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Nested Set Laravel Package
webx-ui/nested-set
A Laravel package for managing hierarchical data with the nested set model, offering tree-friendly operations for building, querying, and organizing parent-child records in Eloquent models.
webx-ui/nested-set brings the nested set model to Laravel's Eloquent, letting you store and query hierarchical data—categories, menus, organizational trees—without recursive queries. Nodes carry left/right bounds, so entire subtrees can be fetched, moved, or counted in a single query.
- Eloquent trait for zero-config integration with existing models
- Single-query subtree retrieval plus ancestor and descendant lookups
- Safe node moves that keep left/right bounds consistent
- Ordered siblings with reordering support
- Scopes and helpers for roots, leaves, depth, and tree rebuilds
Frequently asked questions about Nested Set
- How do I install webx-ui/nested-set in a Laravel application?
- Install it with Composer using composer require webx-ui/nested-set, then add the package's nested set trait to the Eloquent model that represents your tree. Because the package ships without a meaningful README, the first step should be reading vendor/webx-ui/nested-set/src/ to confirm the exact trait name and method signatures. After adding the trait you still need to create the lft, rgt, depth and optional tree_id/parent_id columns yourself, since the migration convention is not documented.
- What database columns does my model need for the nested set pattern?
- The nested set model requires left and right bound columns (commonly lft and rgt) plus a depth column, and usually a parent_id and a tree_id if you store multiple trees in one table. Composite indexes on tree_id with lft and rgt keep subtree range scans fast; without them single-query subtree retrieval loses much of its advantage. Confirm the exact column names expected by the trait in the package source before writing your migration, because no published contract exists.
- How do I get all descendants or a whole subtree in a single query?
- With nested sets, a subtree is a range scan: you select rows where lft is between the node's lft and rgt, which returns the entire branch in one indexed query instead of recursion. The package advertises single-query subtree, ancestor and descendant lookups plus scopes for roots, leaves and depth. Verify the actual method names for ancestors(), descendants() and siblings() by reading the source, since they are not documented publicly.
- Is webx-ui/nested-set a good alternative to kalnoy/nestedset?
- kalnoy/nestedset is the de facto standard for nested sets in Eloquent, with years of dependents, issue history and documentation behind it. webx-ui/nested-set has no Packagist reputation, no stars and no documented contract, so it is closer to sample code you adopt and own than a vendor dependency. Choose it only after a side-by-side spike against kalnoy's package; for most teams the mature option wins unless you specifically want this implementation's surface.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions does this package support?
- The package description does not state PHP or Laravel version constraints, and there is no README section listing compatibility. Check the composer.json inside vendor/webx-ui/nested-set for the require block and any CI configuration in the repository to see which framework versions and database drivers are actually tested. Do not assume support for older Laravel releases or for all of MySQL, Postgres and SQLite until you confirm it.
- Does the package handle concurrent moves safely, with transactions and row locking?
- Concurrency behavior is not documented, so you should assume there is no guaranteed locking strategy and plan to own it. Two simultaneous structural moves on the same tree can deadlock or corrupt the left and right bounds if inserts, moves and deletes do not run inside a transaction with lockForUpdate() on the affected rows. The safe pattern is to serialize writes per tree, wrap each operation in a transaction, and test parallel moves explicitly before going to production.
- How do I move a node or reorder siblings without corrupting the tree?
- Use the trait's move methods rather than updating parent_id directly, because a bulk update bypasses the trait and leaves lft and rgt stale, silently breaking every later query. The package advertises safe node moves that keep bounds consistent plus ordered siblings with reordering support. Because method names such as moveTo* and makeRoot are not documented, read the source and cover moves with tests, especially moves that change depth or shift a node across many siblings.
- Does webx-ui/nested-set support soft deletes and multi-tenant trees?
- Soft deletes are a classic nested set trap: deleting a row without closing its bounds leaves either numbering gaps or bounds that look non-contiguous under a global scope, and the package does not document which behavior it follows. Multi-tenancy has a similar risk; if the trait does not install a global scope on tree_id, any query missing a where('tree_id', ...) clause becomes a cross-tenant data exposure rather than just a wrong menu. Test both scenarios early and wrap queries in a repository layer that always applies the tree constraint.
- Is there a way to rebuild or validate a tree that has become corrupted?
- The package blurb mentions tree rebuild helpers, but whether recovery is exposed as an artisan command, a static method, or both is not documented. Before committing, find that entry point in the source and confirm it can recalculate all bounds from parent_id for a given tree. Having a validated rebuild path matters more than usual here, because a single bypassed move can leave the whole tree unreadable until bounds are recomputed.
- Is the package maintained and safe to use in production?
- The adoption profile is the main risk: zero stars, zero dependents, no CVE feed, no regression signal and no support channel to escalate to. That does not mean the code is wrong, but it does mean you must treat it as internal code you have adopted and now own, including upgrades and bug fixes. Budget a one-week evaluation spike, read the source, write your own tests for inserts, moves, deletes and cross-tree operations, and only then decide whether to depend on it or wrap it behind an interface.
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