nameless / laravel-api-generator
A professional Laravel API generator that automatically creates complete API structures with clean architecture, type safety, and best practices
Package info
github.com/Nameless0l/laravel-api-generator
pkg:composer/nameless/laravel-api-generator
Requires
- php: ^8.1
- laravel/framework: ^10.0 || ^11.0 || ^12.0
Requires (Dev)
- dedoc/scramble: ^0.11.31
- laravel/pint: ^1.0
- orchestra/testbench: ^8.0 || ^9.0 || ^10.0
- phpstan/phpstan: ^2.1
- phpstan/phpstan-phpunit: ^2.0
- phpunit/phpunit: ^10.0
README
A professional Laravel package that generates complete, production-ready REST API structures from a single command. Built with clean architecture principles, PHP 8.1+ features, and Laravel best practices.
v3.3 -- Generate, seed, test, and document in seconds
Swagger UI -- automatic interactive API documentation with Scramble:
Validation schemas -- your FormRequest rules become typed, documented constraints:
Database seeding -- 10 records per entity, ready to use:
Architecture
What it generates
From a single command, the package creates 12 files per entity and registers the API route:
| Layer | File | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Post.php |
app/Models/ |
| Controller | PostController.php |
app/Http/Controllers/ |
| Service | PostService.php |
app/Services/ |
| DTO | PostDTO.php |
app/DTO/ |
| Request | PostRequest.php |
app/Http/Requests/ |
| Resource | PostResource.php |
app/Http/Resources/ |
| Policy | PostPolicy.php |
app/Policies/ |
| Factory | PostFactory.php |
database/factories/ |
| Seeder | PostSeeder.php |
database/seeders/ |
| Migration | *_create_posts_table.php |
database/migrations/ |
| Feature Test | PostControllerTest.php |
tests/Feature/ |
| Unit Test | PostServiceTest.php |
tests/Unit/ |
| Route | apiResource entry |
routes/api.php |
Installation
composer require nameless/laravel-api-generator
The service provider is auto-discovered. No additional configuration required.
Quick start
Single entity
php artisan make:fullapi Post --fields="title:string,content:text,published:boolean"
With soft deletes
php artisan make:fullapi Post --fields="title:string,content:text" --soft-deletes
This adds the SoftDeletes trait to the model, a softDeletes() column in the migration, and restore / forceDelete endpoints with their routes.
With Postman collection export
php artisan make:fullapi Post --fields="title:string,content:text" --postman
Generates a postman_collection.json at the project root, ready to import. Each entity gets a folder with List, Create, Show, Update, and Delete requests pre-configured with sample data.
With Sanctum authentication
php artisan make:fullapi Post --fields="title:string,content:text" --auth
This scaffolds a complete Sanctum-based auth system: AuthController (register, login, logout, user), LoginRequest, RegisterRequest, auth routes, and wraps your API resource routes inside auth:sanctum middleware.
Interactive wizard
php artisan make:fullapi --interactive
A step-by-step guided setup that lets you define the entity name, add fields one by one (with type, nullable, unique, and default value options), configure relationships, and preview everything before generation.
All options combined
php artisan make:fullapi Post --fields="title:string,content:text" --soft-deletes --postman --auth
Bulk generation from JSON
Create a class_data.json file at your project root:
[
{
"name": "User",
"attributes": [
{"name": "name", "_type": "string"},
{"name": "email", "_type": "string"}
],
"oneToManyRelationships": [
{"role": "posts", "comodel": "Post"}
]
},
{
"name": "Post",
"attributes": [
{"name": "title", "_type": "string"},
{"name": "content", "_type": "text"}
],
"manyToOneRelationships": [
{"role": "user", "comodel": "User"}
]
}
]
Then run:
php artisan make:fullapi
Delete generated API
# Delete a specific entity php artisan delete:fullapi Post # Delete all entities defined in class_data.json php artisan delete:fullapi
Command reference
php artisan make:fullapi {name?} {--fields=} {--soft-deletes} {--postman} {--auth} {--interactive}
| Argument / Option | Description |
|---|---|
name |
Entity name (PascalCase). Omit to use JSON mode. |
--fields |
Field definitions in name:type format, comma-separated. |
--soft-deletes |
Add SoftDeletes trait, migration column, restore/forceDelete endpoints. |
--postman |
Export a Postman v2.1 collection after generation. |
--auth |
Scaffold Sanctum authentication (AuthController, requests, routes, middleware). |
--interactive |
Launch the step-by-step wizard for guided entity creation. |
Supported field types
| Type | Database column | PHP type | Validation rule |
|---|---|---|---|
string |
VARCHAR(255) |
string |
string|max:255 |
text |
TEXT |
string |
string |
integer / int |
INTEGER |
int |
integer |
bigint |
BIGINTEGER |
int |
integer |
boolean / bool |
BOOLEAN |
bool |
boolean |
float / decimal |
DECIMAL(8,2) |
float |
numeric |
json |
JSON |
array |
json |
date / datetime / timestamp |
TIMESTAMP |
DateTimeInterface |
date |
uuid |
UUID |
string |
uuid |
Relationship types
Supported in JSON mode via class_data.json:
| JSON key | Eloquent method | Foreign key |
|---|---|---|
oneToOneRelationships |
hasOne() |
On related table |
oneToManyRelationships |
hasMany() |
On related table |
manyToOneRelationships |
belongsTo() |
On current table |
manyToManyRelationships |
belongsToMany() |
Pivot table |
Model inheritance is also supported via the "parent" key in JSON definitions.
