devespresso/system-life-cycle

System Life Cycle

0.3 2026-03-16 17:56 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.1
• illuminate/console: ^10.0|^11.0
• illuminate/database: ^10.0|^11.0
• illuminate/queue: ^10.0|^11.0
• illuminate/support: ^10.0|^11.0

Requires (Dev)

• fakerphp/faker: ^1.23
• orchestra/testbench: ^8.0|^9.0
• phpunit/phpunit: ^10.0|^11.0

MIT

• Abi

README

A Laravel package for managing multi-stage, queue-driven lifecycle workflows on Eloquent models. Define workflows with ordered stages, attach them to any model, and let the system execute, retry, and log every transition automatically.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• Laravel 10 or 11

Installation

composer require devespresso/system-life-cycle

Publish the config and migrations:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=devespresso-life-cycle-config
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=devespresso-life-cycle-migrations
php artisan migrate

Configuration

// config/systemLifeCycle.php

return [
    // Days to keep execution logs
    'log_retention_days' => 90,

    // Days to keep completed lifecycle model records
    'completed_model_retention_days' => 30,

    // Column type for model_id in polymorphic relations
    // Must be set BEFORE running migrations
    // Supported: 'string', 'integer', 'ulid', 'uuid'
    'model_id_type' => 'string',

    // Total number of execution attempts before a record is marked as failed
    'max_attempts' => 3,

    // Set to true and populate 'relation_mapping' to use custom morph aliases
    'custom_relation_mapping' => false,
    'relation_mapping' => [],

    // Schedule configuration — set 'enabled' to false to manage commands yourself
    'schedule' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'run' => [
            'frequency'          => 'hourly',
            'window_in_minutes'  => 60,   // executes_at lookup window
            'stale_after_minutes' => 120, // reset executes_at after this
        ],
        'logs_clean_up'            => ['frequency' => 'weekly'],
        'completed_models_clean_up' => ['frequency' => 'weekly'],
    ],
];

Important: Set model_id_type before running migrations. It controls the column type used for model_id in the system_life_cycle_models and system_life_cycle_logs tables and cannot be changed after migration without a manual schema change.

Core Concepts

Lifecycle

A SystemLifeCycle is the workflow definition. It has a unique code, an active flag, date range, and an ordered set of stages.

Stage

A SystemLifeCycleStage belongs to a lifecycle and holds the sequence (order) and the fully-qualified class name of the service that executes it.

Lifecycle Model

A SystemLifeCycleModel is the per-model record that tracks where a specific Eloquent model is in a specific lifecycle — current stage, status, attempts, payload, and scheduling.

Lifecycle Log

A SystemLifeCycleLog records every execution attempt (success or failure) with the stage, status, payload snapshot, and any error message.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
pending	Waiting to be picked up
processing	Claimed by the current run batch
completed	All stages finished successfully
failed	Exceeded max attempts
success	Used in logs to mark a successful execution

Usage

1. Enable lifecycles on a model

Add the EnableSystemLifeCycles trait to any Eloquent model:

use Devespresso\SystemLifeCycle\Traits\EnableSystemLifeCycles;

class User extends Model
{
    use EnableSystemLifeCycles;
}

This provides the following methods:

// Attach a lifecycle to the model
// Idempotent — returns the existing record if already enrolled,
// regardless of which stage the model is currently on
$user->addLifeCycleByCode('onboarding');

// Re-enroll from the beginning (resets stage, status, attempts, payload)
// Creates a fresh record if the model was never enrolled
$user->reEnrollLifeCycle('onboarding');

// Get the raw SystemLifeCycleModel record for a lifecycle
$record = $user->getLifeCycleByCode('onboarding');
// $record->status, $record->attempts, $record->payload ...

