Laravel Dynamic Resources

Define every API representation of a model in one Laravel resource. Views are composable, safe for loaded relationships, and represented by real PHP constants and methods that IDEs can discover.

Installation

composer require benyaminrmb/laravel-dynamic-resources
php artisan make:dynamic-resource UserResource --model=User

Laravel 12 and 13 and PHP 8.3–8.5 are supported.

One resource, every response

<?php

namespace App\Http\Resources;

use Benyaminrmb\LaravelDynamicResources\Attributes\View;
use Benyaminrmb\LaravelDynamicResources\DynamicResource;

class UserResource extends DynamicResource
{
    #[View(default: true, requestable: true)]
    protected function standardFields(): array
    {
        return ['id', 'name', 'family', 'email'];
    }

    #[View(requestable: true)]
    protected function minimalFields(): array
    {
        return ['id', 'name', 'family'];
    }

    #[View]
    protected function avatarFields(): array
    {
        return ['avatar'];
    }

    #[View(requestable: true)]
    protected function minimalWithAvatarFields(): array
    {
        return $this->combine(
            $this->minimalFields(),
            $this->avatarFields(),
        );
    }

    #[View]
    protected function detailedFields(): array
    {
        return $this->combine($this->standardFields(), [
            'bio',
            'posts' => $this->relation(
                'posts',
                view: PostResource::VIEW_MINIMAL,
            ),
        ]);
    }

    // <dynamic-resource-views>
    // Constants and fluent selector methods are generated here.
    // </dynamic-resource-views>
}

The method name becomes the kebab-case view name: minimalWithAvatarFields() defines minimal-with-avatar. Use name: on #[View] when an explicit name is clearer.

Exactly one view must have default: true. Only views with requestable: true may be selected through HTTP query parameters.

IDE-discoverable selection

Synchronize real constants and fluent methods after adding or renaming a view:

php artisan dynamic-resources:sync

Both forms are real PHP—not runtime magic:

return UserResource::make($user)
    ->view(UserResource::VIEW_MINIMAL);

return UserResource::make($user)
    ->minimal()
    ->withAvatar();

Use the check command in CI:

php artisan dynamic-resources:sync --check

Composing views

Pass one view or several:

return UserResource::make($user)->view([
    UserResource::VIEW_MINIMAL,
    UserResource::VIEW_AVATAR,
]);

return UserResource::collection($users)
    ->view(UserResource::VIEW_MINIMAL)
    ->withView([UserResource::VIEW_AVATAR, UserResource::VIEW_TIMESTAMPS]);

Views resolve from left to right; later fields replace matching earlier fields. withoutView() accepts a string or array too.

For a combination used throughout the application, define a named view and call the component methods directly with combine(), as shown by minimalWithAvatarFields(). This gives PHPStorm and refactoring tools real method references.

Fields and relationships

String entries lazily read the corresponding model attribute. Named entries transform or condition values using the normal Laravel resource API:

return [
    'id',
    'display_name' => fn () => trim("{$this->name} {$this->family}"),
    'avatar' => $this->when($this->avatar !== null, $this->avatar),
    'posts_count' => $this->whenCounted('posts'),
];

relation() only serializes an already-loaded relationship. It never runs a query:

'posts' => $this->relation('posts', view: PostResource::VIEW_MINIMAL),

It resolves the related resource through Laravel conventions, supports one/many relations, and accepts resourceClass: when a project uses a custom location.

Filtering and safe request views

return UserResource::make($user)
    ->view(UserResource::VIEW_DETAILED)
    ->only(['id', 'name']);

return UserResource::collection($users)
    ->except(['email']);

Request selection is explicit:

return UserResource::make($user)->fromRequest($request);

Clients may request allowlisted views and sparse fields:

GET /api/users/1?view=minimal
GET /api/users/1?fields=id,name
GET /api/users/1?exclude=email
GET /api/users/1?fields=id,posts.id,posts.title

Malformed, oversized, too-deep, or non-requestable selections produce HTTP 400 responses. Parameter names and limits are configurable in config/dynamic-resources.php.

Commands

php artisan make:dynamic-resource UserResource --model=User
php artisan make:dynamic-resource UserResource --views=minimal,default,detailed
php artisan dynamic-resources:list --views
php artisan dynamic-resources:sync
php artisan dynamic-resources:sync --check

See UPGRADE.md for migration from v2.

Quality

composer test
composer test:coverage
composer analyse
composer format:check

Laravel Dynamic Resources is open-source software licensed under the MIT license.