- Can I use mindy/orm-nested-set with Laravel's Eloquent ORM?
- No, not directly. The package is a subtree split written against Mindy's own ORM model base class and query builder, and it ships without a Laravel service provider, Eloquent trait, facade, or migration helpers. There is no drop-in integration path for Eloquent, so you would either run Mindy's ORM alongside Eloquent or port the tree logic into an Eloquent trait.
- Is mindy/orm-nested-set a replacement for kalnoy/nestedset?
- No. kalnoy/nestedset is the established Laravel package and provides an Eloquent trait, migration and blueprint helpers, scoping, and multi-root support. mindy/orm-nested-set targets a different ORM entirely and has no Laravel framework integration, so it is not a substitute for the incumbent.
- What is mindy/orm-nested-set actually used for?
- It implements the nested set model, storing hierarchies as left and right boundary values so subtree reads are cheap. That pattern is typically used for categories, menus, org charts, and permission trees where reads heavily outnumber writes. The package claims support for tree creation, node moves, ancestor and descendant lookups, and efficient subtree queries.
- Why does the package description mention file and image fields?
- The advertised description ('The Mindy Orm File and Image Fields') does not match the repository name or the nested set concept. That suggests a copy-paste publish or a repository repurposed without updating its manifest, both of which correlate with abandoned or unversioned code. Verify that the source actually implements nested set semantics before depending on it.
- How do I install mindy/orm-nested-set with Composer?
- The nominal command is composer require mindy/orm-nested-set, but confirm it is actually installable and that the autoloading and PHP version constraints are sane. Expect nothing to register automatically in a Laravel app, since there is no service provider or package discovery support. If you are on Laravel, treat this as a reference implementation to read rather than a dependency to install.
- Does mindy/orm-nested-set support Laravel 10 or Laravel 11?
- There are no Laravel version constraints, no service provider, and no Eloquent integration, so it is not tied to any Laravel release. It assumes Mindy's model and query layers instead. For Laravel 10 or 11, use kalnoy/nestedset, which is actively maintained against current framework versions.
- Are tree moves and deletes in mindy/orm-nested-set transactional and concurrency-safe?
- This is not documented, and it is the single most important thing to verify in the source. Nested set writes touch multiple rows, so every move, insert, and delete must run inside a transaction with row locking such as SELECT ... FOR UPDATE, and boundaries must be re-indexed after deletes. Without that discipline, concurrent moves will silently corrupt the left and right values.
- Is mindy/orm-nested-set actively maintained and tested?
- The available signals suggest not: roughly 1 star, 0 dependents, a composite score near 0.005, no visible CI, no test suite evidence, and no issue activity or release cadence to review. There is also no coverage evident for move edge cases like root moves, leaf promotion, or sibling reordering. Treat it as an unmaintained reference implementation rather than a production dependency.
- What is the best nested set package for Laravel instead?
- kalnoy/nestedset is the default recommendation. It is maintained, widely deployed, and offers an Eloquent trait plus migration helpers, scoping, and multi-root support that this package does not provide for Laravel. Only look elsewhere if you have a specific capability gap the incumbent cannot cover.
- Can I extract the tree logic from mindy/orm-nested-set into an Eloquent trait?
- Likely yes, and that is the pragmatic route if you specifically want this algorithm. The reusable asset is the tree manipulation logic itself, which is typically a few hundred framework-agnostic lines covering insert, move, delete, subtree query, and path materialization, while the Mindy ORM coupling is the part that does not travel. The MIT license permits in-housing; budget it as a small internal project and add the transaction and locking discipline the original may lack.