README

Laravel Metadata

Manage Metadata. Simply and Flexibly.

Laravel Metadata simplifies storing dynamic key-value data for your Eloquent models. Stop modifying database schemas for every new field and start managing extensible data with ease. It provides a robust and flexible metadata system that enables you to attach dynamic key-value data to any model through a polymorphic relationship—perfect for storing custom fields, settings, options, and user-defined attributes without modifying your database schema. This is where powerful metadata management meets developer-friendly simplicity—giving you complete control over dynamic data without the complexity.

Why Laravel Metadata?

Dynamic Key-Value Storage

Laravel Metadata allows you to store arbitrary key-value pairs for any Eloquent model without modifying the model's table structure. This is perfect for storing custom fields, user preferences, product attributes, and any other extensible data.

Polymorphic Relationships

The package uses Laravel's polymorphic relationships, allowing a single metas table to store metadata for multiple model types. This keeps your database schema clean and maintainable while providing maximum flexibility.

Key Whitelisting

Control which metadata keys are allowed for each model. Define a whitelist of allowed keys to prevent typos and ensure data integrity, or use ['*'] to allow all keys.

Automatic JSON Handling

Arrays and objects are automatically JSON-encoded when stored and decoded when retrieved. The package tracks which values are JSON, ensuring proper type handling.

What is Metadata Management?

Metadata management is the process of storing and retrieving additional information about your models that doesn't fit into the main table structure. Traditional approaches often require:

Adding columns to tables (inflexible)
Creating separate tables for each model (redundant)
Using JSON columns (limited querying)

Laravel Metadata solves these challenges by providing:

Polymorphic Storage: One table for all metadata across all models
Dynamic Keys: Add new metadata keys without schema changes
Type Safety: Automatic JSON encoding/decoding
Query Support: Filter and search by metadata
Key Control: Whitelist allowed keys per model

Consider an e-commerce system where products need different attributes based on their category. With Laravel Metadata, you can store category-specific attributes dynamically, query products by these attributes, and manage them through a simple API. The power of metadata management lies not only in flexible storage but also in making it easy to query, filter, and manage throughout your application.

What Awaits You?

By adopting Laravel Metadata, you will:

Store extensible data - Add custom fields without schema changes
Simplify data management - One table for metadata across all models
Improve flexibility - Dynamic keys that adapt to your needs
Enhance querying - Filter and search by metadata values
Maintain data integrity - Key whitelisting prevents errors
Maintain clean code - Simple, intuitive API that follows Laravel conventions

Quick Start

Install Laravel Metadata via Composer:

composer require jobmetric/laravel-metadata

Documentation

Ready to transform your Laravel applications? Our comprehensive documentation is your gateway to mastering Laravel Metadata:

📚 Read Full Documentation →

The documentation includes:

Getting Started - Quick introduction and installation guide
HasMeta - Core trait for adding metadata functionality to models
HasFilterMeta - Dynamic filtering capabilities based on metadata
HasDynamicMeta - Integration with custom field systems
Resources - API response transformation
Events - Hook into metadata lifecycle
Real-World Examples - See how it works in practice

Contributing

Thank you for participating in laravel-metadata. A contribution guide can be found here.

License

The laravel-metadata is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license. See License File for more information.

jobmetric / laravel-metadata

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