Building Laravel CLI Applications

Command-line tools automate workflows. Laravel Artisan provides elegant APIs for building robust CLI applications. At ZIRA Software, custom Artisan commands power deployment scripts, data migrations, and administrative tasks.

Creating Commands

php artisan make:command SendEmails

class SendEmails extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'email:send {user} {--queue}';
    protected $description = 'Send emails to users';
    
    public function handle()
    {
        $userId = $this->argument('user');
        $queue = $this->option('queue');
        
        $this->info("Sending email to user {$userId}");
        
        if ($queue) {
            $this->line('Queued for processing');
        }
        
        return 0;
    }
}

Interactive Input

$name = $this->ask('What is your name?');
$password = $this->secret('What is the password?');
$confirmed = $this->confirm('Do you wish to continue?');
$type = $this->choice('What is your role?', ['Admin', 'User'], 0);

Output Formatting

$this->info('Informational message');
$this->comment('Comment message');
$this->question('Question message');
$this->error('Error message');
$this->warn('Warning message');

Progress Bars

$users = User::all();

$bar = $this->output->createProgressBar(count($users));
$bar->start();

foreach ($users as $user) {
    // Process user
    $bar->advance();
}

$bar->finish();

Tables

$headers = ['Name', 'Email'];
$users = User::all(['name', 'email'])->toArray();

$this->table($headers, $users);

Conclusion

Artisan commands make CLI development enjoyable. From simple scripts to complex tools, Laravel provides everything needed.

Need custom automation tools? Contact ZIRA Software for CLI application development.