Laravel Drafts Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require oddvalue/laravel-drafts
   php artisan vendor:publish --tag="drafts-config"
   

2. Model Integration: Add HasDrafts trait to your model:

   use Oddvalue\LaravelDrafts\Concerns\HasDrafts;
   
   class Post extends Model
   {
       use HasDrafts;
   }
   

3. Database Migration: Add draft columns to your table:

   Schema::table('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
       $table->drafts();
   });
   

First Use Case

Create a draft post:

$post = Post::createDraft(['title' => 'Draft Post']);

Publish it:

$post->publish();

Implementation Patterns

Workflows

Content Workflow

1. Draft Creation:

   // Create a draft
   $post = Post::createDraft(['title' => 'Draft Title']);
   
   // Or update existing as draft
   $post->updateAsDraft(['title' => 'Updated Draft']);
   

2. Previewing:

   // Enable preview mode (shows current draft)
   LaravelDrafts::previewMode(true);
   $posts = Post::all(); // Shows drafts instead of published
   
   // Disable preview mode
   LaravelDrafts::previewMode(false);
   

3. Publishing:

   $post->publish(); // Publishes the current draft
   

Admin Panel Integration

• Use Post::current() to fetch the latest draft for editing.
• Use Post::published() to fetch live content for the frontend.

Relation Handling

Define draftable relations in your model:

protected $draftableRelations = ['tags', 'author'];

The package automatically syncs relations when publishing.

Integration Tips

Middleware for Draft Access

Restrict draft access to specific routes:

Route::withDrafts(function () {
    Route::get('/admin/posts', [PostController::class, 'edit']);
});

Customizing Column Names

Override defaults via model constants:

class Post extends Model
{
    use HasDrafts;

    public const IS_CURRENT = 'is_editing';
}

Bulk Operations

Use scopes to filter drafts:

// Get all drafts
$drafts = Post::onlyDrafts()->get();

// Get published posts
$published = Post::published()->get();

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Relation Sync Issues:

   • Ensure $draftableRelations includes all relations you want synced.
   • Complex relations (e.g., polymorphic) may require manual handling.

2. Preview Mode Scope:

   • Forgetting to disable previewMode() can cause frontend to show drafts unintentionally.

3. Revision Limits:

   • Default keeps 10 revisions. Adjust in config/drafts.php:

     'revisions' => ['keep' => 20],
     

Debugging

1. Check Draft Status:

   $post->isDraft(); // Returns true if current revision is a draft
   $post->isPublished(); // Returns true if published
   

2. Inspect Revisions:

   $post->revisions()->get(); // List all revisions
   

3. Disable Global Scope Temporarily:

   Post::withoutGlobalScope(HasDrafts::class)->get(); // Bypasses published-only scope
   

Extension Points

1. Custom Revision Logic: Override shouldCreateRevision() in your model:

   public function shouldCreateRevision(): bool
   {
       return !in_array($this->status, ['archived']);
   }
   

2. Event Hooks: Listen for draft/publish events:

   Post::created(function ($post) {
       if ($post->isDraft()) {
           event(new DraftCreated($post));
       }
   });
   

3. Soft Deletes: Revisions respect soft deletes. Use forceDelete() to bypass:

   $post->forceDelete(); // Deletes revisions permanently