Laravel Db Snapshots Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Install the package:

   composer require spatie/laravel-db-snapshots
   

2. Configure storage disk in config/filesystems.php:

   'snapshots' => [
       'driver' => 'local',
       'root' => database_path('snapshots'),
   ],
   

3. Publish config (optional):

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\DbSnapshots\DbSnapshotsServiceProvider"
   

First Use Case: Creating a Snapshot

Create a baseline database state for testing or rollback:

php artisan snapshot:create "initial-state"

Verify the snapshot exists:

php artisan snapshot:list

Implementation Patterns

Workflow: Feature Development with Snapshots

1. Baseline snapshot before starting a feature:

   php artisan snapshot:create "feature-x-start"
   

2. Restore snapshot after testing:

   php artisan snapshot:load "feature-x-start"
   

3. Cleanup old snapshots (keep last 3):

   php artisan snapshot:cleanup --keep=3
   

Integration with CI/CD

• Pre-test snapshot: Load a known state before running tests.
• Post-test snapshot: Capture test results for debugging.

  php artisan snapshot:create "test-run-$(date +%s)"
  

Selective Table Snapshots

Target specific tables (e.g., for large databases):

php artisan snapshot:create "users-only" --table=users,roles

Multi-Connection Snapshots

Useful for testing migrations across environments:

php artisan snapshot:create "staging-db" --connection=staging

Event-Driven Extensions

Listen for snapshot events to trigger custom logic (e.g., notifications):

// In EventServiceProvider
protected $listen = [
    \Spatie\DbSnapshots\Events\CreatedSnapshot::class => [
        \App\Listeners\LogSnapshotCreation::class,
    ],
];

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Large Snapshots:

   • Use --stream for loading large files to avoid memory issues:

     php artisan snapshot:load "big-dump" --stream
     

   • Enable compression for storage efficiency:

     php artisan snapshot:create "compressed" --compress
     

2. Table Exclusions:

   • --exclude is ignored if --table is specified. Use --table for inclusion-only logic.

3. Connection Conflicts:

   • Ensure the target connection exists in config/database.php before loading snapshots.

4. PostgreSQL Ownership:

   • Add dump.addExtraOption to skip owner settings:

     'pgsql' => [
         'dump' => ['addExtraOption' => '--no-owner'],
     ],
     

Debugging

• Verify snapshot integrity: Manually inspect the .sql file in storage/app/snapshots.
• Check disk permissions: Ensure the snapshots disk is writable.

Extension Points

1. Custom Dump Logic: Override the dumper by binding a custom Spatie\DbSnapshots\Dumpers\Dumper implementation.

2. Pre/Post-Load Hooks: Use events (LoadingSnapshot, LoadedSnapshot) to validate or transform data before loading.

3. Remote Storage: Extend the snapshots disk to use S3 or other cloud storage for shared snapshots.

Pro Tips

• Tag Snapshots: Include branch names or commit hashes in snapshot names for traceability:

  php artisan snapshot:create "feature-x-$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
  

• Automate Cleanup: Schedule snapshot:cleanup in Laravel’s app/Console/Kernel.php:

  protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule) {
      $schedule->command('snapshot:cleanup --keep=5')->daily();
  }
  

• Exclude Temporary Tables: Use the exclude config to skip migrations, failed_jobs, etc.:

  'exclude' => ['migrations', 'failed_jobs'],