, see Spam Protection.
Integrations tab
AI providers
Configure OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google Gemini, and Ollama API keys and default models. These power the Agentic CMS command center and tools like generate-seo-meta.
See AI Integration for provider details.
Analytics
- Google Analytics — Measurement ID (
G-XXXXXXXXXX) - Google Tag Manager — Container ID (
GTM-XXXXXXX) - Custom head/body scripts — tracking or embed snippets
Security tab
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| reCAPTCHA page selection | Choose which public forms require reCAPTCHA |
| Cache manager | Clear application, config, route, view, and permission caches from the UI |
| Log download | Download storage/logs/laravel.log for support |
Or clear caches via MCP with the clear-cache tool.
Theme (separate page)
Frontend and admin appearance are configured at More → Theme (/admin/theme), not on the main Settings page.
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Choose Theme | Activate a theme module ("theme": true in module.json) |
| Appearance | Homepage, blog page, posts per page |
| Admin Theme | Primary color, sidebar/navbar colors, presets |
| Custom Code | Custom CSS and scripts for the frontend |
See Theme Development for building theme modules.
Modules (separate page)
Manage installed modules at More → Modules (/admin/modules):
- Upload Module — install from ZIP
- Activate / Deactivate — enable or disable without deleting
- Run Migrations — apply pending module migrations
- Configure — module-specific settings when available
See Module System for lifecycle details.
Emails (separate page)
Email connections, templates, and notifications live under More → Settings → Emails (/admin/settings/emails).
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Connections | SMTP, Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES |
| Templates | Visual email templates — see Email Templates |
| Notifications | System notification types |
MCP Server
Configure the built-in MCP server at More → Settings → MCP (/admin/settings/mcp):
- Enable the MCP server
- Generate an MCP agent token (shown once)
- Paste the config into Cursor, Claude Desktop, or Claude Code
See MCP Server for client setup and tool overview.
When DocForge is installed, agents can search official documentation with search-docs and get-doc. See DocForge MCP tools.
Core Upgrades & backups
Upgrade LaraDashboard and create pre-upgrade backups from More → Settings → Core Upgrades (/admin/core-upgrades).
See Core Upgrades for the full workflow.
System information
The Core Upgrades page displays your current version (for example v1.4.2), release date, and update availability from the marketplace.
Example environment summary:
LaraDashboard Version: 1.4.2
Laravel Version: 13.x
PHP Version: 8.3+
Database: MySQL 8.0
Cache Driver: Redis
Queue Driver: database or redis
Values not editable in the UI (APP_ENV, DB_*, queue drivers) belong in .env. See Configuration.
Permissions
| Permission | Description |
|---|---|
settings.view |
View settings and core upgrades |
settings.edit |
Modify settings, theme, MCP, cache |
module.view |
View and manage modules |
module.activate / module.deactivate |
Enable or disable modules (Superadmin for activation) |
Best practices
Security
- Disable debug mode in production
- Enable reCAPTCHA on public registration and forms when exposed to the internet
- Use dedicated MCP agent accounts with least-privilege roles
- Rotate MCP tokens after offboarding team members
Performance
- Use Redis for cache, sessions, and queues in production
- Clear or rebuild caches after settings or module changes
- Create a Core Upgrades backup before applying a core update
Troubleshooting
Settings not saving
- Check for validation errors on the form
- Verify your session is active
- Clear config cache:
php artisan config:clear
Email not working
- Test with simple SMTP first
- Verify credentials in Emails → Connections
- Review
storage/logs/laravel.log
Theme not applying
- Confirm the correct theme module is activated at Theme → Choose Theme
- Clear view cache:
php artisan view:clear - Hard refresh the browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)
Next steps
- Core Upgrades — upgrade core and manage backups
- Notifications — daily error digest
- Spam Protection — honeypot and form guards
- Email Templates — configure email designs
- Social Authentication — OAuth setup
- MCP Server — connect AI clients
- Module System — install and manage modules