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Chosen Laravel Package
drmonty/chosen
drmonty/chosen is a small Laravel package that brings the Chosen select library into your forms, turning long dropdowns into searchable, multi-select-friendly inputs. Lightweight and easy to drop into existing Blade markup with minimal setup.
Abandoned shim repository for http://github.com/harvesthq/chosen
Frequently asked questions about Chosen
- What is drmonty/chosen used for in Laravel?
- drmonty/chosen is an asset package that brings the Chosen jQuery plugin into Laravel projects through Composer. It lets you turn long or awkward native select boxes into searchable, multi-select-friendly controls. You include its bundled JavaScript and CSS in your Blade views and initialize Chosen on the selects you want to enhance.
- How do I install drmonty/chosen with Composer?
- Install it like any Composer dependency by running composer require drmonty/chosen in your Laravel project. The package delivers the Chosen JS and CSS files inside your vendor directory. Because it is an asset package rather than a full application package, you then copy or reference those files from your public assets.
- Does drmonty/chosen require a Laravel service provider or configuration file?
- No. drmonty/chosen is focused on shipping front-end assets, so there is no service provider, facade, or package config file to register. You do not need to run vendor:publish unless you simply want to copy the assets into your public directory. Setup is limited to making the JS and CSS available to your views.
- How do I include the Chosen CSS and JS files in a Blade view?
- Copy the bundled chosen.jquery.min.js and chosen.min.css files from the package into a public asset path such as public/vendor/chosen. Then load them in Blade with asset() or a Vite entry, for example asset('vendor/chosen/chosen.min.css') and asset('vendor/chosen/chosen.jquery.min.js'). Make sure jQuery is loaded before the Chosen script.
- Which Laravel versions does drmonty/chosen support?
- The package is primarily an asset wrapper, so it is not tightly coupled to a specific Laravel release. It can generally be used in any Laravel application where you can copy Composer-installed assets into your public directory. Check the package's Composer constraints and bundled Chosen version when planning an upgrade.
- Does Chosen work with Livewire or dynamically added select elements?
- Chosen initializes against select elements that exist at the time you call it. When Livewire or JavaScript adds or replaces selects, reinitialize Chosen or update the existing instance. For changed options on an already-initialized select, trigger the chosen:updated event so the UI refreshes.
- How do I initialize Chosen on a select element?
- After loading jQuery and the Chosen script, call Chosen on your target selectors, for example $('.chosen-select').chosen(). Add the chosen-select class to the select elements you want to enhance. You can pass options such as search or multi-select settings directly in the initialization call.
- Can I use drmonty/chosen with Vite or Laravel Mix?
- Yes, but this package installs assets through Composer rather than npm. The simplest approach is to copy the bundled Chosen files into a public path or into your build source directory and reference them from Blade. You can also add the vendor file path to your Vite or Mix inputs if your build setup supports it.
- Is drmonty/chosen suitable for production and does it require jQuery?
- Yes, the package includes the Chosen assets you need, including minified files, and it can be used in production once you serve them from your public assets. Chosen is a jQuery plugin, so jQuery must be loaded before Chosen in your page. For large select lists, test performance and accessibility in your own forms.
- What are alternatives to drmonty/chosen for searchable selects?
- Common alternatives include Select2, Tom Select, and Choices.js, each with different styling and dependency profiles. Some teams also use framework-native components or Alpine.js-based comboboxes to avoid jQuery. drmonty/chosen remains a good fit when you specifically want the classic Chosen behavior with Composer-managed assets.
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