name	laravel-prompts
description	Laravel Prompts - Beautiful and user-friendly forms for command-line applications with browser-like features including placeholder text and validation

Laravel Prompts Skill

Laravel Prompts is a PHP package for adding beautiful and user-friendly forms to your command-line applications, with browser-like features including placeholder text and validation. It's pre-installed in Laravel and supports macOS, Linux, and Windows with WSL.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be triggered when:

Building Laravel Artisan commands with interactive prompts
Creating user-friendly CLI applications in PHP
Implementing form validation in command-line tools
Adding text input, select menus, or confirmation dialogs to console commands
Working with progress bars, loading spinners, or tables in CLI applications
Testing Laravel console commands with prompts
Converting simple console input to modern, validated, interactive prompts

Quick Reference

Basic Text Input

use function Laravel\Prompts\text;

// Simple text input
$name = text('What is your name?');

// With placeholder and validation
$name = text(
    label: 'What is your name?',
    placeholder: 'E.g. Taylor Otwell',
    required: true,
    validate: fn (string $value) => match (true) {
        strlen($value) < 3 => 'The name must be at least 3 characters.',
        strlen($value) > 255 => 'The name must not exceed 255 characters.',
        default => null
    }
);

Password Input

use function Laravel\Prompts\password;

$password = password(
    label: 'What is your password?',
    placeholder: 'password',
    hint: 'Minimum 8 characters.',
    required: true,
    validate: fn (string $value) => match (true) {
        strlen($value) < 8 => 'The password must be at least 8 characters.',
        default => null
    }
);

Select (Single Choice)

use function Laravel\Prompts\select;

// Simple select
$role = select(
    label: 'What role should the user have?',
    options: ['Member', 'Contributor', 'Owner']
);

// With associative array (returns key)
$role = select(
    label: 'What role should the user have?',
    options: [
        'member' => 'Member',
        'contributor' => 'Contributor',
        'owner' => 'Owner',
    ],
    default: 'owner'
);

// From database with custom scroll
$role = select(
    label: 'Which category would you like to assign?',
    options: Category::pluck('name', 'id'),
    scroll: 10
);

Multiselect (Multiple Choices)

use function Laravel\Prompts\multiselect;

$permissions = multiselect(
    label: 'What permissions should be assigned?',
    options: ['Read', 'Create', 'Update', 'Delete'],
    default: ['Read', 'Create'],
    hint: 'Permissions may be updated at any time.'
);

// With validation
$permissions = multiselect(
    label: 'What permissions should the user have?',
    options: [
        'read' => 'Read',
        'create' => 'Create',
        'update' => 'Update',
        'delete' => 'Delete',
    ],
    validate: fn (array $values) => ! in_array('read', $values)
        ? 'All users require the read permission.'
        : null
);

Confirmation Dialog

use function Laravel\Prompts\confirm;

// Simple yes/no
$confirmed = confirm('Do you accept the terms?');

// With custom labels
$confirmed = confirm(
    label: 'Do you accept the terms?',
    default: false,
    yes: 'I accept',
    no: 'I decline',
    hint: 'The terms must be accepted to continue.'
);

// Require "Yes"
$confirmed = confirm(
    label: 'Do you accept the terms?',
    required: true
);

Search (Searchable Select)

use function Laravel\Prompts\search;

$id = search(
    label: 'Search for the user that should receive the mail',
    placeholder: 'E.g. Taylor Otwell',
    options: fn (string $value) => strlen($value) > 0
        ? User::whereLike('name', "%{$value}%")->pluck('name', 'id')->all()
        : [],
    hint: 'The user will receive an email immediately.',
    scroll: 10
);

Suggest (Auto-completion)

use function Laravel\Prompts\suggest;

// Static options
$name = suggest('What is your name?', ['Taylor', 'Dayle']);

// Dynamic filtering
$name = suggest(
    label: 'What is your name?',
    options: fn ($value) => collect(['Taylor', 'Dayle'])
        ->filter(fn ($name) => Str::contains($name, $value, ignoreCase: true))
);

Multi-step Forms

use function Laravel\Prompts\form;

$responses = form()
    ->text('What is your name?', required: true, name: 'name')
    ->password(
        label: 'What is your password?',
        validate: ['password' => 'min:8'],
        name: 'password'
    )
    ->confirm('Do you accept the terms?')
    ->submit();

