- How do I install finity-labs/fin-codex in a Laravel Filament application?
- Install it with composer require finity-labs/fin-codex, then register the plugin on your Filament panel provider so it attaches to the panel you already use. Publish the package config and migrations and run php artisan migrate so the article and file tables exist before opening the resource. Because it is a panel plugin it composes with an existing Filament admin rather than replacing or restructuring it. Confirm your app already pins Filament 4.12.6 or newer before installing.
- Which Filament versions does fin-codex support?
- The test suite currently exercises Filament from 4.12.6 upward, including the 4.15.x and 5.10.x lines, and the 0.5.6 release explicitly targets page-resolution changes introduced in 4.15 and 5.10. That is a test-suite claim rather than a formally published support policy, so treat it as evidence and verify it against the exact version your app pins. Check the repository for a declared support matrix before you commit to the dependency in production. If you need a guarantee, ask the maintainer to state the supported range.
- What does fin-codex actually add to a Filament panel?
- fin-codex adds a contextual help drawer, help buttons on resources and pages, and an article editor for authoring the help content in-app. It contributes an Article resource with a Files relation manager surfaced as a tab on the resource page. It is built on lin-codex, so the help and documentation content model comes from that underlying layer. Everything lives in the presentation and admin layer, which is why it slots into an existing Filament panel instead of dictating your domain architecture.
- Is fin-codex 0.5.6 a drop-in upgrade from 0.5.5?
- Yes, 0.5.6 is a patch release and the changelog calls out no migrations, config keys, or public API changes; the fix is internal to the resource page schema. You can bump the Composer constraint and deploy without application code changes. Still diff the published migrations and config between 0.5.5 and 0.5.6 to confirm there is no schema or configuration drift. Note that 0.x semver permits breaking changes in minor bumps, so read the changelog on every update rather than only on patches.
- Why did my help tab stop switching after upgrading Filament?
- A Filament patch in 4.15 and 5.10 changed when a resource page resolves its record during Livewire hydration, so the content schema was built and cached before the tab update was applied and tab switching broke. fin-codex 0.5.6 fixes this by keeping both the table and the nested file component in the schema and deciding visibility at render time. Upgrade Filament to at least 4.15 or 5.10 and bump fin-codex to 0.5.6 in the same change so the fix and the trigger land together. If your app is still below Filament 4.15 the bug will not reproduce, so you can fold the upgrade into a routine dependency sweep instead of treating it as an incident.
- Does fin-codex ship its own models and migrations, or do I need to create them?
- The package contributes an Article resource with a Files relation manager, and it expects Article and File models wired with the relation that relation manager reads. Confirm from the README whether those migrations and models are published by the package or must be supplied by your application before you run it outside of local. Diff the published migrations between releases rather than assuming they are unchanged. If you need help articles tied to your own domain records, add that through the relations the plugin exposes instead of editing package-owned tables.
- How do I add help buttons to my existing Filament resources and pages?
- Help buttons are contributed through the panel plugin, so once it is registered in your panel provider your existing resources and pages pick up the contextual help entry points. Registration sits alongside your other panel plugins. For custom pages, verify the button renders where you expect after installing, since the plugin targets standard resource and page classes. Smoke test the drawer on both a resource page and a custom page in staging before shipping.
- Does fin-codex add extra queries when the Files tab is inactive?
- The 0.5.6 fix keeps both the table and the nested file component resident in the schema and toggles visibility at render time, which is pragmatic but widens what is built on every request. Check that an inactive Files tab does not issue duplicate queries or unnecessary eager loads, and measure render cost on large article lists. Laravel Debugbar or Telescope against a staging panel with realistic data volumes will tell you quickly. If you see a measurable regression, raise it upstream rather than patching around package internals.
- How is fin-codex tested, and is it safe to run in production?
- The test suite was deliberately moved off Filament's private markup onto fin-codex's own IDs and semantic state, such as which panel has content and which relation manager is mounted. That stabilizes CI across Filament 4.12.6 through 5.10.x but narrows protection against visual and structural regressions, so add a staging smoke test of the article list, tab toggle, and file relation manager CRUD. The package is 0.x, so minor bumps may carry breaking changes and you should budget upgrade-watch time. Assign an explicit owner for Filament and fin-codex upgrades, because upstream patches touching resource page internals are a genuine source of breakage.
- What are the alternatives to fin-codex for in-app help in Filament?
- If your admin surface is not built on Filament, adopting fin-codex means standing up Filament first, and that is the real cost rather than the package itself. Alternatives include linking out to static documentation, building a custom Filament page that renders markdown, or wiring in a dedicated knowledge-base tool and linking it from the panel. fin-codex is worth it when you want authoring, a help drawer, and contextual buttons inside the panel with minimal custom code. It also depends on lin-codex, so review that dependency's maintenance posture as part of the decision.