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When we use Laravel artisan command to generate controller, model, factory, migration etc then we can see we get a code skeleton of each associated class or file. That well written code skeleton called as Laravel stub.

Laravel stub are the core template files which laravel uses to generate classes skeletons.

Laravel stub feature is included from laravel 7 version. Inside this article we will see Laravel 9 stub customization tutorial. We can generate Stub and publish it inside application.

When we write any code in stub files then it will come with generated file. For example, if we add few methods in controller stub file, then whenever we generate controller file from php artisan command. Those added methods by default will come with file.

Learn More –

Let’s get started.

Laravel Installation

Open terminal and run this command to create a laravel project.

composer create-project laravel/laravel myblog

It will create a project folder with name myblog inside your local system.

To start the development server of laravel –

php artisan serve

URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000

Assuming laravel already installed inside your system.

What are Laravel Stub?

The Artisan console’s make commands are used to create a variety of classes, such as controllers, jobs, migrations, and tests. These classes are generated using “stub”. Stub are nothing, these are predefined core templates for classes.

These files provide a predefined skeleton for controller, model etc.

Example:

<?php

namespace {{ namespace }};

use {{ rootNamespace }}Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class {{ class }} extends Controller
{
    // 
}

{{ namespace }}, {{ rootNamespace }}, {{ class }} These are placeholders which will replaces when we pass class name, namespace into artisan command to generate controllers.

When we run the command

$ php artisan make:controller TestController

Controller stub file will execute, replace all placeholders in a dynamic way and generate controller.

Laravel Stub Publish

To work with laravel stub files, first we need to publish it. When we publish stub then all files of stub will be located within a stubs directory in the root of your application.

By default you will not see this folder (stubs) into application root.

Publish Stubs

$ php artisan stub:publish

Laravel Stub Files

Above image indicates the stubs folder inside project root. When we open, we can see we have several files which is basically a skeleton file for migration, controller, model etc.

These stub files should have .stub extension.

Notes*:

Here, we have few files explanation from this stubs directory.

controller.stub -> To generate resource controller $ php artisan make:controller ProductController –resource
controller.plain.stub -> To generate plain controller without any methods $ php artisan make:controller ProductController
factory.stub -> To generate a factory file $ php artisan make:factory ProductFactory

Stub File Customization

We will understand how we use these stub files and change the skeleton of laravel classes.

Let’s open controller.plain.stub from stubs directory.

<?php

namespace {{ namespace }};

use {{ rootNamespace }}Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class {{ class }} extends Controller
{
    // 

    //.. first method
    public function method1(){
        return 'First Method';
    }

    //.. second method
    public function method2(){
        return 'Second Method';
    }
}

Above is the updated code we have written inside plain controller stub file.

Next,

Whenever we generate controller, this updated code will be used.

$ php artisan make:controller ProductController

Following command will generate ProductController.php a controller file inside /app/Http/Controllers

Open ProductController.php File,

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    // 

    //.. first method
    public function method1(){
        return 'First Method';
    }

    //.. second method
    public function method2(){
        return 'Second Method';
    }
}

Now, we are getting 2 default methods with this default controller file.

This laravel stub customization is useful in those cases where we want some global methods or variables to each generated files of laravel application.

Note*: Work with stub files very carefully otherwise a wrong step in customization will break application flow.

We hope this article helped you to Learn Laravel 9 Stub Customization Step By Step Tutorial in a very detailed way.

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