// Access named responses
echo $responses['name'];
echo $responses['password'];

// Dynamic forms with previous responses
$responses = form()
    ->text('What is your name?', required: true, name: 'name')
    ->add(function ($responses) {
        return text("How old are you, {$responses['name']}?");
    }, name: 'age')
    ->submit();

Progress Bar

use function Laravel\Prompts\progress;

// Simple usage
$users = progress(
    label: 'Updating users',
    steps: User::all(),
    callback: fn ($user) => $this->performTask($user)
);

// With dynamic labels
$users = progress(
    label: 'Updating users',
    steps: User::all(),
    callback: function ($user, $progress) {
        $progress
            ->label("Updating {$user->name}")
            ->hint("Created on {$user->created_at}");
        return $this->performTask($user);
    },
    hint: 'This may take some time.'
);

Loading Spinner

use function Laravel\Prompts\spin;

$response = spin(
    callback: fn () => Http::get('http://example.com'),
    message: 'Fetching response...'
);

Key Concepts

Input Types

Laravel Prompts provides several input types for different use cases:

text() - Single-line text input with optional placeholder and validation
textarea() - Multi-line text input for longer content
password() - Masked text input for sensitive data
confirm() - Yes/No confirmation dialog
select() - Single selection from a list of options
multiselect() - Multiple selections from a list
suggest() - Text input with auto-completion suggestions
search() - Searchable single selection with dynamic options
multisearch() - Searchable multiple selections
pause() - Pause execution until user presses ENTER

Output Types

For displaying information without input:

info() - Display informational message
note() - Display a note
warning() - Display warning message
error() - Display error message
alert() - Display alert message
table() - Display tabular data

Validation

Three ways to validate prompts:

Closure validation: Custom logic with match expressions

validate: fn (string $value) => match (true) {
    strlen($value) < 3 => 'Too short.',
    default => null
}

Laravel validation rules: Standard Laravel validation

validate: ['email' => 'required|email|unique:users']

Required flag: Simple requirement check
```
required: true
```

Transformation

Use the transform parameter to modify input before validation:

$name = text(
    label: 'What is your name?',
    transform: fn (string $value) => trim($value),
    validate: fn (string $value) => strlen($value) < 3
        ? 'The name must be at least 3 characters.'
        : null
);

Terminal Features

Scrolling: Configure visible items with scroll parameter (default: 5)
Navigation: Use arrow keys, j/k keys, or vim-style navigation
Forms: Press CTRL + U in forms to return to previous prompts
Width: Keep labels under 74 characters for 80-character terminals

Reference Files

This skill includes comprehensive documentation in references/:

other.md - Complete Laravel Prompts documentation including:
- All prompt types (text, password, select, search, etc.)
- Validation strategies and examples
- Form API for multi-step input
- Progress bars and loading indicators
- Informational messages (info, warning, error, alert)
- Tables for displaying data
- Testing strategies for console commands
- Fallback configuration for unsupported environments

Use view to read the reference file when detailed information is needed.

Working with This Skill

For Beginners

Start with basic prompts:

Use text() for simple input
Add required: true for mandatory fields
Try confirm() for yes/no questions
Use select() for predefined choices

Example beginner command:

$name = text('What is your name?', required: true);
$confirmed = confirm('Is this correct?');
if ($confirmed) {
    $this->info("Hello, {$name}!");
}

For Intermediate Users

Combine multiple prompts and add validation:

Use the form() API for multi-step input
Add custom validation with closures
Use search() for database queries
Implement progress bars for long operations

Example intermediate command:

$responses = form()
    ->text('Name', required: true, name: 'name')
    ->select('Role', options: ['Member', 'Admin'], name: 'role')
    ->confirm('Create user?')
    ->submit();

if ($responses) {
    progress(
        label: 'Creating user',
        steps: 5,
        callback: fn () => sleep(1)
    );
}

For Advanced Users

Leverage advanced features:

Dynamic form fields based on previous responses
Complex validation with Laravel validation rules
Custom searchable prompts with database integration
Transformation functions for data normalization
Testing strategies for command prompts

Example advanced command:

