Laravel Automatic Migrations Development

When to use this skill

Use this skill when working with Laravel Automatic Migrations to create models with built-in schema definitions, run automatic migrations, or manage database schemas through model-based migrations.

Core Concepts

Laravel Automatic Migrations allows you to define database schema directly in your Eloquent models using a static migration method, eliminating the need for separate migration files for most use cases.

Available Commands

make:amodel

Create a new Eloquent model with automatic migration support.

Usage:

php artisan make:amodel {model_name} {options}

Options:

• --force: Overwrite existing model
• --no-factory: Skip factory creation
• --no-soft-delete: Skip soft delete trait and column
• --no-static-migration: Skip migration method generation

Example:

php artisan make:amodel BlogPost

migrate:auto

Execute automatic migrations based on model definitions.

Usage:

php artisan migrate:auto {options}

Options:

• --fresh: Wipe database before migrating
• --seed: Run database seeders after migration
• --force: Run migrations in production environment
• --info: Display additional information

Example:

php artisan migrate:auto --fresh --seed

migrate:auto-discover

Discover and list all models that support automatic migrations.

Usage:

php artisan migrate:auto-discover

Model Structure

Basic Model with Migration

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;

class Product extends Model
{
    public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->text('description')->nullable();
        $table->decimal('price', 8, 2);
        $table->boolean('active')->default(true);
        $table->timestamps();
    }
}

Model with Migration Order Control

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;

class Category extends Model
{
    use HasFactory, SoftDeletes;
    
    public $migrationOrder = 1; // Run first
    
    public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('slug')->unique();
        $table->text('description')->nullable();
        $table->timestamps();
        $table->softDeletes();
    }
}

Model with Factory Definition

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Faker\Generator as Faker;

class Post extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;
    
    public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('title');
        $table->string('slug')->unique();
        $table->text('content');
        $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained();
        $table->foreignId('category_id')->constrained();
        $table->timestamps();
    }
    
    public function definition(Faker $faker): array
    {
        return [
            'title' => $faker->sentence,
            'slug' => $faker->slug,
            'content' => $faker->paragraphs(3, true),
            'user_id' => User::factory(),
            'category_id' => Category::factory(),
            'created_at' => $faker->dateTimeThisMonth(),
        ];
    }
}

Migration Order Control

Use the $migrationOrder property to control the order of table creation, especially important for foreign key constraints:

class User extends Model
{
    public $migrationOrder = 1; // First
    
    public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('email')->unique();
        $table->timestamps();
    }
}

class Post extends Model
{
    public $migrationOrder = 2; // Second (after User)
    
    public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
    {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('title');
        $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained(); // References users table
        $table->timestamps();
    }
}

Best Practices

1. Use descriptive table names: The package automatically converts model names to table names (e.g., BlogPost becomes blog_posts)
2. Control migration order: Set $migrationOrder for models with foreign key relationships
3. Include timestamps: Always include timestamps() in your migration methods
4. Use nullable() wisely: Mark optional columns as nullable to avoid errors during migrations
5. Test migrations: Use migrate:auto-discover to verify that your models are being detected
6. Backup in production: Always backup production databases before running migrations

Working with Existing Migrations

The package works seamlessly with traditional Laravel migrations:

• Traditional migrations run first
• Automatic migrations run after traditional ones
• You can mix both approaches in the same project

Common Patterns

Soft Deletes

public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
{
    $table->id();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->timestamps();
    $table->softDeletes(); // Add this for soft delete support
}

Foreign Keys

public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
{
    $table->id();
    $table->string('title');
    $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
    $table->timestamps();
}

Indexes and Constraints

public static function migration(Blueprint $table)
{
    $table->id();
    $table->string('email')->unique();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->index('name'); // Additional index
    $table->timestamps();
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Foreign key constraint errors: Ensure proper migration order using $migrationOrder
2. Model not discovered: Verify your models extend the correct base Model class and are in the correct namespace
3. Schema changes not applying: Check that your migration method signature matches the expected format

Debugging

Use migrate:auto-discover to list all discoverable models and verify your models are being detected.

Use verbose output with migrations for detailed information:

php artisan migrate:auto --verbose