Exporting Data

The exportData() method exports records from your database to JSON files. It's typically called via the seed:export command, but can also be called directly.

Basic Export

php

public function exportData(bool $withRelations = false): int

Export returns the total number of records exported.

Via Command

Export records for a specific seeder:

bash

php artisan seed:export --seeder=UserSeeder

Export all seeders:

bash

php artisan seed:export

Export with relations included:

bash

php artisan seed:export --seeder=UserSeeder --with-relations

Via Code

In tests or elsewhere, call exportData() directly:

php

$seeder = new UserSeeder();
$count = $seeder->exportData();

Filtering Sensitive Data

By default, all model attributes are exported. Override getExportableAttributes() to remove sensitive fields:

php

protected function getExportableAttributes(mixed $model): array
{
    return [
        'id',
        'name',
        'email',
        'email_verified_at',
        'created_at',
        'updated_at',
    ];
}

This removes password and remember_token from the export.

Complete Example

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;

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

    protected function getExportableAttributes(mixed $model): array
    {
        return [
            'id',
            'name',
            'email',
            'email_verified_at',
            'is_admin',
            'created_at',
            'updated_at',
        ];
    }
}

When you run php artisan seed:export --seeder=UserSeeder, the JSON file will only contain these attributes.

JSON Output Format

The exported JSON file is formatted with pretty printing and unescaped Unicode characters (configured in config/oi-laravel-seeds.php).

Example Output

For the seeder above, storage/app/private/seeders/users.json looks like:

json

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "email_verified_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "is_admin": true,
        "created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "updated_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z"
    },
    {
        "id": 2,
        "name": "Jane Smith",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "email_verified_at": "2025-01-02T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "is_admin": false,
        "created_at": "2025-01-02T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "updated_at": "2025-01-02T00:00:00.000000Z"
    }
]

Exporting with Relations

When exporting with relations, related data is nested in the JSON:

Seeder Configuration

php

protected array $exportRelations = ['posts', 'comments'];

Export Command

bash

php artisan seed:export --seeder=UserSeeder --with-relations

Example Output

json

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "updated_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
        "posts": [
            {
                "id": 1,
                "title": "First Post",
                "content": "Hello world",
                "created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
                "updated_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z"
            }
        ],
        "comments": [
            {
                "id": 10,
                "body": "Great post!",
                "created_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
                "updated_at": "2025-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z"
            }
        ]
    }
]

Important Notes

Exporting relations includes the nested data in JSON but does not affect imports. When importing, only the parent model is created/updated.
Relations must be defined as methods on your model (e.g., public function posts(): HasMany).
Use getExportableAttributes() to filter both parent and relation attributes.

Multiple Models

When a seeder handles multiple models, each gets its own export:

php

protected array $jsonFilename = ['users.json', 'profiles.json'];
protected array $modelClass = [User::class, Profile::class];

The export command exports records for both models to separate files.

Next Steps

Importing Data — Learn how imports work with the upsert logic
Configuration — Customize JSON output formatting

The ExportableSeeder Trait

Importing Data