// Get the stage service instance for the model's current stage
$stage = $user->getLifeCycleStageByCode('onboarding'); // returns ?LifeCycleStageContract

// Manually advance to the next stage (bypasses logging and payload propagation)
$user->setNextLifeCycleStage('onboarding');

// Remove the lifecycle from the model
$user->removeLifeCycle('onboarding');

// Query all lifecycle model records for this model
$user->lifeCycles()->get();

2. Create a stage service

Extend SystemLifeCycleService for each stage in your workflow:

use Devespresso\SystemLifeCycle\SystemLifeCycleService;

class SendWelcomeEmailStage extends SystemLifeCycleService
{
    public function handle(): void
    {
        // $this->model    — the Eloquent model being processed
        // $this->params   — the payload array (read/write between stages)
        // $this->systemLifeCycleModel — the raw lifecycle model record

        Mail::to($this->model->email)->send(new WelcomeEmail($this->model));

        $this->setParam('welcome_sent_at', now()->toDateTimeString());
    }

    public function shouldContinueToNextStage(): bool
    {
        // Return false to reschedule this stage for later
        return true;
    }
}

Available helpers in your stage:

Helper	Description
$this->model	The Eloquent model attached to this lifecycle record
$this->params	The payload array (persisted across stages)
$this->systemLifeCycleModel	The SystemLifeCycleModel record
$this->setParam(key, value)	Write a value into the payload
$this->getParam(key)	Read a value from the payload
$this->isRetry()	Returns true if this is a retry attempt (attempts >= 1)
$this->setExecutesAt()	Override to return a Carbon instance for deferred rescheduling

3. Register the lifecycle

Use the interactive Artisan command to create a lifecycle and its stages:

php artisan devespresso:life-cycle:create

Or create them programmatically:

use Devespresso\SystemLifeCycle\Models\SystemLifeCycle;
use Devespresso\SystemLifeCycle\Models\SystemLifeCycleStage;

$lifecycle = SystemLifeCycle::create([
    'name'             => 'User Onboarding',
    'code'             => 'onboarding',
    'active'           => true,
    'starts_at'        => now(),
    'activate_by_cron' => true,
]);

SystemLifeCycleStage::create([
    'system_life_cycle_id' => $lifecycle->id,
    'sequence'             => 1,
    'name'                 => 'Send Welcome Email',
    'class'                => SendWelcomeEmailStage::class,
]);

SystemLifeCycleStage::create([
    'system_life_cycle_id' => $lifecycle->id,
    'sequence'             => 2,
    'name'                 => 'Assign Default Role',
    'class'                => AssignDefaultRoleStage::class,
]);

4. Attach models to the lifecycle

// When a user registers
$user->addLifeCycleByCode('onboarding');

5. Automatic scheduling

The package automatically registers the following scheduled commands via its service provider:

Command	Default Frequency
devespresso:life-cycle:run	Hourly
devespresso:life-cycle:logs-clean-up	Weekly
devespresso:life-cycle:completed-models-clean-up	Weekly

You can customize frequencies or disable auto-scheduling entirely via the schedule config key:

// Run every 5 minutes instead of hourly
'schedule' => [
    'enabled' => true,
    'run' => [
        'frequency'           => 'everyFiveMinutes',
        'window_in_minutes'   => 5,
        'stale_after_minutes' => 10,
    ],
],

// Disable auto-scheduling to manage commands yourself.
// You must still set window_in_minutes and stale_after_minutes
// to match whatever frequency you schedule the run command at,
// as the query scope and stale reset rely on these values.
'schedule' => [
    'enabled' => false,
    'run' => [
        'window_in_minutes'   => 5,   // match your custom frequency
        'stale_after_minutes' => 10,
    ],
],

The run command:

1. Resets stale executes_at values (older than stale_after_minutes, default 120)
2. Assigns the first stage to any records missing one
3. Claims all pending records as processing using a batch ID
4. Dispatches a SystemLifeCycleExecuteJob for each claimed record

Execution window (whereCanBeExecuted scope)

The whereCanBeExecuted scope determines which records are eligible on each tick. A record is eligible when:

1. Its lifecycle is active and has started (and not ended)
2. If running via cron, the lifecycle has activate_by_cron = true
3. Either executes_at is null (run immediately) or it falls within the configured window

The window is controlled by schedule.run.window_in_minutes (default 60) and extends in both directions from now(). Boundaries are snapped to startOfMinute() / endOfMinute() so records scheduled at any second within those boundary minutes are included.