Generated code examples
Controller
The generated controller uses constructor injection, DTOs, and delegates to the service layer. The index endpoint supports query parameter filtering out of the box.
class PostController extends Controller { public function __construct( private readonly PostService $service ) {} public function index(Request $request) { $posts = $this->service->getAll($request->query()); return PostResource::collection($posts); } public function store(PostRequest $request) { $dto = PostDTO::fromRequest($request); $post = $this->service->create($dto); return new PostResource($post); } public function show(Post $post) { return new PostResource($post); } public function update(PostRequest $request, Post $post) { $dto = PostDTO::fromRequest($request); $updatedPost = $this->service->update($post, $dto); return new PostResource($updatedPost); } public function destroy(Post $post) { $this->service->delete($post); return response(null, 204); } }
Service
The service layer handles business logic and supports filtering on fillable fields. With --soft-deletes, it also includes restore() and forceDelete() methods.
class PostService { public function getAll(array $filters = []): Collection { $query = Post::query(); foreach ($filters as $field => $value) { if (in_array($field, (new Post())->getFillable(), true)) { $query->where($field, $value); } } return $query->get(); } public function create(PostDTO $dto): Post { return Post::create(get_object_vars($dto)); } public function update(Post $post, PostDTO $dto): Post { $post->update(get_object_vars($dto)); return $post->fresh(); } public function delete(Post $post): bool { return $post->delete(); } }
DTO
Readonly data transfer objects with typed properties and a factory method:
readonly class PostDTO { public function __construct( public ?string $title, public ?string $content, public ?bool $published ) {} public static function fromRequest(PostRequest $request): self { return new self( $request->input('title'), $request->input('content'), (bool) $request->input('published') ); } }
Feature test
Automatically generated PHPUnit tests covering all CRUD endpoints:
class PostControllerTest extends TestCase { use RefreshDatabase; public function test_can_list_posts(): void { Post::factory()->count(3)->create(); $response = $this->getJson('/api/posts'); $response->assertStatus(200)->assertJsonCount(3, 'data'); } public function test_can_create_post(): void { $data = ['title' => 'test_title', 'content' => 'Test text content']; $response = $this->postJson('/api/posts', $data); $response->assertStatus(201); $this->assertDatabaseHas('posts', $data); } // ... show, update, delete, validation tests }
Query parameter filtering
All generated index endpoints support filtering by any fillable field via query parameters:
GET /api/posts?published=true
GET /api/users?name=John
GET /api/products?category=electronics&in_stock=true
Only fields declared in the model's $fillable array are accepted as filters. Other parameters are silently ignored.
Soft deletes
When using --soft-deletes, the generator adds:
SoftDeletestrait and import to the model$table->softDeletes()to the migrationrestore()andforceDelete()methods to the controller and service- Two additional routes:
POST /api/posts/{id}/restore
DELETE /api/posts/{id}/force-delete
Postman collection
The --postman flag generates a postman_collection.json file at the project root. The collection follows the Postman v2.1 schema and includes:
- A folder per entity
- Pre-configured requests for List, Create, Show, Update, and Delete
- Sample request bodies with appropriate field values
- A
base_urlvariable (defaults tohttp://localhost:8000/api)
Import the file directly into Postman to start testing immediately.
