Generators Laravel Package

Getting Started

This package layers a set of make:* commands on top of Laravel 5's built-in generators so you can produce migrations, models, seeders, and pivot tables from a compact schema string instead of hand-writing boilerplate.

1. Require it in a Laravel 5.x project (it targets 5.0–5.4 era APIs):

composer require orangehill/generators

2. Register the service provider in config/app.php — this package predates package auto-discovery, so you must add it manually even on 5.5+:

'providers' => [
    // ...
    Orangehill\Generators\GeneratorsServiceProvider::class,
],

3. Confirm the commands are wired up:

php artisan list | grep 'make:'

You should see make:migration:schema, make:migration:pivot, make:seed, and make:scaffold (exact set varies by tag — check php artisan list output, not the README, which lags).

Where to look first: the command classes under src/ (each command's getArguments/getOptions reveals the real flags), then the stub files they render. The README documents the schema DSL but not every edge case.

First use case — generate and run a migration in one shot:

php artisan make:migration:schema create_posts_table \
  --schema="user_id:integer:foreign,title:string,body:text"
php artisan migrate

That is the 80% path: you describe columns, the package writes Schema::create(...) with the right $table->string(), ->foreign(), etc., and you skip the round-trip through the migration stub.

Implementation Patterns

Schema-string DSL. Columns are comma-separated, each name:type[:modifier[:modifier]]. Modifiers map to fluent calls:

php artisan make:migration:schema create_users_table \
  --schema="name:string,email:string:unique,password:string,remember_token:string:nullable,timestamps"

• :unique → ->unique()
• :index → ->index()
• :nullable → ->nullable()
• :default(value) → ->default('value')
• :foreign → ->unsigned()->foreign() (add the referenced table via --foreign-keys or a companion pivot command)

Generate a vertical slice in one command. The schema command accepts flags to fan out artifacts, which is where the package earns its keep day-to-day:

php artisan make:migration:schema create_invoices_table \
  --schema="user_id:integer:foreign,amount:decimal,total:decimal,status:string" \
  --model=1 --seed=1

This gives you migration + Eloquent model (with $fillable derived from the schema) + seeder. You then edit relations and casts by hand — the generator gives you a correct skeleton, not a finished domain model.

Pivot tables. Never hand-write many-to-many joins:

php artisan make:migration:pivot users roles

The package alphabetizes the table names (role_user) and generates both key columns with the correct foreign keys — matching Laravel's convention, which hand-written pivots routinely violate.

Scaffolding as a starting point, not a finish line. make:scaffold (with --schema) emits model + controller + migration in one pass. Use it to bootstrap a CRUD resource, then immediately strip what you don't need. Treat the output as a diff candidate, not committed code.

Scripted project bootstrapping. Because the schema is a single argument, these commands compose well in a bootstrap.sh or a Makefile target. This is the strongest real-world use: reproducible schema generation across dev/staging databases and new team members, rather than ad-hoc artisan tinker work.

Seeder generation. php artisan make:seed users creates UsersTableSeeder. It does not register itself in DatabaseSeeder — wire that call yourself.

Gotchas and Tips

Version lock is the headline risk. This package is unmaintained (0 stars, 0 dependents, last meaningful activity around Laravel 5.x). It will not install cleanly on Laravel 6+, and its generated code may not match current conventions (typed properties, foreignId()->constrained(), anonymous class migrations). Pin it in a legacy project; for greenfield work use laravel-shift/blueprint or doctrine/dbal-backed tooling instead.

Commas are the delimiter, so default values are hostile. :default(foo,bar) will split into two columns and produce a broken migration. Avoid commas in defaults, or hand-edit after generation.

Quote the schema in the shell. Unquoted --schema="a:string:unique" is usually fine, but any $ or ( in a default value will be eaten by bash. Prefer single quotes:

--schema='status:string:default(pending)'

timestamps and soft deletes are inconsistent across tags. Some versions accept a bare timestamps token; others require you to add it manually. Always open the generated migration and confirm $table->timestamps() is present before running migrate.

Foreign keys need the referenced table spelled out. :foreign alone gives you an unsigned column; the actual constraint may need the --foreign-keys flag or manual ->references('id')->on('users'). Check the generated file — a missing constraint fails silently at insert time, not at migration time.

Generated files are timestamp-prefixed and never overwrite. Re-running a command creates a second migration, not a patch. Delete the stale file before regenerating, or you'll end up with duplicate Schema::create calls that blow up on migrate.

No auto-registration of seeders. make:seed writes the class but leaves DatabaseSeeder::run() untouched. Add $this->call(UsersTableSeeder::class); yourself — a common source of "seeder works locally, not in CI" confusion.

Debugging generated output. Run with -v to see the resolved paths, then diff the rendered stub against src/*/stubs/ in the vendor directory to understand why a column came out wrong. If a command errors on parsing, the schema string (not the package) is almost always the culprit — isolate it to a single column and add modifiers back one at a time.

Extension points. Subclass the command classes and re-register them in your own service provider if you need custom column types (JSON, enums, spatial) — the built-in DSL doesn't cover them. If the package publishes a config (php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Orangehill\Generators\GeneratorsServiceProvider"), check it for model/seed path overrides before hardcoding namespaces.