Twinkle

Creating a Custom Laravel Artisan Command

Laravel's Artisan command line interface provides a number of helpful commands for development. Creating your own custom command allows you to automate specific tasks for your application.

Step 1: Generate the Command File

Use the make:command Artisan command to create a new command class:

php artisan make:command ProcessTransactions

This will create a new file at app/Console/Commands/ProcessTransactions.php.

Step 2: Configure the Command

Open the generated file and customize these key properties:

protected $signature = 'app:process-transactions {date? : The date to process}';
protected $description = 'Process pending transactions in the system';

• $signature: Defines the command name and any arguments/options
• $description: Provides help text about what the command does

Step 3: Implement the Handle Method

The handle() method contains the logic executed when the command runs:

public function handle()
{
    $date = $this->argument('date') ?? now()->toDateString();
    
    $this->info("Processing transactions for: {$date}");
    
    // Your command logic here
    $count = Transaction::whereDate('created_at', $date)
        ->where('status', 'pending')
        ->get()
        ->each(function ($transaction) {
            // Process each transaction
            $this->processTransaction($transaction);
        })
        ->count();
    
    $this->info("{$count} transactions processed successfully!");
    
    return Command::SUCCESS;
}

private function processTransaction($transaction)
{
    // Transaction processing logic
    $this->line("Processing transaction #{$transaction->id}");
    // ...
}

Step 4: Register the Command (Laravel 8+)

For Laravel 8 and newer, commands are auto-discovered. For older versions, register your command in the app/Console/Kernel.php file:

protected $commands = [
    \App\Console\Commands\ProcessTransactions::class,
];

Step 5: Use the Command

Run your command from the terminal:

# Basic usage
php artisan app:process-transactions

# With an argument
php artisan app:process-transactions 2023-10-15

Advanced Features

• Questions & Confirmations: Use $this->ask(), $this->secret(), or $this->confirm()
• Progress Bars: Use $this->withProgressBar($items, function ($item) {...})
• Tables: Use $this->table(['Header1', 'Header2'], $data)
• Scheduling: Add your command to the scheduler in app/Console/Kernel.php

// In app/Console/Kernel.php
protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    $schedule->command('app:process-transactions')->daily();
}

Custom Artisan commands are powerful tools for automating repetitive tasks and creating specialized workflows for your Laravel application.