Authentication & Backend Focus
Two days into development, I hit a wall.
I had the Kotlin app taking shape and asset data starting to flow — but the authentication layer was a mess. Initial choices led to repeated code, unclear data ownership, and confusing wiring between the app and the backend.
April 4, 2026
The Problem with Moving Too Fast
When you're excited about a project, it's tempting to build everything at once. But that approach cost me time. Authentication touched everything: user sessions, asset ownership, monster data, and admin permissions. Without a clean auth layer, nothing downstream could be trusted.
The Decision: Backend First
I made a deliberate choice to stop building the Kotlin app and fully commit to Laravel authentication. This meant:
Implementing Laravel Sanctum for token-based API authentication
Defining clear user roles (admin vs. player)
Establishing a single source of truth for user data, assets, and monster management
Once auth was solid, every other feature had a stable foundation to build on.
What This Taught Me
Rushing a foundational system creates compounding debt. Taking two focused days to get authentication right saved far more time than it cost. Clean auth meant clean endpoints, clean app logic, and no more duplicated code.
This is a pattern I carry into every project now: get the backbone right before building the body.