README

Stop rewriting CRUD. Define your backend once, generate everything else.

Laravel Scaffold is a developer productivity tool that generates production-ready Laravel APIs from either:

an existing database, or
a simple human-readable spec file

It is designed for developers and teams who build many backends, not demos.

✅ Used in production
✅ Spec-driven & DB-driven
✅ Clean architecture (Services, Repositories, Requests)
✅ Safe, fast, and extensible

Why This Exists

If you’ve built more than a few Laravel applications, you already know the pattern:

Create models
Write migrations
Build repositories
Add services
Repeat validation rules
Repeat again on the next project

This tool exists to eliminate that repetition.

Instead of writing structure over and over, you define intent once, and let the tool generate consistent, maintainable code.

Installation

composer require ahertl/laravel-scaffold

Two Ways to Use It

1️⃣ Database-First Scaffolding (Legacy or Existing Projects)

Generate a full CRUD API directly from an existing table:

php artisan laravel:scaffold User --table=users --routes

This generates:

Model
Repository
Service
Controller
Optional routes

Perfect for:

legacy systems
modernizing old databases
inherited projects

2️⃣ Spec-Driven Scaffolding (Recommended)

Define your backend using a simple text spec:

user:
- name string required
- email string required unique
- password string hidden

book:
- title string
- isbn string unique
- authorId number

Generate everything:

php artisan laravel:scaffold --spec=api.spec --migration

Rich Spec Syntax

The original simple syntax still works, but richer migration-focused specs are also supported:

school table:schools softDeletes:
- schoolName string:150 required
- contactEmail string:191 required unique
- contactPhone string:30 nullable index
- isActive boolean default:true

student table:students softDeletes:
- schoolId foreignId:schools required cascadeOnDelete
- admissionNumber string:60 required unique
- firstName string:100 required
- lastName string:100 required
- middleName string:100 nullable
- gender enum:male,female nullable
- meta json nullable

payment table:payments:
- schoolId foreignId:schools required cascadeOnDelete
- parentId foreignId:parents required cascadeOnDelete
- amount decimal:12,2 required
- status enum:pending,paid,failed default:pending index
- paidAt datetime nullable

Entity directives can add application intent beyond plain CRUD:

resultPublication table:result_publications:
@route result-publications
@search studentName admissionNumber
@commands PublishResult SendResultToParent
@events ResultPublished ResultSentToParent
@state Draft Published Sent
@transition Draft Published PublishResult ResultPublished
@transition Published Sent SendResultToParent ResultSentToParent
@rule PublishResult requires studentId approvedAt
@rule SendResultToParent requires guardianEmail guardianPhone
- studentId foreignId:students required cascadeOnDelete
- status enum:Draft,Published,Sent default:Draft
- studentName string:150 required
- admissionNumber string:60 required
- guardianEmail string:191 nullable
- guardianPhone string:30 nullable
- approvedAt datetime nullable

Behavior directives generate Laravel extension points:

@search restricts repository search to allowed columns.
@commands creates service and controller methods for named business actions.
@events preserves event intent; CRUD methods also dispatch ModelCreated, ModelUpdated, and ModelDeleted events.
@state documents the allowed state set.
@transition From To Command Event creates command methods that validate and apply state transitions when a status or state field exists.
@rule Command requires fieldA fieldB creates precondition checks before generated command methods run.
@route customizes generated route prefixes when --routes is used.
@upload opts an entity into end-to-end Excel/CSV upload generation. Without it, no import class, upload controller method, upload service method, or upload route is generated.

