Nova Locale Field Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install the package and add a JSON column to the model you want to localise:

composer require optimistdigital/nova-locale-field

// migration
$table->json('title')->nullable();

// app/Models/Page.php
protected $casts = ['title' => 'array'];

Then drop the field into the Nova resource:

use OptimistDigital\NovaLocaleField\LocaleField;

LocaleField::make('Title', 'title')
    ->locales([
        'en' => 'English',
        'et' => 'Estonian',
        'fi' => 'Finnish',
    ]),

The first use case is a CMS-style resource (Page, Post, Product) where editors fill in a title/body per locale and the whole map {"en": "...", "et": "..."} is stored in one column. Open the Nova resource, switch between locale tabs, and save.

Look first at: the README's exact method names (locales() vs setLocales()), the model's cast, and the stored value in the DB after one save — that JSON is the contract everything else depends on.

Implementation Patterns

• Single source of truth for locales. Read from config/app.php ('locales' => [...]) or a small config file and pass the same array to every LocaleField. Hard-coded per-field arrays drift and break fallback logic.
• Accessor with fallback. Reading a locale directly from a JSON column is verbose; wrap it:

  public function translated(string $field): ?string
  {
      return $this->{$field}[app()->getLocale()]
          ?? $this->{$field}['en']
          ?? null;
  }
  

• Index/detail display. The raw field renders the JSON blob on index columns, which is unreadable. Use ->onlyOnForms() on the LocaleField and add a plain Text field in index()/detail() that calls your translated() accessor.
• Validation. rules() applies to the whole attribute. Stack a custom rule that iterates locale keys for required-locale checks, and keep generic array rules on the field itself.
• Slug generation. Generate slugs from the primary locale's value after the field is filled (a saving observer works) rather than trying to derive them per-tab.
• Don't mix with spatie/laravel-translatable. That package expects one column per locale; this one writes a single JSON map. Use one or the other on any given column.

Gotchas and Tips

• Archived since Feb 2021. No Nova 4/5 support, no bug fixes, no security patches. Budget for a fork if you're on modern Nova.
• JSON column, not TEXT. MySQL 5.7+/Postgres work fine; TEXT works only if you cast to array and never query into it.
• Nova searchable() is effectively useless. The column is JSON, so index searches hit the serialized string. Add a separate plain-text search column if you need index search.
• "Array to string conversion" on validation failure. Nova rehydrates the field from the request; if the model isn't cast to array you'll get this error the moment a rule fails. Always cast.
• Normalise empties. Decided whether blank locales are null or "" and normalise in a mutator — otherwise translated() returns "" and hides your fallback.
• Locale list drift. If the field's locales() and app()->getLocale()/your accessor fallback disagree, you'll get nulls for content that clearly exists. Keep both sourced from one config key.
• Limited extension points. It's a straightforward form field; for custom tab labels, per-locale placeholders, or conditional locale sets you'll subclass LocaleField and override component() or its form template rather than rely on fluent builders.