Schema Files

Leaf MVC has always taken cues from Laravel and Rails to make database management smooth. But juggling migrations, seeders, and factories for one table? That gets messy, quickly! Schema files offer a cleaner, all-in-one way to define, test, and seed your database.

What are Schema Files?

With Schema Files in Leaf MVC 4, you can define your database tables, seed data, and test data—all in one simple YAML file. No need to manage separate migrations, seeders, or factories. It’s clean, readable, and designed to help you move fast without the overhead.

flights.yml

columns:
  to: string
  from: string
  identifier: string

seeds:
  count: 10
  data:
    to: '@faker.city'
    from: '@faker.city'
    identifier: '@faker.uuid'

Creating a Schema File

Leaf MVC's console comes with a g:schema command that you can use to generate a database file. You can generate a database file by running:

php leaf g:schema <table-name>

Remember, every schema file is tied to a table in your database. When you run the command above, Leaf will create a schema file in your app/database directory with the name <table-name>.yml. Here’s an example:

php leaf g:schema posts

This will create a schema file at app/database/posts.yml which looks like this:

posts.yml

# schema files add auto-increments and timestamps by default

# you can add all the columns you want under the columns key
columns:
  name: string
  identifier:
    type: string
    unique: true
  verified_at:
    type: timestamp
    nullable: true

# you can add foreign ids for other models under the relationships key key
relationships:
  - User

# seeds are optional and can be used to populate the database with dummy data
seeds:
  count: 5
  truncate: true
  data:
    name: '@faker.name'
    identifier: '@faker.uuid'
    verified_at: '@tick.format:YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss'

Breaking this file down, there are three main sections:

• columns: This is used to set the columns of the table. The key is the column name and the value is the type/properties of the column.

• seeds: This is used to set the seeders of the table. The available properties are:

  • count: This is used to set the number of seeds to generate.
  • data: This is used to set the data of the seeds. The key is the column name and the value is the value of the column. You can use @faker.[value] to generate fake data for the column.
  • truncate: This is used to truncate the table before seeding.

• relationships: This is used to set the relationships of the table. The value is an array of models the table is related to. This is used to generate foreign keys for the table.

Applying schema files

Each schema file represents a single database table—just name the file after the table you’re creating. Inside, define your table structure under the columns key. Leaf takes care of the rest. No need for separate migration files or extra setup—just one clear, structured file for everything your table needs. Here's an example:

users.yml

columns:
  name: string
  email:
    type: string
    length: 255
    unique: true
  password: string
  email_verified_at: timestamp

In this example, we create a users table with name, email, password, and email_verified_at columns. We can then migrate this table to our database using the db:migrate command:

php leaf db:migrate

You can have multiple schema files in your app/database directory, each tied to a particular table. When you run the db:migrate command, Leaf will migrate all the tables in your app/database directory. If you want to migrate only a specific table, you can pass the table name as an argument to the db:migrate command:

php leaf db:migrate users

Database schema defaults

Schema Files come with smart defaults to make setup faster. Every table automatically includes an auto-incrementing id and created_at/updated_at timestamps—no need to add them manually. Want to change that? Use the increments and timestamps keys to disable them. Here's an example:

posts.yml

increments: false # this will remove the auto-incrementing id column
timestamps: false # this will remove the timestamps columns

Once you turn off auto-increments, you can add your own id column. Here's an example:

posts.yml

increments: false

columns:
  id:
    type: integer
    primary: true

...

The same thing goes for timestamps. If you want to add your own timestamps, you can turn off the default timestamps and add your own. Here's an example:

posts.yml

timestamps: false

columns:
  ...
  created_at: timestamp

This example will add a created_at column to the posts table with the current timestamp as the default value.

Schema columns

In a schema file, you can define the columns of your table under the columns key. The key is the column name and the value is the type of column or an array of properties for the column:

users.yml

columns:
  # directly defining the column type
  email: string

  # defining the column type and properties
  email:
    type: string
    length: 255
    unique: true

The schema builder blueprint offers a variety of methods that correspond to the different types of columns you can add to your database tables. Each of the available methods are listed in the table below:

Method	Description	Method	Description
boolean	Creates a boolean column.	increments	Creates an auto-incrementing integer column.
integer	Creates an integer column.	bigIncrements	Creates a big integer column.
bigInteger	Creates a big integer column.	smallIncrements	Creates a small integer column.
char	Creates a character column.	decimal	Creates a decimal column.
string	Creates a string column.	float	Creates a float column.
text	Creates a text column.	double	Creates a double column.
tinyText	Creates a tiny text column.	unsignedBigInteger	Creates an unsigned big integer column.
mediumText	Creates a medium text column.	id	Creates an auto-incrementing integer column.
longText	Creates a long text column.	uuid	Creates a UUID column.
date	Creates a date column.	json	Creates a JSON column.
enum	Creates an enum column.	jsonb	Creates a JSONB column.