Upload accepts optional settings:

score:
@upload field:file mimes:csv,xls,xlsx max:4096
- studentId foreignId:students required
- total decimal:5,2 required

Supported field types include:

string, text, mediumText, longText, integer, int, number,
bigInteger, unsignedBigInteger, foreignId, boolean, bool,
date, datetime, timestamp, time, decimal, float, double,
json, uuid, ulid, enum

Supported field modifiers include:

required, nullable, unique, index, default:value, unsigned,
constrained, constrained:table, references:table,
cascadeOnDelete, nullOnDelete, restrictOnDelete, cascadeOnUpdate,
hidden, nativeEnum

Supported entity modifiers include:

table:custom_table_name, softDeletes

Database-Agnostic Spec Mode

Spec-driven scaffolding is intentionally database-agnostic. It does not inspect the active database connection and generated migrations use Laravel's Schema Builder instead of driver-specific SQL.

For portability, enum:a,b,c generates a string column and an in:a,b,c validation rule by default. If you explicitly want a native database enum column, add the nativeEnum modifier:

payment:
- status enum:pending,paid,failed default:pending
- providerStatus enum:pending,paid,failed nativeEnum default:pending

Database-first scaffolding may still use driver-specific introspection depending on your database driver. Use spec mode when you need portable migrations across MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and other Laravel-supported databases.

Modular Monolith Output

Standard Laravel output remains the default. To generate module-scoped code from a spec, assign entities to modules:

@app architecture:modular

module Academics:
student table:students:
- firstName string:100 required
- lastName string:100 required

module Billing:
payment table:payments:
@upload field:file mimes:csv,xls,xlsx max:4096
- reference string:80 required unique
- amount decimal:12,2 required
- status enum:pending,paid,failed default:pending

You can also assign a module on an entity:

student module:Academics table:students:
- firstName string:100 required

Or with a directive:

student table:students:
@module Academics
- firstName string:100 required

Modular generation writes files under app/Modules/{Module} and registers each module route file through the application's root routes/api.php, so fresh Laravel 11/12 apps can discover the routes.

Database-first scaffolding also supports modular output:

php artisan laravel:scaffold Student --table=students --module=Academics --routes

When the provided table does not match Laravel's conventional model table name, the generated model includes protected $table = '...'.

What Gets Generated

From a single spec, Laravel Scaffold can generate:

✅ Eloquent models (fillable & hidden handled)
✅ Services & repositories
✅ Controllers
✅ Form Request validation classes
✅ Database migrations
✅ API routes (optional)

You can also generate only migrations:

php artisan laravel:scaffold --spec=api.spec --migration-only

Why Spec-Driven?

Spec-driven development ensures:

Database schema
Validation rules
API structure

…all come from one source of truth.

This dramatically reduces:

bugs
inconsistencies
onboarding time

Dry-Run Mode (Safe by Default)

Preview what will be generated without writing files:

php artisan laravel:scaffold --spec=api.spec --dry-run

Example Output Structure

app/
 ├── Models/User.php
 ├── Services/UserService.php
 ├── Repositories/UserRepository.php
 ├── Http/
 │   ├── Controllers/UserController.php
 │   └── Requests/
 │       ├── StoreUserRequest.php
 │       └── UpdateUserRequest.php
database/
 └── migrations/

When This Tool Shines

Laravel Scaffold is ideal if you:

Build multiple Laravel backends
Work on ERP, SaaS, or internal systems
Want consistent architecture across projects
Are tired of rewriting CRUD
Want faster backend delivery without shortcuts

Production Use

This tool has been used in multiple real-world projects to:

speed up backend delivery
standardize API structure
reduce boilerplate and human error

Philosophy

This is not a “magic CRUD generator”.

It enforces:

separation of concerns
explicit structure
predictable output

You stay in control — the tool just removes the busy work.

Roadmap

Planned improvements include:

foreign key detection
richer spec syntax (string:150, default:true)
OpenAPI generation
frontend SDK scaffolding

Contributing

This project is actively maintained and opinionated by the author.

Bug reports and feature discussions are welcome via Issues
Pull requests should be discussed first before implementation
Architectural changes will be evaluated carefully to maintain consistency

The goal is to keep the tool stable, predictable, and production-ready.

Project Governance

Laravel Scaffold follows a Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL) model. The maintainer retains final decision-making authority to ensure long-term consistency and quality.

License

MIT

ahertl / laravel-scaffold

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