When customizing the run frequency, keep all three values in sync:

Frequency	window_in_minutes	stale_after_minutes
everyFiveMinutes	5	10
everyTenMinutes	10	20
hourly (default)	60	120

You can also pass custom $startDate / $endDate arguments to the scope to override the config window entirely.

Execution Flow

devespresso:life-cycle:run
    └── SystemLifeCycleExecuteJob (queued)
            └── YourStageService::execute()
                    ├── shouldContinueToNextStage() == false
                    │       └── reschedule: status=pending, executes_at=setExecutesAt()
                    └── shouldContinueToNextStage() == true (or isRetry())
                            ├── handle()
                            ├── createSuccessLog()
                            └── setNextStage()
                                    ├── has next stage → pending + new stage_id + reset attempts
                                    └── no next stage  → completed

On exception:

execute() catches Exception
    ├── createErrorLog()
    └── manageFailedCycle()
            ├── attempts + 1 < max_attempts  → pending, executes_at +1hr, attempts++
            └── attempts + 1 >= max_attempts → failed, attempts++

With max_attempts = 3, a record gets exactly 3 total execution attempts before being marked as failed.

Stage Payload

The payload column is a JSON object shared across all stages of a lifecycle run. Use setParam and getParam to pass data between stages without extra queries:

// Stage 1
$this->setParam('subscription_id', $subscription->id);

// Stage 2
$subscriptionId = $this->getParam('subscription_id');

Deferred Execution

Return a specific time from setExecutesAt() to control when a rescheduled stage runs:

public function shouldContinueToNextStage(): bool
{
    return $this->model->payment_verified_at !== null;
}

public function setExecutesAt(): ?Carbon
{
    // Check again in 30 minutes
    return now()->addMinutes(30);
}

Re-enrollment

To restart a completed (or failed) lifecycle from the beginning:

$user->reEnrollLifeCycle('onboarding');

This resets the record to stage 1 with status=pending, attempts=0, and clears payload, batch, and executes_at. If the model was never enrolled it creates a fresh record, making it safe to call unconditionally.

Retry Behaviour

When shouldContinueToNextStage() returns false on the first attempt, the stage is rescheduled silently (no log). On subsequent attempts (isRetry() === true) the stage runs regardless, so a model is never permanently stuck waiting.

Custom Model ID Types

If your models use ULIDs, UUIDs, or integer IDs, configure the type before running migrations:

// config/systemLifeCycle.php
'model_id_type' => 'ulid',  // 'string' | 'integer' | 'ulid' | 'uuid'

Custom Morph Map

If your application uses morph aliases, enable custom mapping in the config:

'custom_relation_mapping' => true,
'relation_mapping' => [
    'user'  => \App\Models\User::class,
    'order' => \App\Models\Order::class,
],

Artisan Commands

Command	Description
devespresso:life-cycle:create	Interactively create a lifecycle with stages
devespresso:life-cycle:run	Process and dispatch all pending lifecycle records
devespresso:life-cycle:logs-clean-up	Delete logs older than log_retention_days
devespresso:life-cycle:completed-models-clean-up	Delete completed records older than completed_model_retention_days

Database Schema

Table	Description
system_life_cycles	Lifecycle definitions
system_life_cycle_stages	Ordered stages belonging to a lifecycle
system_life_cycle_models	Per-model tracking of current position in a lifecycle
system_life_cycle_logs	Immutable execution history (success and failure)

All tables use a bigIncrements internal primary key (internal_id) and a public ULID identifier (id) for foreign key relationships.

Testing

composer test

The package uses Orchestra Testbench with an SQLite in-memory database.

License

MIT