$responses = form()
    ->text('Email', validate: ['email' => 'required|email|unique:users'], name: 'email')
    ->add(function ($responses) {
        return search(
            label: 'Select manager',
            options: fn ($value) => User::where('email', 'like', "%{$value}%")
                ->where('email', '!=', $responses['email'])
                ->pluck('name', 'id')
                ->all()
        );
    }, name: 'manager_id')
    ->multiselect(
        label: 'Permissions',
        options: Permission::pluck('name', 'id'),
        validate: fn ($values) => count($values) === 0 ? 'Select at least one permission.' : null,
        name: 'permissions'
    )
    ->submit();

Navigation Tips

Arrow keys or j/k - Navigate options in select/multiselect
Space - Select/deselect in multiselect
Enter - Confirm selection or submit input
CTRL + U - Go back to previous prompt (in forms)
Type to search - In search/multisearch prompts
Tab - Auto-complete in suggest prompts

Testing

Test commands with prompts using Laravel's built-in assertions:

use function Pest\Laravel\artisan;

test('user creation command', function () {
    artisan('users:create')
        ->expectsQuestion('What is your name?', 'Taylor Otwell')
        ->expectsQuestion('What is your email?', '[email protected]')
        ->expectsConfirmation('Create this user?', 'yes')
        ->expectsPromptsInfo('User created successfully!')
        ->assertExitCode(0);
});

test('displays warnings and errors', function () {
    artisan('report:generate')
        ->expectsPromptsWarning('This action cannot be undone')
        ->expectsPromptsError('Something went wrong')
        ->expectsPromptsTable(
            headers: ['Name', 'Email'],
            rows: [
                ['Taylor Otwell', '[email protected]'],
                ['Jason Beggs', '[email protected]'],
            ]
        )
        ->assertExitCode(0);
});

Best Practices

Design Guidelines

Keep labels concise (under 74 characters for 80-column terminals)
Use hint parameter for additional context
Set appropriate default values when sensible
Configure scroll for lists with many options (default: 5)

Validation Strategy

Use required: true for mandatory fields
Apply Laravel validation rules for standard checks (email, min/max, etc.)
Use closures for complex business logic validation
Provide clear, actionable error messages

User Experience

Add placeholders to show expected input format
Use pause() before destructive operations
Show progress bars for operations taking >2 seconds
Display informational messages after actions complete
Group related prompts in forms for better flow

Performance

Use search() callbacks with length checks to avoid expensive queries:

options: fn (string $value) => strlen($value) > 0
    ? User::where('name', 'like', "%{$value}%")->pluck('name', 'id')->all()
    : []

Limit database results with pagination or top-N queries
Cache frequently-accessed option lists
Use spin() for HTTP requests and long operations

Common Patterns

User Registration Flow

$responses = form()
    ->text('Name', required: true, name: 'name')
    ->text('Email', validate: ['email' => 'required|email|unique:users'], name: 'email')
    ->password('Password', validate: ['password' => 'required|min:8'], name: 'password')
    ->submit();

Confirmation Before Destructive Action

$confirmed = confirm(
    label: 'Are you sure you want to delete all users?',
    default: false,
    hint: 'This action cannot be undone.'
);

if (! $confirmed) {
    $this->info('Operation cancelled.');
    return;
}

Dynamic Multi-step Form

$responses = form()
    ->select('User type', options: ['Regular', 'Admin'], name: 'type')
    ->add(function ($responses) {
        if ($responses['type'] === 'Admin') {
            return password('Admin password', required: true);
        }
    }, name: 'admin_password')
    ->submit();

Batch Processing with Progress

$items = Item::all();

$results = progress(
    label: 'Processing items',
    steps: $items,
    callback: function ($item, $progress) {
        $progress->hint("Processing: {$item->name}");
        return $this->process($item);
    }
);

Resources

Official Documentation

Laravel Prompts Documentation: https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/prompts
Laravel Console Testing: https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/console-tests

Platform Support

Supported: macOS, Linux, Windows with WSL
Fallback: Configure fallback behavior for unsupported environments

Notes

Laravel Prompts is pre-installed in Laravel framework
Supports Laravel validation rules for easy integration
Uses terminal control codes for interactive UI
All prompts return values that can be used immediately
Forms support revisiting previous prompts with CTRL + U
Validation runs on every input change for immediate feedback
Progress bars can be manually controlled or automated

Updating

This skill was generated from the official Laravel Prompts documentation. To refresh with updated information, re-scrape the Laravel documentation site.

Install Skill

SKILL.md