Laravel Tinker

Introduction

Laravel Tinker is a powerful tool that allows you to interact with your Laravel application from the command line. You can use Tinker to test out code, debug errors, and even manipulate your application's data.

Installation

Laravel Tinker comes pre-installed with all versions of Laravel starting from version 5.4. If you have an older version of Laravel, you can install Tinker using Composer by running the following command in your terminal:

composer require --dev laravel/tinker

Once installed, you can access Tinker by running:

php artisan tinker

Usage

Interactive Console

When you run php artisan tinker, you will be greeted with an interactive console that allows you to interact with your Laravel application. You can use Tinker to execute PHP code and interact with your application's data.

For example, you can access data from your database by running queries using Eloquent. Here's an example:

>>> use App\Models\User;
>>> $users = User::all();
>>> $users->count()

Testing Code

Tinker is a great tool to test out code and debug errors. You can quickly see the result of code you write and make corrections on the fly. Here's an example of testing code in Tinker:

>>> $name = "John";
>>> $age = 30;
>>> echo "My name is {$name} and I am {$age} years old."

Manipulating Data

Tinker can also be used to manipulate your application's data. You can create, update, and delete data using Eloquent queries. Here's an example:

>>> $user = new User();
>>> $user->name = "Jane";
>>> $user->email = "jane@example.com";
>>> $user->password = bcrypt("password");
>>> $user->save();
>>> $user = User::find(1);
>>> $user->name = "Jane Doe";
>>> $user->update();
>>> $user->delete();

Conclusion

Laravel Tinker is a powerful tool that can help make your workflow more efficient. You can use Tinker to test code, debug errors, and manipulate your application's data. If you haven't used Tinker before, start exploring its features and see how it can improve your development experience.