LaraDumps

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Usage ​

Introduction ​

To debug with LaraDumps, simply add a ds() in your code.

It's quite similar to using the dump() or dd() functions, but with the benefit of seeing your debug dump in a dedicated Desktop Application.

Try it yourself ​

Add the ds() function to your routes/web.php main route, just like in the code below:

php
// File: routes/web.php

Route::get('/', function () {
    ds('Home page accessed!'); //<==========
    return view('home');
});

Now, access your home-page, and you will see the debug dump in the Desktop App:

TIP

💡 Trivia: The "ds()" function is based on the first and last letters of the word dumps, and it is conveniently similar to "dd()". This is not a coincidence! Easy to switch!

Debug Tools ​

LaraDumps provides you with a set of tools to debug your code and inspect what is happening to your application during the development process.

Dump ​

To send a dump to the application, just pass one or more values to the ds() function.

php
$myString = 'Hello World!';

$myArray = ['name' => 'Luan', 'country' => 'BR'];

$myBoolean = false;

//Single value
ds($myString);

//Multiple values
ds($myString, $myArray, $myBoolean);

This function is similar to Laravel's dump() and it will not stop the code execution.

Dump and die ​

Use the function ds()->die() or its shortcut dsd() to dump and immediately stop the code execution.

php
$myString = 'Hello World!';

ds($myString)->die();
//dsd($myString);

ds('This will never happen');

This function is similar to Laravel's dd().

Quiet dump ​

By default, LaraDumps Desktop App will be invoked and gain focus whenever a new dump is received.

If this is not what you want, simply disable the Auto-Invoke feature.

Alternatively, just use the dsq() method and send a quiet dump. This will not invoke the App.

php
// Requires Auto-Invoke to be enabled

$products = [['id' => 1, 'price' => 10], ['id' => 2, 'price' => 50], ['id' => 3, 'price' => -5]];

foreach ($products as $product) {
    dsq('Checking product #' . $product['id']); //Send a dump without invoking the app

    if ($product['price'] < 0) {
        ds('Price error in product #' . $product['id']); //App will be invoked
    }
}

The previous example will quietly dump each product prices and only invoke in case the price is invalid.

Label ​

You can use the label() method to set a label to your debug dump.

Assigning a label makes it easier to locate the debug dump among other similar results.

php
$person  = ['name' => 'Luan', 'country' => 'BR'];
$person2 = ['name' => 'Taylor', 'country' => 'US'];

ds($person)->label('Creator of Laradumps');

ds($person2)->label('Creator of Laravel');

Screens ​

You can use the toScreen() or s() methods to send your debug dump to a specific Screen.

By opening different screens, you can better organize your dumps into groups of similar issues.

php
ds('this is screen 1'); //default screen

ds('this is screen 2')->toScreen('screen 2');

ds('custom value')->s('Custom screen');

To save time, numbered screens can be targeted using aliases:

php
ds('this is screen 1');

ds2('this is screen 2');

ds3('this is screen 3');

ds4('this is screen 4');

ds5('this is screen 5');

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📌 Click on the pin icon to permanently focus a screen and keep its dumps when clearing all screens.

Clear Screens ​

You can use the clear() method to delete all previous dumps from all screens.

This will reset your application to the start point.

php
ds()->clear();

TIP

📝 Note: To clear only the current screen, click on the × at the right end of the screen list.

Color Tag ​

You can use the color() method to mark a dump with a predefined color or provide a provided Tailwind color.

Read more about Tailwind color palette here.

php
ds('Info: Just FYI')->info();

ds('Success: IT WORKS!')->success();

ds('Danger: ERROR!!!')->danger();

ds('Warning: Something is not right!')->warning();

ds('Dark: The Dark Side of the Moon')->dark();

//A custom color
ds('Tailwind Custom Color!')->color('border-violet-500');

Laravel Logs ​

The Desktop App will receive and dump Laravel Logs entries whenever you enable the Log feature.

LaraDumps also provides a one-click internet search on Error Log messages. This is very convenient for exceptions and general error messages.

php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;

Log::info('Your message', ['0' => 'Your Context']);

Log::error('Your message', ['0' => 'Your Context']);

Time ​

To simply measure the execution time of a block of code, place it within the time($reference) and stopTime($reference) methods.

You must pass the same unique $reference title to both methods. The reference can be any combination of words.

php
ds()->time('my count');

    for($i=0; $i<100000; $i++){
        //some code
    }

ds()->stopTime('my count');

SQL Queries ​

To debug SQL queries, you must place the database call within the queriesOn() and queriesOff() methods.

You are required to enable SQL Query Listening for this feature to work properly.

