Laravel Schema Rules Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require laracraft-tech/laravel-schema-rules --dev
   php artisan vendor:publish --tag="schema-rules-config"
   

   Verify the config file is published at config/schema-rules.php.

2. First Use Case: Generate validation rules for a table (e.g., users) directly in your terminal:

   php artisan schema:generate-rules users
   

   Copy the output into your controller, Form Request, or validation logic.

Key Starting Points

• Quick Validation Rules: Use the CLI to generate rules for any table without manual rule-writing.

• Form Request Generation: Automate Form Request creation with --create-request:

  php artisan schema:generate-rules users --create-request
  

  This generates a StoreUserRequest (or custom-named) class in app/Http/Requests/.

• Web Interface: Test rules interactively at validationforlaravel.com.

Implementation Patterns

Workflow Integration

1. Database-First Validation:

   • Use the package as a starting point for validation rules, then refine manually.
   • Example: Generate rules for posts and override title to add starts_with:How to:

     $rules = [
         'title' => ['required', 'string', 'starts_with:How to'], // Custom rule
         // ... other rules from schema:generate-rules
     ];
     

2. Form Request Automation:

   • Generate a Form Request for every table during feature development:

     php artisan schema:generate-rules products --create-request --file StoreProductRequest
     

   • Store these in a Requests/ directory for consistency.

3. API-Specific Rules:

   • Use --file to namespace requests (e.g., Api/V1/StoreUserRequest):

     php artisan schema:generate-rules users -cf --file Api\\V1\\StoreUserRequest
     

4. Partial Rule Generation:

   • Generate rules for specific columns (e.g., email, name) to avoid clutter:

     php artisan schema:generate-rules users --columns email,name
     

Advanced Patterns

1. Dynamic Rule Overrides:

   • Extend the generated rules in a trait or base Form Request:

     use LaravelSchemaRules\Traits\HasSchemaRules;
     
     class BaseRequest extends FormRequest {
         use HasSchemaRules;
     
         protected function getSchemaRules(): array {
             return $this->schemaRules(['custom_column' => ['unique:table']]);
         }
     }
     

2. Conditional Rule Generation:

   • Skip columns dynamically (e.g., soft-deletes) by extending the config:

     'skip_columns' => [
         'deleted_at',
         'updated_at',
         'created_at',
         'user_id', // Custom skip
     ],
     

3. Testing Integration:

   • Use generated rules in PHPUnit tests to validate schema consistency:

     public function test_validation_rules_match_schema() {
         $rules = $this->generateSchemaRules('users');
         $this->assertArrayHasKey('email', $rules);
         $this->assertContains('required', $rules['email']);
     }
     

4. Multi-Tenant Isolation:

   • Generate tenant-specific rules by filtering columns based on tenant context:

     php artisan schema:generate-rules users --columns tenant_id,name,email
     

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

1. Floating-Point Precision:

   • The package generates numeric for float/decimal columns. For precise validation, manually add after:2 or digits:10,2:

     'price' => ['required', 'numeric', 'after:0', 'digits:10,2'],
     

2. Foreign Key Quirks:

   • Generated exists rules assume the referenced table’s primary key is id. Customize if using composite keys:

     'address_id' => ['required', 'exists:addresses,address_id'], // Custom column
     

3. Nullable Fields:

   • The package adds nullable for nullable columns, but required fields without defaults may still need explicit required rules if the schema allows NULL but your logic doesn’t.

4. Driver-Specific Issues:

   • PostgreSQL: jsonb columns generate json rules, but nested validation requires manual rules.
   • SQLite: May generate less precise min/max values for integer columns (e.g., max:2147483647 for integer).

5. Config Overrides:

   • The skip_columns config is case-sensitive and defaults to ['deleted_at', 'updated_at', 'created_at']. Add your own:

     'skip_columns' => array_merge(config('schema-rules.skip_columns'), ['temp_column']),
     

Debugging Tips

1. Inspect Raw Schema:

   • Use Laravel’s Schema::getColumnListing() to verify column names:

     dd(Schema::getColumnListing('users')); // Check for typos in column names
     

2. Validate Generated Rules:

   • Test rules against edge cases (e.g., empty strings, max values):

     $validator = Validator::make(['email' => ''], $rules);
     $this->assertTrue($validator->fails());
     

3. Force Overwrite Requests:

   • Use --force to overwrite existing Form Requests safely:

     php artisan schema:generate-rules users --create-request --force
     

4. Custom Rule Extensions:

   • Extend the package’s rule logic by publishing and modifying the service provider:

     php artisan vendor:publish --tag="schema-rules-provider"
     

   • Override LaravelSchemaRules\Rules\RuleGenerator to add custom logic (e.g., for uuid fields).

Performance and Maintenance

1. Cache Generated Rules:

   • Store generated rules in a config file or cache them to avoid regenerating:

     $rules = cache()->remember('schema-rules.users', now()->addHours(1), function () {
         return $this->generateSchemaRules('users');
     });
     

2. CI/CD Integration:

   • Add a pre-commit hook or GitHub Action to validate that all Form Requests match their schemas:

     # .github/workflows/validate-schema-rules.yml
     jobs:
       validate:
         runs-on: ubuntu-latest
         steps:
           - run: php artisan schema:generate-rules users --columns email,name | diff - users-request-rules.txt
     

3. Documentation Sync:

   • Keep a RULES.md file in your project with generated rules for onboarding:

     php artisan schema:generate-rules users > docs/RULES.md
     

4. Database Migrations:

   • Regenerate rules after migrations to ensure validation stays in sync:

     php artisan migrate --force
     php artisan schema:generate-rules users --create-request