make:exportable-seeder

Generate a new seeder class with the ExportableSeeder trait.

Signature

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder {name} {--model=} {--unique-by=} {--json-filename=}

Arguments

name

The name of the seeder class to create (required).

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder
php artisan make:exportable-seeder ProductSeeder
php artisan make:exportable-seeder CompanySeeder

The class is created in database/seeders/{name}.php.

Options

--model

Specify the Eloquent model class that this seeder imports into.

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --model=App\\Models\\User
php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --model=User

If provided, it's automatically added to the seeder class.

--unique-by

Set the unique column(s) for upserting records.

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --unique-by=email
php artisan make:exportable-seeder ProductSeeder --unique-by=sku

For composite keys, use comma-separated values:

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder TenantUserSeeder --unique-by=tenant_id,email

--json-filename

Specify the JSON filename (relative to the storage path).

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --json-filename=users.json
php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --json-filename=seeds/users.json

If not provided, the filename defaults to the snake_case plural form of the model name plus .json:

User → users.json
Product → products.json
CompanyProfile → company_profiles.json

Examples

Basic Seeder

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --model=User

Generated file at database/seeders/UserSeeder.php:

php

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use OiLab\OiLaravelSeeds\Traits\ExportableSeeder;

class UserSeeder extends Seeder
{
    use ExportableSeeder;

    protected string $jsonFilename = 'users.json';

    protected string $modelClass = User::class;

    protected string $uniqueBy = 'id';

    public function run(): void
    {
        $this->importData();
    }
}

With Custom Unique Column

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder UserSeeder --model=User --unique-by=email

Generated file sets $uniqueBy = 'email'.

With Custom JSON Filename

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder RoleSeeder --model=Role --json-filename=roles.json

Generated file sets $jsonFilename = 'roles.json'.

With Composite Key

bash

php artisan make:exportable-seeder TenantUserSeeder --model=TenantUser --unique-by=tenant_id,user_id

Generated file sets $uniqueBy = ['tenant_id', 'user_id'].

Generated Class Structure

The generated seeder class includes:

ExportableSeeder trait
$jsonFilename property — the JSON file to read from
$modelClass property — the model to import into
$uniqueBy property — the unique identifier column(s)
run() method — calls $this->importData()

The generated seeder is ready to use immediately. You can:

Create the JSON file in your storage path
Run php artisan db:seed --class=UserSeeder

Or generate JSON from your database:

Add records to your database
Run php artisan seed:export --seeder=UserSeeder
Check the generated JSON file

Next Steps

Installation — See the quick start workflow
The ExportableSeeder Trait — Understand all available properties and methods
Commands — Learn about seed:export and seed:import

Commands

Overview of the Artisan commands shipped with OI Laravel Seeds

seed:export