Laravel Migrations Generator Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Steps

1. Installation:

   composer require --dev kitloong/laravel-migrations-generator
   

   Laravel auto-registers the service provider; Lumen requires manual registration in bootstrap/app.php.

2. First Use Case: Generate migrations for all tables in your default database:

   php artisan migrate:generate
   

   This creates individual migration files for each table in database/migrations/, including columns, indexes, and foreign keys.

3. Where to Look First:

   • Official Documentation
   • php artisan help migrate:generate for CLI options.
   • Default output: database/migrations/[datetime]_create_[table]_table.php.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflow

1. Generate All Tables:

   php artisan migrate:generate
   

   • Creates one migration file per table (e.g., 2024_01_01_000000_create_users_table.php).
   • Handles columns, indexes, and constraints.

2. Selective Generation:

   php artisan migrate:generate --tables="users,posts" --ignore="temp_tables"
   

   • Explicitly include/exclude tables. Useful for large databases or partial schema migrations.

3. Squashed Migrations:

   php artisan migrate:generate --squash
   

   • Combines all tables into a single migration file (e.g., 2024_01_01_000000_create_all_tables.php).
   • Ideal for legacy databases or CI/CD pipelines where minimal files are preferred.

4. Custom Paths:

   php artisan migrate:generate --path="database/migrations/custom"
   

   • Output migrations to a non-default directory (e.g., for feature-specific schemas).

Integration Tips

1. Foreign Key Handling:

   • Ensure referenced tables are generated before their foreign keys. The generator creates foreign key migrations in a separate file (e.g., add_foreign_keys_to_users_table.php).
   • Use --skip-foreign-keys to generate tables first, then manually add constraints later.

2. Multi-Database Projects:

   php artisan migrate:generate --connection="secondary"
   

   • Generate migrations for a specific database connection (e.g., PostgreSQL for analytics, MySQL for primary).

3. Date Control:

   php artisan migrate:generate --date="2024-01-01 00:00:00"
   

   • Set a custom timestamp for migrations (useful for backdating or batch processing).

4. Schema Checks:

   php artisan migrate:generate --with-has-table
   

   • Adds Schema::hasTable() checks to migrations, preventing errors in environments where tables may already exist.

5. Template Customization:

   • Override default templates by specifying --template-path="path/to/custom/templates".
   • Example: Modify column type mappings (e.g., map DATETIME to timestamp instead of dateTime).

6. CI/CD Pipelines:

   • Use --skip-log to avoid logging migrations to the migrations table (useful for generated schemas).
   • Combine with --squash for atomic migration files:

     php artisan migrate:generate --squash --skip-log
     

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Foreign Key Dependencies:

   • Issue: Generating a table without its parent table (referenced by a foreign key) will fail.
   • Fix: Use --tables="parent,child" or generate all tables first, then filter.

2. Reserved Keywords:

   • Issue: Database column names like order, group, or user may conflict with PHP/Laravel keywords.
   • Fix: Use --default-index-names or --default-fk-names to avoid DB-specific names in migrations.

3. Collation Mismatches:

   • Issue: Generated migrations may not preserve database collation (e.g., utf8mb4_unicode_ci).
   • Fix: Use --use-db-collation to include collation in migrations.

4. Views and Stored Procedures:

   • Issue: Views/procedures may not generate correctly if the database schema is complex.
   • Fix: Skip them initially (--skip-views --skip-proc) and generate separately if needed.

5. Vendor Migrations:

   • Issue: Package migrations (e.g., Laravel Breeze) may be regenerated accidentally.
   • Fix: Use --skip-vendor or exclude vendor tables (e.g., --ignore="migration_locks").

Debugging

1. Dry Run:

   • Inspect generated SQL without creating files:

     php artisan migrate:generate --path="/tmp"  # Output to temp dir
     

   • Review /tmp/[datetime]_*.php for errors.

2. Connection Issues:

   • Verify the connection name in config/database.php matches the --connection flag.
   • Test connectivity manually:

     php artisan tinker
     >>> \DB::connection('secondary')->select('SHOW TABLES');
     

3. Template Errors:

   • Custom templates must extend the base generator. Check for missing methods like getTableBlueprint().
   • Debug by enabling verbose output:

     php artisan migrate:generate -vvv
     

Extension Points

1. Custom Column Types:

   • Override column type mappings in app/Providers/MigrationsGeneratorServiceProvider.php:

     $generator->columnTypes = [
         'DATETIME' => 'timestamp',
         'TINYINT(1)' => 'boolean',
     ];
     

2. Post-Generation Hooks:

   • Use Laravel’s registerMigrationsGenerator in AppServiceProvider to modify migrations after generation:

     $generator->afterGenerate(function ($migration) {
         $migration->prepend("// Custom header\n");
     });
     

3. Batch Processing:

   • Split large schemas into batches using --log-with-batch=0 to control migration order:

     php artisan migrate:generate --log-with-batch=0 --tables="batch1_tables"
     php artisan migrate:generate --log-with-batch=1 --tables="batch2_tables"
     

4. Environment-Specific Config:

   • Use .env variables to dynamically set options:

     php artisan migrate:generate --date="$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')"
     

   • Or configure in config/migrations-generator.php (if extended).