Crud Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation

   composer require laravel-admin/crud
   

   Add to config/app.php:

   LaravelAdmin\Crud\CrudServiceProvider::class,
   

2. Create a Resource

   php artisan make:model Blog -mcr
   

   • Migrate (php artisan migrate)
   • Model (Blog.php)
   • Controller (BlogController.php)

3. Define Routes

   // routes/web.php
   Route::resource('blog', BlogController::class);
   

4. Extend ResourceController

   // BlogController.php
   use LaravelAdmin\Crud\Controllers\ResourceController;
   
   class BlogController extends ResourceController
   {
       protected $model = Blog::class;
       protected $singular_name = "blog";
       protected $plural_name = "blogs";
   }
   

5. First Use Case Visit /blog to see a pre-built CRUD interface with:

   • List view (index)
   • Create form (create)
   • Edit form (edit)
   • Delete functionality (destroy)

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Field Configuration Override getFields() to define form fields:

   protected function getFields()
   {
       return [
           'title' => 'text',
           'content' => 'textarea',
           'published_at' => 'datetime',
       ];
   }
   

2. Validation Rules Override getValidationRulesOnStore()/getValidationRulesOnUpdate():

   protected function getValidationRulesOnStore()
   {
       return [
           'title' => 'required|string|min:6',
           'content' => 'required|string',
       ];
   }
   

3. Customizing List Columns Override getListColumns():

   protected function getListColumns()
   {
       return [
           'id' => 'ID',
           'title' => 'Title',
           'published_at' => 'Published At',
       ];
   }
   

4. Relationships Define relationships in getRelationships():

   protected function getRelationships()
   {
       return [
           'author' => 'belongsTo:App\User',
       ];
   }
   

5. Actions Add custom actions via getActions():

   protected function getActions()
   {
       return [
           'publish' => [
               'label' => 'Publish',
               'method' => 'POST',
               'url' => '/blog/{id}/publish',
               'button_class' => 'btn-success',
           ],
       ];
   }
   

6. Form Customization Override getCreateFormFields()/getEditFormFields() for granular control:

   protected function getCreateFormFields()
   {
       return [
           'title' => ['type' => 'text', 'label' => 'Blog Title'],
           'content' => ['type' => 'textarea', 'label' => 'Content'],
       ];
   }
   

7. Search & Filtering Override getSearchableFields():

   protected function getSearchableFields()
   {
       return ['title', 'content'];
   }
   

8. Bulk Actions Enable via enableBulkActions():

   protected function enableBulkActions()
   {
       return true;
   }
   

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Experimental Status

   • Avoid for production; expect breaking changes.
   • Test thoroughly in staging.

2. Missing show Method

   • The show method is intentionally omitted. Implement manually if needed:

   public function show($id)
   {
       $blog = $this->model::findOrFail($id);
       return view('blog.show', compact('blog'));
   }
   

3. Validation Overrides

   • Forgetting to return an array in getValidationRulesOnStore() will break validation.
   • Use ->rules() for dynamic rules:

     protected function getValidationRulesOnStore()
     {
         return [
             'title' => ['required', 'string', Rule::unique('blogs')->ignore($this->model)],
         ];
     }
     

4. Field Type Mismatches

   • Ensure field types in getFields() match database columns (e.g., datetime vs. timestamp).
   • Use getFieldType() for custom logic:

     protected function getFieldType($field)
     {
         return match($field) {
             'published_at' => 'date',
             default => parent::getFieldType($field),
         };
     }
     

5. Relationship Loading

   • Eager-load relationships in getListQuery() to avoid N+1 queries:

     protected function getListQuery()
     {
         return $this->model::with('author')->query();
     }
     

6. CSRF Token Issues

   • Custom actions (e.g., publish) may fail if CSRF protection isn’t handled. Use:

     Route::post('/blog/{id}/publish', [BlogController::class, 'publish'])->name('blog.publish');
     

7. Bootstrap Dependency

   • Views rely on Bootstrap 4/5. Conflicts may arise with custom CSS/JS. Override views in resources/views/vendor/laravel-admin/crud.

Debugging Tips

1. Log Queries Enable Laravel debugging:

   DEBUG_BAR=true
   DB_DEBUG=true
   

2. Check Controller Methods

   • Override getListData() to inspect query results:

     protected function getListData()
     {
         $data = parent::getListData();
         \Log::info('List Data:', $data);
         return $data;
     }
     

3. Validation Errors

   • Dump validation rules and errors:

     protected function store()
     {
         $rules = $this->getValidationRulesOnStore();
         $validator = Validator::make(request()->all(), $rules);
         \Log::info('Validation Rules:', $rules);
         \Log::info('Validation Errors:', $validator->errors());
         // ...
     }
     

4. View Rendering

   • Override getView() to debug rendered views:

     protected function getView($method)
     {
         $view = parent::getView($method);
         \Log::info("Rendering view: $view");
         return $view;
     }
     

Extension Points

1. Custom Views

   • Override default views by publishing assets:

     php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laravel-admin-crud-views
     

   • Modify resources/views/vendor/laravel-admin/crud/.

2. API Integration

   • Extend for API responses by overriding getListData():

     public function index()
     {
         return response()->json($this->getListData());
     }
     

3. Middleware

   • Apply middleware to specific actions:

     public function store()
     {
         $this->middleware('auth.admin')->only(['store']);
         // ...
     }
     

4. Events

   • Listen for CRUD events (e.g., creating, created):

     $this->model::creating(function ($model) {
         $model->user_id = auth()->id();
     });
     

5. Localization

   • Override labels/placeholders via language files:

     // config/laravel-admin-crud.php
     'labels' => [
         'blog' => [
             'singular' => 'Post',
             'plural' => 'Posts',
         ],
     ],