Laravel Web Tinker Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require spatie/laravel-web-tinker --dev
   php artisan web-tinker:install
   

   This publishes the frontend assets and config file.

2. First Use: Visit /tinker in your local Laravel environment (default path). No authentication is required in local by default.

3. Quick Test: Run a simple Laravel command like:

   User::first()
   

   or test Eloquent queries:

   DB::table('users')->count()
   

Key Files to Review

• Config: config/web-tinker.php (path, theme, middleware, output modifiers)
• Assets: Published to public/vendor/web-tinker (Vue.js frontend)

Implementation Patterns

Daily Workflow

1. Debugging Models/Queries:

   // Test a relationship
   $user = User::find(1);
   $user->posts()->count();
   
   // Chain queries
   User::where('active', true)->get()->pluck('email');
   

2. Testing API Responses:

   $response = Http::get('https://api.example.com/users');
   $response->json();
   

3. Interactive Testing:

   // Test a method incrementally
   $user = User::find(1);
   $user->update(['name' => 'New Name']);
   $user->fresh()->name; // Verify change
   

4. Custom Output Modifiers: Extend \Spatie\WebTinker\OutputModifiers\OutputModifier to format output:

   // config/web-tinker.php
   'output_modifier' => App\OutputModifiers\CustomModifier::class,
   

Integration Tips

• Middleware: Add custom middleware to the middleware array in config to restrict access (e.g., auth).
• PsySH Config: Override default PsySH behavior via config_file in config:

  'config_file' => '.psyshrc.php',
  

• Dark/Light Theme: Toggle via theme config ('auto', 'light', or 'dark').

Advanced Use Cases

1. Testing Jobs/Queues:

   dispatch(new SendEmailJob($user));
   // Check queue
   Bus::dispatchNow(new SendEmailJob($user));
   

2. Mocking Dependencies:

   $mock = Mockery::mock('App\Services\PaymentService');
   $mock->shouldReceive('charge')->once()->andReturn(true);
   app()->instance('App\Services\PaymentService', $mock);
   

3. Real-Time Feedback: Use dd() or dump() for quick inspection:

   dump($user->posts->toArray());
   

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

1. Security:

   • Never use in production (arbitrary code execution risk).
   • Restrict access via middleware or Gate::define('viewWebTinker', ...).
   • Use .env to disable in non-local environments:

     APP_ENV=production
     

2. Docker/Hanging Requests:

   • Ensure PSYSH_CONFIG is set if using custom configs.
   • Avoid long-running loops (e.g., while(true)).

3. Output Formatting:

   • Default output includes timestamps. Override with a custom OutputModifier:

     class NoTimestampModifier implements OutputModifier {
         public function modify(string $output): string {
             return preg_replace('/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\s/', '', $output);
         }
     }
     

4. PsySH Quirks:

   • Avoid readline() calls (not supported in web context).
   • Use exit or return to terminate execution cleanly.

Debugging Tips

1. Empty Output:

   • Check for PHP errors in Laravel logs (storage/logs/laravel.log).
   • Verify PSYSH_CONFIG is readable if custom config is used.

2. Slow Responses:

   • Disable output modifiers temporarily to isolate the issue.
   • Monitor memory usage with memory_get_usage().

3. Middleware Conflicts:

   • Temporarily remove custom middleware to test:

     'middleware' => [\Illuminate\Session\Middleware\StartSession::class],
     

Extension Points

1. Custom Commands: Add aliases to .psyshrc.php:

   Psy\Configuration::getAliasManager()->define('u', 'User::first()');
   

2. UI Customization: Override the Vue.js frontend in resources/js/web-tinker (published assets).

3. Event Listeners: Hook into WebTinkerExecuting events (if available in future versions) to log usage.

Pro Tips

• Bookmark /tinker for quick access during development.
• Use !! to force evaluation (e.g., !!User::count()).
• Clear Cache: Run php artisan cache:clear if output modifiers stop working.
• Test Locally First: Always validate changes in a local environment before sharing.