How to Create Custom Commands in Laravel 11 with PHP Artisan

Ever wanted to make repetitive tasks in your Laravel app automatic?

Well, PHP Artisan, a handy command-line tool that comes with Laravel, can help you do just that. It allows you to automate tasks, manage resources, and interact with the Laravel framework seamlessly.

To create a new Artisan command, use the make:command command. This will create a new command class in the app/Console/Commands directory. It’s used for setting up migrations, route listings, queueing, class creation, and other tasks.

From the basics of Artisan Commands to creating and running your own custom commands, this article covers everything you need to know about PHP Artisan in Laravel 11.

Overview of PHP Artisan

Developers use Laravel Artisan commands to complete important tasks like creating migrations and publishing package assets.

There are built-in Laravel commands and the option to create custom commands. Laravel Artisan has many pre-made commands available.

To view a list of these commands, type php artisan list in your terminal. This will provide you with a list of all the available Laravel Artisan commands.

These commands help developers work more efficiently, thereby saving them precious time. Using these Laravel Artisan commands, you can create auth, controller, model, mail, migration, and many other functions.

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Basics of Laravel Artisan Commands

Laravel Artisan commands are important for the Laravel framework. They give developers a Command-Line Interface (CLI) to make their work easier and faster.

The Illuminate\Console\Application class is the foundation for Artisan. It extends the Symfony\Component\Console\Application class. This design makes it easy for Symfony developers to use Artisan because it has a familiar environment.

A simple command may appear like this, for instance:

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;

class ExampleCommand extends Command

{

protected $signature = 'example:run {name}';

protected $description = 'Runs an example command';

public function handle()

{

$name = $this->argument('name');

$this->info("Hello, {$name}!");

}

}

Run Laravel with PHP Artisan Server

The Laravel PHP Artisan Serve command makes running applications on the PHP development server easy. As a developer, you can use Laravel Artisan to create and test different application features.

When you run the php artisan serve command, you can quickly start a server at http://localhost:8000. This allows you to test and develop your applications locally. You can also customize the server to use different hosts and ports.

The php artisan serve command works with the Laravel ecosystem. This includes features like database migrations, task scheduling, and queue management.

Create and Run Custom Commands

Laravel’s Artisan provides a list of commands. You can also make your own custom Artisan commands. You can choose where to store them as long as Composer can load them. To create, register, and execute your custom commands, follow these 8 simple steps:

Step 1: Create New Command

Laravel’s Artisan CLI provides a convenient way to generate custom command classes. To create a new command, simply use the make:command Artisan command.

This automatically creates a new command class within the app/Console/Commands directory. If this directory doesn’t exist, it will be generated for you.

Type the following command in the Artisan Console:

php artisan make:command customcommand

The file might look like the following:

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Illuminate\Console\Command;

class CustomCommand extends Command

{

protected $signature = 'custom:command';

protected $description = 'Description of the custom command';

public function __construct()

{

parent::__construct();

}

public function handle()

{

// Command logic goes here

}

}

Step 2: Define Command

When crafting console commands, you often need to gather information from the user. Laravel handles this through the signature property.

You can use this short syntax to set required and optional arguments and flags. This makes it easy to design how your command works with the user.

protected $signature = 'user:update {id} {--name=} {--email=}';

The command expects an ID argument and optional name and email options in this example.

Step 3: Command I/O

When you run a command, Laravel gives you easy ways to get the values of arguments and options. In your command’s handle method, use the $this->argument() and $this->option() methods.

If the argument or option you’re looking for doesn’t exist, these methods will return null.

To Prompt for Input

You can get user input while your command is running, in addition to displaying output. The ask method will show the user a question, collect their response, and then send it back to your command.

$name = $this->ask('What is your name?', 'Taylor');

To Ask for Confirmation

if ($this->confirm('Do you wish to continue?')) {

// Continue

}

You can make the confirmation prompt always return true. To do this, pass true as the second argument to the confirm method.

Step 4: Register Commands

Laravel, by default, registers all commands located in the app/Console/Commands directory. You can set up Laravel to look in more directories for PHP Artisan commands. To do this, use the withCommands method in your app’s bootstrap/app.php file.

