Laler

Capture PHP VarDumper output and redirect it to any channel you control. Works with or without Laravel.

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Requirements
• Installation
• Windows Desktop App
• Integration Guides
  • Plain PHP
  • Laravel
• Usage Examples
  • Laravel Usage
  • Plain PHP Usage
  • Desktop App Integration
• Testing
• Release Process
• Contributing
• License

Quick Start

1. Install the library: composer require laler/laler
2. Install Windows desktop app (optional): Download and run installer/lalerapp_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi as Administrator
3. Start debugging: Use laler('Your debug data') in your PHP code
4. View results in the desktop app or console

Requirements

• PHP ^8.0
• Symfony VarDumper ^6.0 || ^7.0
• PSR-11 Container Interface ^1.0 || ^2.0

Optional (for Laravel integration):

• Laravel (Illuminate components) ^9.0 || ^12.0

Installation

composer require laler/laler
composer install

For Laravel projects: The package is auto-discovered, so no manual provider registration is required.

To forward dumps to the desktop app during local development, add a TauriDumper registration inside your App\Providers\AppServiceProvider boot() method as shown below.

For plain PHP projects: Include the Composer autoloader and call the laler() helper.

Windows Desktop App

For a visual interface to view your laler() dumps, install the Windows desktop application:

Installation

1. Download the installer: installer/lalerapp_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi
2. Right-click → "Run as Administrator" (required for system-level HTTP server setup)
3. Follow the installation wizard
4. Launch the Laler app from Start Menu or Desktop shortcut

Usage

1. Start the desktop app first
2. Configure your laler() calls to send dumps to the app (see TauriDumper examples below)
3. View dumps in real-time through the desktop interface

Note: The desktop app provides a user-friendly interface for debugging and monitoring your PHP application dumps without cluttering your console or logs.

Integration Guides

Plain PHP

• Boot autoloader: require 'vendor/autoload.php';
• Get manager: $manager = laler_manager();
• Register dumpers: $manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));
• Send values: laler($data);

Note: In plain PHP projects, the vendor directory is typically at your project root, so use __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php'. In Laravel projects within subdirectories, you might need __DIR__ . '/../vendor/autoload.php' depending on your file location.

require __DIR__.'/vendor/autoload.php';

use DateTimeImmutable;
use Laler\Dumpers\TauriDumper;

if (! function_exists('now')) {
    function now(): DateTimeImmutable
    {
        return new class extends DateTimeImmutable {
            public function toISOString(): string
            {
                return $this->format(DATE_ATOM);
            }
        };
    }
}

$manager = laler_manager();
$manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));

laler(['data' => ['nested' => 'structure']]);

Laravel

• Install composer require laler/laler
• Register dumpers (for example, in a service provider)

namespace App\Providers;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
use Laler\DumpCaptureManager;
use Laler\Dumpers\TauriDumper;

class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot(): void
    {
        if ($this->app->environment('local')) {

            $manager = $this->app->make(DumpCaptureManager::class);
            $manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));
        }
    }
}

• Use helper: call laler() anywhere to route values through configured dumpers.

Usage Examples

Laravel Usage

DumpCaptureManager centralises dump collection and forwards each value to your registered dumpers. Retrieve it from the container and register any DataDumperInterface implementation:

use Laler\DumpCaptureManager;
use Laler\Dumpers\TauriDumper;

$manager = app(DumpCaptureManager::class);

if (app()->environment('local')) {
    $manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));
}

laler('Hello from Laler!'); // Routed to the Tauri desktop app

Capturing Database Queries

Enable automatic forwarding of executed queries to your configured dumpers:

// Start listening for queries (typically in a tinker session or controller)
laler_show_queries();

User::firstWhere('email', '[email protected]');

// Stop when you're done
laler_stop_showing_queries();

Each query is sent as an array with the SQL, bindings, execution time (ms), and connection name, so dumpers like the desktop app can display them clearly.

Plain PHP Usage

For projects without Laravel, use the global helper functions. Here's the complete example from examples/plain_php_usage.php:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

// Optional: Add custom helper functions
if (!function_exists('now')) {
    class LalerPlainPhpNow extends \DateTimeImmutable
    {
        public function toISOString(): string
        {
            return $this->format(DATE_ATOM);
        }
    }

    function now(): LalerPlainPhpNow
    {
        return new LalerPlainPhpNow();
    }
}

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Laler\Dumpers\TauriDumper;

$manager = laler_manager();
$manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));

// Dumps now show in the desktop app
laler(['data' => ['nested' => 'structure']]);

Desktop App Integration

To send dumps to the Windows desktop app, use the TauriDumper:

use Laler\Dumpers\TauriDumper;

// Get the global manager and register the desktop app dumper
$manager = laler_manager();
$manager->register(new TauriDumper('http://localhost:3000'));

// Now all laler() calls will appear in the desktop app
laler('Debug message');
laler(['user_data' => $userData]);

Tip: Start the desktop app first, then run your PHP code to see dumps in real-time.

Testing

vendor/bin/phpunit --stop-on-failure

Release Process

# Install npm dependencies for release tooling
npm install

# Create a new release (automatically determines version bump)
npm run release

# Or specify version bump type
npm run release:patch   # 1.0.1 -> 1.0.2
npm run release:minor   # 1.0.1 -> 1.1.0
npm run release:major   # 1.0.1 -> 2.0.0

Contributing

• Commit format: Use conventional commits (feat:, fix:, docs:, etc.)
• Interactive commits: Run npm run commit for guided commit creation
• Commit tooling: @programinglive/commiter manages Husky/commitlint hooks—run npx @programinglive/commiter after cloning if hooks are missing
• Release scripts: Use npm run release[:patch|:minor|:major] to produce semantic, icon-rich changelogs
• Follow the existing code style
• Remove unused imports before committing
• Run tests before submitting

License

MIT