README

Application settings and feature flags library for CodeIgniter 4.

Store key/value settings in the database (settings table).
Access them via a simple helper: settings('site.name').
Manage feature flags with feature('new_checkout').
Includes a simple Bootstrap 5 admin UI to manage settings in the browser.

Features

Simple key/value storage with type casting (string, bool, int, float, json).
Optional grouping (e.g. site, mail, features).
Feature flags with a dedicated feature() helper.
Configurable caching using CodeIgniter's cache service.
Admin UI (controller + views) to create, edit and delete settings.

Installation

1. Install via Composer

After you publish this package to Packagist:

composer require jide/ci4-settings

If you are using it directly from GitHub as a VCS repository, add this to your main app's composer.json:

"repositories": [
  {
    "type": "vcs",
    "url": "https://github.com/YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME/ci4-settings"
  }
],
"require": {
  "jide/ci4-settings": "^1.0"
}

Then run:

composer update

2. Make sure classes are autoloadable

Composer will autoload everything in src/ via the namespace Jide\\Settings\\.

You don't need to touch app/Config/Autoload.php if you rely on Composer.

3. Run the migration

Copy the migration file from the package into your app (simplest approach):

From:

vendor/jide/ci4-settings/src/Database/Migrations/2025-12-06-000000_create_settings_table.php

To:

app/Database/Migrations/2025-12-06-000000_create_settings_table.php

Then run:

php spark migrate

This will create the settings table.

Advanced users can add the package migration path to Config\Migrations instead of copying.

4. Load the helper

Either load the helper where needed:

helper('settings');

Or add it to app/Config/Autoload.php:

public $helpers = ['settings'];

Basic usage

Get a setting

helper('settings');

$siteName = settings('site.name', 'My App');
$timezone = settings('app.timezone', 'Africa/Lagos');

Set / update a setting

$settings = settings(); // returns the library instance

// string
$settings->set('site.name', 'Nora Exchange', 'site');

// int
$settings->set('app.max_users', 500, 'app');

// array (stored as JSON)
$settings->set('mail.smtp', [
    'host' => 'smtp.example.com',
    'port' => 587,
], 'mail');

Check feature flags

// Somewhere in your bootstrap or a seeder:
$settings->set('feature.new_dashboard', true, 'features', true);
$settings->set('feature.beta_checkout', false, 'features', true);

// In controllers / views:
if (feature('new_dashboard')) {
    // Load the new dashboard
} else {
    // Load the old dashboard
}

// With default value if flag not set:
if (feature('experimental_widget', false)) {
    // ...
}

Delete a setting

$settings->delete('feature.experimental_widget');

Get all settings

$all = settings()->all(); // returns [ 'site.name' => '...', ... ]

Caching

By default, settings are cached using CodeIgniter's cache service (cache() helper).

You can change this behaviour by publishing and editing the config:

$config = new \Jide\Settings\Config\Settings();

// config/Settings.php (copy from vendor if you want to customise)
public bool $useCache = true;
public int  $cacheTTL = 600;

If you don't want caching, set $useCache = false;.

Admin UI

The package includes a small Bootstrap 5-based admin UI for managing settings in the browser.

View namespace

In your main app (app/Config/Views.php), register the view namespace:

public array $viewNamespaces = [
    // existing namespaces...

    'JideSettings' => ROOTPATH . 'vendor/jide/ci4-settings/src/Views',
];

(Adjust the path if your package name or install path differs.)

Routes

In app/Config/Routes.php:

$routes->group('admin/settings', [
    'namespace' => 'Jide\Settings\Controllers',
    // 'filter'    => 'auth', // optionally protect with your auth filter
], static function ($routes) {
    $routes->get('/', 'SettingsAdminController::index');
    $routes->get('create', 'SettingsAdminController::create');
    $routes->post('create', 'SettingsAdminController::create');
    $routes->get('edit/(:num)', 'SettingsAdminController::edit/$1');
    $routes->post('update/(:num)', 'SettingsAdminController::update/$1');
    $routes->post('delete/(:num)', 'SettingsAdminController::delete/$1');
});

Now visit:

https://your-app.test/admin/settings – list settings
https://your-app.test/admin/settings/create – create a new setting

Screenshots

Here’s a quick look at the built-in admin UI for managing settings.

Settings List

The main list shows all settings grouped by Group, with Key, Value, Type, and whether it is a Feature flag.
From here you can quickly edit or delete any setting, or click Add Setting to create a new one.

Create Setting

The create form allows you to:

Define a unique key (e.g. site.name, feature.new_dashboard)
Optionally group settings (e.g. site, mail, features)
Choose a type: string, bool, int, float, or json
Enter the value with helper text for boolean and JSON fields
Flag it as a feature flag for use with the feature() helper

Edit Setting

The edit screen lets you update existing settings safely, with validation and the same type/value hints as the create form.
Changes take effect immediately and cached values are automatically invalidated.

Manual installation (without Composer)

Copy the src/ folder into your app, e.g.:
```
app/ThirdParty/Settings/
```

Update app/Config/Autoload.php:

public $psr4 = [
    APP_NAMESPACE => APPPATH,
    'Config'      => APPPATH . 'Config',
    'Jide\\Settings\\' => APPPATH . 'ThirdParty/Settings',
];

Copy the migration file into app/Database/Migrations/ and run:
```
php spark migrate
```
Copy the helper file to app/Helpers/settings_helper.php or configure the helper path, then:
```
helper('settings');
```
Use as shown above.

License

MIT (or your preferred open source license).

olajideolamide / ci4-settings

Maintainers

Details