S-Cart

S‑Cart is an open‑source, Laravel‑powered e‑commerce platform designed for developers who need a lightweight yet feature‑rich storefront that can be fully self‑hosted. Built on Laravel 8/9, it leverages the framework’s expressive ORM (Eloquent), routing, and service container to expose a clean API surface. The core of S‑Cart is a modular architecture that separates the public shop, backend administration, and API layers, enabling developers to extend or replace components without touching the core codebase. The application ships with a ready‑to‑use multi‑store and multi‑vendor scaffold, making it ideal for marketplaces or businesses that require distinct storefronts under a single installation.

Key Features

• RESTful API – Built with Laravel Passport (or Sanctum in newer releases), S‑Cart exposes CRUD endpoints for products, orders, customers, and inventory. The API is versioned and can be consumed by SPA front‑ends or mobile apps.
• Multi‑Vendor / Multi‑Store – Each vendor can manage their own catalog and orders, while stores share a common admin panel. This is implemented via tenant‑aware models and scoped queries.
• Plugin System – Developers can create “addons” that hook into events, extend models, or add new routes. The plugin loader scans a dedicated addons/ directory and registers services automatically.
• Webhooks & Callbacks – External services can subscribe to order status changes, inventory updates, or payment events through configurable webhooks.

Technical Stack

• Language: PHP 8.x
• Framework: Laravel (core MVC, Eloquent ORM, Blade templating)
• Database: MySQL/MariaDB (default), with optional support for PostgreSQL via Laravel’s database abstraction
• Caching: Redis or Memcached (for session and query caching)
• Search: ElasticSearch integration via Laravel Scout for full‑text product searches
• Queueing: Laravel Queue (Redis, database) for email, payment webhook handling, and background tasks

The application follows Laravel’s service provider pattern, allowing developers to override bindings or register custom services in config/app.php. All core modules expose interfaces, making dependency injection straightforward.

Deployment & Infrastructure

S‑Cart is intentionally lightweight: a single PHP process with Composer dependencies, plus a database. It can be deployed on any LAMP stack or containerized via Docker (official images available). For scalability, the stateless API layer can be horizontally scaled behind a load balancer, while Redis handles session replication. The admin panel uses Laravel’s built‑in authentication and can be secured with OAuth2 or Sanctum tokens for API integration.

Integration & Extensibility

• SDKs – While no dedicated SDK exists, the API follows REST conventions, making it easy to consume with any HTTP client.
• Events – Laravel events such as OrderCreated, ProductUpdated allow developers to hook custom logic.
• Payment Gateways – The core supports Stripe and PayPal out of the box; additional gateways can be added by implementing a payment driver interface.
• Custom Themes – Blade templates are modular; developers can replace views or create new ones without altering core files.

Developer Experience

Documentation is hosted on the official website and GitHub wiki, with clear API references and code examples. The community is active on Facebook groups and a dedicated Discord channel, providing rapid support for integration questions. Configuration is driven by .env files and Laravel’s config system, enabling environment‑specific overrides.

Use Cases

• Marketplace MVP – Quickly spin up a multi‑vendor store with separate dashboards and commission logic.
• Small Business Storefront – Deploy a single‑store solution with minimal overhead and extendable plugins.
• Headless Commerce – Use the API to power a React/Vue SPA or mobile app while keeping the backend in Laravel.

Advantages

S‑Cart offers developers a full Laravel stack with minimal bloat, making it easier to maintain and extend. Its open‑source license (MIT) removes vendor lock‑in, while the modular architecture allows selective upgrades. Performance benefits come from Laravel’s caching and queue systems, and the ability to swap out components (e.g., Passport → Sanctum) without major rewrites. For teams already familiar with Laravel, S‑Cart reduces onboarding time and aligns with existing development workflows.