For example:

php
use App\Models\User;

ds()->queriesOn('checking a user query');

    User::query()->where('id', 20)->get();

ds()->queriesOff();

Query inspection Macro

You can also chain a ds() method before the query execution and, it will be dumped in the Desktop App:

php
use App\Models\User;

User::query()->where('id', 20)
    ->ds()
    ->get();

WARNING

The macro feature doesn't require SQL Queries to be enabled in the configuration file.

Model Inspection ​

You can use the model() method to view Eloquent Model's Attributes and Relationships.

php
use App\Models\User;

$firstUser = User::first();

ds()->model($firstUser);

Mailable ​

Displays mail details and the HTML preview for an instance of a Illuminate\Mail\Mailable class.

php
ds()->mailable(new \App\Mail\TestMail());

HTTP Requests ​

Captures and displays all the properties of HTTP Requests within the httpOn() and httpOff() methods.

php
use \Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

ds()->httpOn();
    Http::get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1');
ds()->httpOff();

Artisan Command ​

Captures and displays the called Artisan commands with their arguments, options and exit code.

php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Artisan;

ds()->commandsOn('running a command');
    Artisan::call('inspire');
ds()->commandsOff();

Jobs ​

Captures and displays all information of Jobs ran within the showJob() and stopShowingJob() methods.

php
ds()->jobsOn('Optional-Label');
    dispatch(new \App\Jobs\TestJob());
ds()->jobsOff();

Cache ​

Captures and displays Cache information loaded within the cacheOn() and cacheOff() methods.

php
ds()->cacheOn('My cache');

    // SET
    cache()->set('feature', 'Cache Observer');

    cache()->remember('name', 10, function() {
        return 'Anand Pilania';
    });

    // HIT
    cache()->get('name');

    // FORGET
    cache()->forget('feature');

    // MISSED
    cache()->get('feature');

ds()->cacheOff();

Stringable Macro ​

Displays the current string in a Stringable Macro

php
use Illuminate\Support\Str;

Str::of('Hello')
    ->append(' World')
    ->ds();

Collection Macro ​

Displays the current state of a Collection Macro

php
collect(['hello', 'world'])
    ->ds('original input')
    ->map(fn($string) => ucfirst($string))
    ->ds('capitalize result');

Routes ​

You can use the routes() method to list all Routes in a table format.

You may configure LaraDumps to exclude specific routes from the dump output.

php
ds()->routes();

Table ​

You can use the table() method to display dumps in a table with a built-in search bar.

To build a table, you must pass an iterable $data as the first argument, followed by an optional string $name for the table name.

php
use App\Models\User;

// Using an iterable
$allUsers = [
        ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'David', 'email' => 'david@example.com'],
        ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Julia', 'email' => 'julia@example.com'],
        //...
];

// Using Elloquent
$allUsers = User::all(['id', 'name', 'email']);

ds()->table($allUsers, 'my users table');

JSON ​

Use the isJson() method to validate and display JSON strings in human-readable format.

This is very helpful for checking JSON content sent from an API or front-end app.

php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

// Json from API
$moviesJson = Http::get('https://api.tvmaze.com/search/people?q=lauren')->body();

ds($moviesJson)->isJson();

//Invalid JSON
ds('{"name: Luan}')->isJson();

Contains ​

You can use the contains() method to verify if a given string appears in the dump.

This is particularly useful when working with longer strings that require a lot of time to inspect and debug.

php
$html   = '<select name="select-choice" id="select-choice"><option value="Choice 1">Choice 1</option><option value="Choice 2">Choice 2</option><option value="Choice 3">Choice 3</option></select>';

ds($html)->contains('Choice 3')->label('Must be there');

ds($html)->contains('Choice 29')->label('Should not contain');

For a stricter search, you can activate Case Sensitive or Whole word parameters:

php
$json = '{"name":"Mariana", "country":"Brazil"}';

//Will not match "Brazil"
ds($json)->contains('brazil', caseSensitive: true);

//No match for "Maria" in "Mariana"
ds($json)->contains('Maria', wholeWord: true);

Markdown ​

Displays the markdown rendered as HTML.

php
ds()->markdown('# Hi, Anand Pilania!');

PHPInfo ​

Displays the current PHP settings in table format.

php
ds()->phpinfo();

Benchmark ​

Benchmark closures (array of closures or a variable number of closures as arguments) and dump detailed results including start time, end time, total execution time, and result for each closure and also includes a fastest flag to indicate the fastest closure in the results.

php
ds()->benchmark(
    function() {
        sleep(2);
        return 'First';
    },
    function(){
        sleep(1);
        return 'Second';
    }
);

You can also add custom labels for each closures:

php
ds()->benchmark([
    'Label 1' => function() {
        sleep(1);
        return 'Result 1';
    },
    'Label 2' => function() {
        sleep(2);
        return 'Result 2';
    },
]);

You can also chain multiple benchmarks or other tools:

php
ds()->benchmark(
    ...
)->benchmark(
    ...
)->table(..., ...);

Created By Luan Freitas