Sanctum authentication
The --auth flag scaffolds a complete token-based authentication system using Laravel Sanctum:
Generated files:
app/Http/Controllers/AuthController.php-- register, login, logout, user endpointsapp/Http/Requests/LoginRequest.php-- email + password validationapp/Http/Requests/RegisterRequest.php-- name, email, password + confirmation validation
Generated routes:
// Public POST /api/register POST /api/login // Protected (auth:sanctum) POST /api/logout GET /api/user // Your API resources are also wrapped in auth:sanctum GET /api/posts (requires token) POST /api/posts (requires token) // ...
After running with --auth, install Sanctum if not already present:
composer require laravel/sanctum
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Sanctum\SanctumServiceProvider"
php artisan migrate
Add the HasApiTokens trait to your User model, and your API is secured.
Interactive mode
The --interactive flag launches a step-by-step wizard that guides you through entity creation:
- Entity name -- enter the model name in PascalCase
- Fields -- add fields one by one, choosing type, nullable, unique, and default value for each
- Relationships -- optionally add belongsTo, hasMany, hasOne, or belongsToMany relations
- Options -- enable soft deletes, Sanctum auth, Postman export
- Preview -- review the full entity definition and file list before confirming
- Generate -- confirm and generate all files
This mode is ideal for developers who prefer a guided experience or want to configure field constraints (unique, defaults) that aren't available in the --fields string syntax.
Extending the generator
Create a custom generator by extending AbstractGenerator:
use nameless\CodeGenerator\EntitiesGenerator\AbstractGenerator; use nameless\CodeGenerator\ValueObjects\EntityDefinition; class CustomGenerator extends AbstractGenerator { public function getType(): string { return 'Custom'; } public function getOutputPath(EntityDefinition $definition): string { return app_path("Custom/{$definition->name}Custom.php"); } protected function getStubName(): string { return 'custom'; // loads stubs/custom.stub } protected function getReplacements(EntityDefinition $definition): array { return ['modelName' => $definition->name]; } protected function generateContent(EntityDefinition $definition): string { return $this->processStub($definition); } }
Register it in your service provider and it will be called automatically during generation.
API documentation with Scramble
The package integrates seamlessly with Scramble to provide automatic, interactive API documentation -- no annotations or manual setup required.
Setup
composer require dedoc/scramble --dev php artisan serve
Then open http://localhost:8000/docs/api in your browser.
What you get
Scramble automatically analyzes your generated controllers, requests, and resources to produce a full OpenAPI 3.x specification with:
- Interactive Swagger UI -- test endpoints directly from the browser with "Send API Request"
- Auto-detected schemas --
ProductRequest,ProductResource, etc. are inferred from your FormRequest rules and API Resource structure - Validation rules as constraints --
required|string|max:255becomes a required string field with<= 255 charactersin the docs - Request/response examples -- sample JSON bodies are generated automatically
- Grouped endpoints -- each entity (Product, Post, etc.) gets its own section with all CRUD operations
Endpoints
| URL | Description |
|---|---|
/docs/api |
Interactive Swagger UI |
/docs/api.json |
Raw OpenAPI 3.x JSON specification |
Note: Scramble is a dev dependency. It won't affect your production deployment.
Database seeding
Generated seeders are automatically registered in DatabaseSeeder.php. After generating your API and running migrations:
php artisan migrate:fresh --seed
Each entity seeder creates 10 records using the generated factory. The delete:fullapi command also cleans up the seeder registration.
Development
# Install dependencies composer install # Run tests composer test # Static analysis composer analyse # Code formatting composer format
Local testing in a Laravel project
Add the package as a path repository in your Laravel project's composer.json:
{
"repositories": [
{
"type": "path",
"url": "../laravel-api-generator",
"options": {"symlink": true}
}
],
"require": {
"nameless/laravel-api-generator": "@dev"
}
}
Then run composer update.
Requirements
- PHP >= 8.1
- Laravel 10.x, 11.x, or 12.x
Contributing
Contributions are welcome. Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.
Security
If you discover a security vulnerability, please email loicmbassi5@gmail.com instead of using the issue tracker.
Credits
Changelog
See CHANGELOG.md for the full version history.
License
MIT. See LICENSE for details.




