README

A powerful, database-driven export system for Laravel applications that provides dynamic, configurable exports without writing code.

Features

• Database-Driven Configuration - Define exports through database records; a single layout row can carry its columns, filters, and sorts as JSON
• Lazy Catalog Sync - Models and relations register themselves on first reference; no setup command required
• Fluent Builder - ExportLayoutBuilder composes and validates complete layouts in one chain
• Validation - Spot-check layouts before saving or via php artisan export:validate, with overridable, localizable messages
• Advanced Filtering - Static filters, request-based filters, smart dotted-path filters, and collection filters, with grouped or logic
• Nested Relationship Support - Export deeply nested data using dot notation
• Dynamic Column Expansion - One configured column fans out into a column per related value, titled by a {value} template
• Format Templates - Wrap cell values with templates like Site {value}
• Pivot/Crosstab Reports - Excel-style pivot exports with grouping, sub-groups, and dynamic columns
• Pivot Table Data - Access BelongsToMany pivot attributes via .pivot. notation
• Transformation Functions - 23 built-in functions for formatting dates, strings, numbers
• Aggregations - Sum, count, average, min, max, first, last on collections, including filtered subsets
• Large Dataset Support - Chunking, streaming, and background job processing
• Multiple Formats - CSV and JSON out of the box, multi-sheet XLSX via the optional phpoffice/phpspreadsheet package. Need PDF or something custom? Consume the array output from executeExport() and render it however you like, or register your own handler via ExportFactory::register()

Documentation

Full documentation is available in the docs directory:

• Getting Started - Installation and setup
• Configuration - All configuration options, including schema sync modes
• Guides - In-depth guides for each feature
• Examples - Practical examples from basic to advanced
• API Reference - Complete class and method documentation
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Quick Start

Installation

composer require hexagonlabsllc/laravel-exports

Setup

# Publish configuration and migrations
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="HexagonLabsLLC\LaravelExports\LaravelExportsServiceProvider"

# Run migrations
php artisan migrate

# Optional: seed the built-in transformation functions
php artisan export:seed-functions

That is the whole setup. Models and their relations sync into the export catalog automatically the first time a layout references them (configurable via schema_sync; php artisan export:import-models --deep still pre-populates everything at once if you prefer).

Basic Usage

use HexagonLabsLLC\LaravelExports\Builders\ExportLayoutBuilder;
use HexagonLabsLLC\LaravelExports\Services\DynamicExportService;

// 1. Build a layout - paths are validated, everything saves in one transaction
$layout = ExportLayoutBuilder::for(\App\Models\User::class)
    ->name('user_export')
    ->title('User Export')
    ->column('Name', 'name')
    ->column('Email', 'email')
    ->column('Department', 'department.name')
    ->save();

// 2. Export it
$service = app(DynamicExportService::class);

return $service->downloadAs($layout, 'csv', 'users.csv');

Layouts are plain database rows, so they can also come from anywhere else - an admin UI, a seeder, or raw SQL:

ExportLayout::create([
    'model' => \App\Models\User::class,
    'name' => 'user_export',
    'column_definitions' => ['Name' => 'name', 'Email' => 'email'],
    'filter_definitions' => [['path' => 'active', 'operator' => '=', 'value' => true]],
    'sort_definitions' => [['path' => 'name']],
]);

Validation

Spot-check a layout before saving, or audit every layout in CI:

$problems = ExportLayoutBuilder::for(User::class)->column('Name', 'name')->validate();
$problems = app(LayoutValidator::class)->validateDraft($request->all());

php artisan export:validate            # exits non-zero when any layout has errors

Messages are translatable and overridable: publish the lang tag and edit lang/vendor/laravel-exports/{locale}/validation.php to give clients friendlier wording, or map each problem's code and params to your own frontend strings.

Request-Based Filtering

ExportLayout::create([
    'model' => \App\Models\User::class,
    'name' => 'filtered_users',
    'column_definitions' => ['Name' => 'name'],
    'filter_definitions' => [
        ['path' => 'status', 'operator' => '=', 'is_request' => true],
    ],
]);

// In your controller
$service->downloadAs($layout, 'csv', 'users.csv', ['status' => 'active']);

Large Datasets

// Streaming
return $service->streamAs($layout, 'csv', 'large.csv', [], [], 1000);

// Background job
$exportId = $service->queueExport($layout, 'csv');
$status = ProcessExportJob::getStatus($exportId);

Multi-Sheet XLSX

composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet

return $service->downloadAs($layout, 'xlsx', 'report.xlsx', [], ['sheet_by' => 'Author']);

Requirements

• PHP 8.2+
• Laravel 12.12+ or 13
• Database with UUID support

Learn More

See the full documentation for:

• Nested Relationships - Deep data traversal
• Pivot Tables - BelongsToMany pivot data
• Pivot Reports - Crosstab reports with grouping and date buckets
• Transformation Functions - All 23 functions
• Aggregations - Collection aggregation
• Large Datasets - Performance optimization
• Background Jobs - Queue processing

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.