Laravel Charts Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install with composer require laraveldaily/laravel-charts. No config publishing needed—defaults work out of the box. The first use case is rendering a simple Eloquent-backed bar chart in a controller:

use LaravelDaily\Charts\Facades\Charts;

$chart = Charts::eloquent(App\Models\User::class, 'bar')
    ->title('Users by Role')
    ->group('role')
    ->values('id');

return view('dashboard', compact('chart'));

Then in Blade: @charts('chart'). For static data (e.g., mocked metrics), use Charts::create('bar', 'chartjs') with labels() and values(). Start with the README examples—they include copy-pasteable snippets for common patterns.

Implementation Patterns

• Eloquent-backed charts: Prefer ->eloquent(Model::class, 'type') over manual aggregation. Use ->group('column') for automatic grouping (supports relationships like ->group('team.name') as of v0.1.6).
• Multi-dataset charts: Enable stacking with ->stacked(true) (v0.2.0+), or define conditional datasets via ->conditions([['name' => 'Paid', 'condition' => 'status = \'paid\'', 'color' => '#4CAF50']]) (v0.1.15+).
• Time-based trends: Use ->group('created_at', 'month') with ->format('M Y') and ->timezone('America/New_York') for localized charts. Avoid manual Carbon parsing—the package handles date/datetime casting automatically.
• Reusability: Encapsulate complex charts in service classes:

  class AnalyticsCharts {
      public static function weeklyOrders() {
          return Charts::eloquent(Order::class, 'line')
              ->group('created_at', 'week')
              ->values('total')
              ->aggregate('sum')
              ->filter(fn($q) => $q->whereNotNull('paid_at'));
      }
  }
  

• Customization: Override defaults with ->options(['tooltips' => [...]]) for Chart.js-level control. Use ->dataset_name('Revenue') to rename auto-generated labels instead of relying on column names.

Gotchas and Tips

• Empty dataset handling: Charts crash on null/empty values. Always validate with ->rawValues() or use ->blank('No data') (v0.1.28+) for graceful fallback.
• Stacked option bug: Pre-v0.2.3, setting 'stacked' in raw $options fails. Always use the builder method ->stacked(true).
• Global scopes: Soft deletes and custom scopes interfere—use ->withoutGlobalScopes() or pass an array of scopes to skip (e.g., ->withoutGlobalScopes([SoftDeletingScope::class])).
• Aggregation quirks: ->aggregate_transform() callbacks must handle numeric types (not strings). v0.1.14 fixed type coercion—ensure your closure returns float|int, not formatted strings.
• Relationship grouping: Ambiguous column names break SQL (e.g., name in users and teams). Prefix with table: ->group('teams.name') or alias in the query.
• Debugging:
  • Run ->toSql() on the internal query to inspect generated SQL.
  • Use ->rawLabels() and ->rawValues() to verify data alignment.
  • For multi-dataset charts, mismatched label counts cause rendering errors—explicitly set ->labels([...]) to synchronize.
• Limitations: Only supports Chart.js core types (bar, line, pie, doughnut). No radar/area/waterfall—implement custom JS for these.