->withCommands([

__DIR__.'/../app/Domain/Orders/Commands',

])

When you use Artisan, the service container will find and register all the commands in your application with Artisan.

Step 5: Execute Demands

Sometimes, you might want to run an Artisan command outside the CLI, such as from a route or controller. You can achieve this using the call method on the Artisan Facade.

This method has two arguments. The first argument is the command’s name or class. The second argument is a list of command parameters. The method returns the exit code.

You can also pass the entire Artisan command to the call method as a string:

Artisan::call('mail:send 1 --queue=default');

To Queue Artisan Commands

You can use the queue method on the Artisan facade to send Artisan commands to your queue workers. These commands will then be processed in the background. Before using this method, make sure that your queue is configured and a queue listener is running.

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Artisan;

Route::post('/user/{user}/mail', function (string $user) {

Artisan::queue('mail:send', [

'user' => $user, '--queue' => 'default'

]);

// ...

});

Step 6: Signal Handling

Laravel Artisan commands can handle system signals like SIGINT. You can incorporate signal handling into your command using the trap method.

$this->trap(SIGINT, function () {

$this->info('Command interrupted');

});

Step 7: Stub Customization

You can customize the template files used by the make:command Artisan command to make it easier to create commands with consistent structures.

To do this, you need to publish the stub files to your project.

php artisan stub:publish

Step 8: Events

There are three events that Artisan dispatches when running commands:

1. Illuminate\Console\Events\ArtisanStarting
2. Illuminate\Console\Events\CommandStarting
3. Illuminate\Console\Events\CommandFinished

Use the event method to fire an event:

event(new CustomCommandExecuted($this));

Create Migrations with make:migration

php artisan make:migration is a Laravel Artisan command used to create a new migration file. Migrations are essentially blueprints for your database schema. They define the structure of your tables, columns, indexes, and relationships.

Here is what the process looks like:

1. Create a Migration: When you run the make:migration command, it creates a new PHP file in the database/migrations folder.
2. Define Changes: The migration file contains up and down methods. The up method defines changes to the database, like creating tables or adding columns. The down method undoes those changes.
3. Run the Migration: To apply the changes to your database, use the php artisan migrate command.

Example

Bash

php artisan make:migration create_users_table

This command will make a new file called create_users_table in the database/migrations folder. You can then define the users table structure within the migration file.

Benefits of make:migration

• Version control: Track database changes over time.
• Collaboration: Easily share database structure with team members.
• Database seeding: Populate your database with test data using seeders.
• Database rollbacks: Easily revert database changes if needed.

Migrations help you keep your database schema clear and organized. This makes it easier to manage and update your application.

List of Laravel Artisan Commands

Laravel’s Artisan CLI is a useful tool for working with your app. It has different commands for different tasks, like making code and managing the app’s environment.

A complete Laravel PHP Artisan commands list would be extensive. You can use the PHP Artisan list command to fetch it, but here’s a breakdown of the primary command categories in Laravel 11:

Core Commands

• cache: Manage the application cache (clear, forget, etc.)
• config: Cache, clear, or publish configuration files
• down: Temporarily disable the application
• env: Manage environment variables
• key: Generate a new application key
• migrate: Run database migrations
• optimize: Optimize the application for production
• queue: Manage the queue system
• route: List or clear routes
• storage: Manage the storage directory
• vendor: Manage Composer dependencies

Code Generation Commands

• make: Generates various code structures (controller, model, migration, etc.)
• model: Creates Eloquent models
• migration: Creates migration files
• seed: Seeds the database with dummy data

Testing Commands

• test: Runs application tests
• dusk: Runs browser tests with Dusk

Other Commands

• auth: Manages authentication-related operations
• breeze: Installs Breeze authentication system
• config: Manages configuration files
• horizon: Manages the Laravel Horizon queue system
• passport: Manages OAuth2 server
• sanctum: Manages API token authentication
• telescope: Manages the Telescope debugging tool

You can also schedule recurring tasks or automate repetitive commands using Laravel cron job.

Summary

In this article, we have shown how to create custom commands using the Artisan command. Artisan is a PHP tool that allows you to develop different commands based on your project’s needs.

If you have any questions about this article or the Artisan command, please feel free to leave a comment below. We are happy to help.

Frequently Asked Questions