You can check the Laravel migration documentation for more information on the available types. Any method that is not present in the table above or not listed in the Laravel migration documentation is not supported in Leaf MVC.

Column properties/modifiers

In addition to the column types, you can also add properties/modifiers to your columns to make them behave differently. The available properties are:

Property	Description
type	The type of the column. This is required for all columns
length	The length of the column. This is optional and defaults to 255 for string columns
nullable	This is used to set the column as nullable. This is optional and defaults to false
default	This is used to set the default value of the column.
unsigned	This is used to set the column as unsigned. This is optional and defaults to false
index	This is used to set the column as an index. This is optional and defaults to false
unique	This is used to set the column as unique. This is optional and defaults to false
primary	This is used to set the column as the primary key. This is optional and defaults to false
values	This is used to set the values of the column. This is only required for enum and set columns.
onDelete	This is used to set the ON DELETE constraint of the foreign key.
onUpdate	This is used to set the ON UPDATE constraint of the foreign key.
comment	This is used to set the comment of the column.
autoIncrement	This is used to set the column as auto-incrementing. This is optional and defaults to false
useCurrent	This is used to set the column to use the current timestamp. This is only used for timestamp columns.
useCurrentOnUpdate	This is used to set the column to use the current timestamp on update. This is only used for timestamp columns.

You can use these properties to modify the behavior of your columns. For example, if you want to create a name column that is unique and has a default value of John Doe, you can do it like this:

users.yml

columns:
  name:
    type: string
    unique: true
    default: 'John Doe'

When defining columns, it’s good to be mindful—some properties can affect performance or behave differently across databases. For example, setting a column as unique adds an index, which can slow down inserts and updates on large tables. And properties like comment aren’t supported in SQLite, which could lead to unexpected behavior. Leaf gives you the flexibility—you just want to use it wisely.

Missing some functionality?

We are working on adding more properties/modifiers to the columns, just to make it easier to work with your database. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Migration histories

Migration histories keep track of changes to your database, making it easy to roll back if needed. Unlike other frameworks, Leaf MVC handles this automatically—no need to manually create migrations just to track history.

users.yml

columns:
  name: string
  email:
    type: string
    length: 255
    unique: true
  password: string
  email_verified_at: timestamp
  is_super_admin: 
    type: boolean
    default: false

This example adds a new column is_super_admin to the users table. When you run php leaf db:migrate, Leaf will compare it to the previous version of the file, find the differences and automatically create the is_super_admin column for you in your database. You don't need to worry about writing migration files or keeping track of changes manually.

And when you need to roll back? Simply run php leaf db:rollback.

Seeding your database

Database seeds let you pre-populate your database with initial data—whether it's default settings, test data, or sample records. Instead of manually adding entries, you can use seeders to automate this process.

In Leaf MVC, you define seeders directly in your Schema Files under the seeds key. This keeps everything in one place, making it easier to manage your database setup. Here's an example of a seeder:

users.yml

seeds:
  data:
    - name: 'Example User'
      email: 'example@example.com'
      password: '@hash:passwordForThisUser' # @hash requires leafs/password
    - name: 'Another User'
      email: 'another@example.com'
      password: '@hash:passwordForThisUser' # @hash requires leafs/password

In this example, we create a seeder that seeds the users table with two example users. We are passing an array of seeds to the data key, each seed being a key value pair of column name and value.

Another way to generate multiple seeds is to use the count key. When using the count key, you can pass an integer value to generate multiple seeds with the same data. Here's an example:

users.yml

seeds:
  count: 10
  data:
    name: 'Example User'
    email: 'example@example.com'
    password: '@hash:password'

After creating your seeder, you can run your seeders using the db:seed command:

php leaf db:seed

This will generate 10 seeds for the users table with the same data which is not very useful. To generate multiple fake seeds, you can use what other frameworks call a factory.

In Leaf MVC, factories and seeders are the same thing as we believe this confusion is unnecessary. If you want to generate fake data for your seeders, you can add @faker.[value] as the value of a column in your seeder. Here's an example:

users.yml

seeds:
  count: 10
  data:
    name: '@faker.name'
    email: '@faker.email'
    password: '@hash:password'

In this example, we're generating 10 fake seeds for the users table.

After adding your seeds, you can run your seeders using the db:seed command:

php leaf db:seed

If you want to seed a specific table, you can pass the table name as an argument to the db:seed command:

php leaf db:seed users