Docheader Laravel Package

Getting Started

1. Install via Composer: composer require --dev malukenho/docheader
2. Run php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Malukenho\DocHeader\DocHeaderServiceProvider" to publish the config (config/docheader.php) and stubs
3. Review and customize config/docheader.php — adjust templates for license, author, year, file type, etc.
4. First use: php artisan docheader:generate to scan app/ and add headers to PHP files missing them

💡 Ideal for onboarding new projects or cleaning up legacy codebases — start with a dry run: php artisan docheader:generate --dry-run

Implementation Patterns

• CI Enforcement: Add php artisan docheader:check to your pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) to fail if any file lacks a compliant header
• Pre-commit Hook: Use husky + lint-staged or simple Git hooks to auto-fix headers on staged PHP files:

  php artisan docheader:apply --only-staged
  

• Per-File Customization: Use @docblock-header ignore in a file’s docblock to exclude it from updates
• Template Inheritance: Define base templates (e.g., company-header) and override per directory via config or --config flag for multirepo setups
• Laravel Model/Controller Scoping: Run scoped commands like php artisan docheader:generate --path=app/Models to avoid touching tests or config

Gotchas and Tips

• ⚠️ Date Handling: Year auto-detects current year by default — override via config ('year' => 2025) or flag (--year=2024) to avoid unnecessary diffs
• ⚠️ Existing Headers: generate skips files with any valid header; update forces rewrite — use --force with care in shared repos
• 🧪 Testing Tip: Add --filter=.*Test\.php$ to skip test headers during bulk ops; configure skip_patterns in config/docheader.php
• 🔧 Extensibility: Extend \Malukenho\DocHeader\HeaderGenerator to inject custom tokens (e.g., {gitBranch} or {composerVersion})
• 📦 Stale Package Warning: Last release in 2017 — verify compatibility with PHP 8.0+ via composer update --with-all-dependencies; check config/docheader.php uses phpstan-style docblocks (/** not /*!)
• 🧩 Laravel-specific Tip: In config/docheader.php, add 'laravel' => true to auto-include @license MIT and @link https://laravel.com/docs/{version} via dynamic tokens