Forms

Description

Forms is the JSON-based form builder used across Laravel Enso backends.

The package loads form templates from JSON, builds create and edit payloads around Eloquent models, computes actions and meta configuration, validates template structure, and ships test traits for common create/edit/destroy flows.

It is a backend payload builder, not a standalone UI package. The canonical frontend companion is @enso-ui/forms, which renders the payloads produced by this package.

Installation

Install the package:

composer require laravel-enso/forms

Optional publishes:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=forms-config
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=forms-resources

Features

• JSON template loading through Form.
• Create and edit payload generation for Eloquent-backed forms.
• Runtime mutation helpers for values, labels, options, visibility, readonly state, and route metadata.
• Template validation for structure, actions, routes, and fields.
• PHPUnit test traits for form workflows.
• Direct integration with the Enso frontend form renderer and its field components.

Usage

Create or edit a form payload:

use LaravelEnso\Forms\Services\Form;

$form = new Form(__DIR__.'/Templates/example.json');

$createPayload = $form->create();
$editPayload = $form->edit($model);

Template structure

The JSON template must include at least:

• method
• sections
• routeParams

The root template may also include:

• title, icon
• actions
• authorize
• autosave
• clearErrorsControl
• debounce
• dividerTitlePlacement
• labels
• params
• readonly
• routePrefix
• routes
• tabs

Each section must define:

• columns
• fields

Optional section attributes are:

• divider
• title
• column
• tab
• slot
• hidden

Each field must define:

• label
• name
• value
• meta

Minimal template example

{
    "title": "Example",
    "icon": "user",
    "method": null,
    "routePrefix": "administration.users",
    "routeParams": {},
    "actions": ["store", "update", "destroy", "back"],
    "sections": [
        {
            "columns": 2,
            "title": "General",
            "fields": [
                {
                    "label": "Name",
                    "name": "name",
                    "value": "",
                    "meta": {
                        "type": "input",
                        "content": "text",
                        "custom": false
                    }
                },
                {
                    "label": "Roles",
                    "name": "roles",
                    "value": [],
                    "meta": {
                        "type": "select",
                        "multiple": true,
                        "source": "administration.roles.options",
                        "custom": false
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Form service API

The LaravelEnso\Forms\Services\Form object is not just a loader. It is a fluent mutator for the template before create() or edit() finalizes the payload.

Common methods:

• create(?Model $model = null)
• edit(Model $model)
• actions(...$actions)
• routePrefix(string $prefix)
• route(string $action, string $route)
• routeParams(array $params)
• title(string $title)
• icon(string $icon)
• append(string $param, mixed $value)
• authorize(bool $authorize)
• labels(bool $labels)

Field and section mutators:

• label(string $field, string $value)
• options(string $field, mixed $value)
• value(string $field, mixed $value)
• meta(string $field, string $param, mixed $value)
• columns(string $section, int $value)
• hide(...$fields) / show(...$fields)
• disable(...$fields)
• readonly(...$fields)
• readonly() / readonly(bool $readonly)
• hideSection(...$sections) / showSection(...$sections)
• hideTab(...$tabs) / showTab(...$tabs)

Example:

use LaravelEnso\Forms\Services\Form;

$form = (new Form(app_path('Forms/Templates/users.json')))
    ->title('Edit User')
    ->icon('user')
    ->routePrefix('administration.users')
    ->append('locale', app()->getLocale())
    ->label('email', 'Login Email')
    ->options('role_id', $roles)
    ->value('is_active', true)
    ->readonly('email')
    ->readonly()
    ->hide('password')
    ->meta('phone', 'placeholder', '+40 700 000 000');

$payload = $form->edit($user);

Supported field types

The backend validator accepts these meta.type values:

• input
• select
• datepicker
• timepicker
• textarea
• password
• wysiwyg

The frontend companion @enso-ui/forms currently renders these combinations:

• input with content: text
• input with content: number
• input with content: email
• input with content: password
• input with content: encrypt
• input with content: money
• input with content: checkbox
• select
• textarea
• datepicker
• timepicker
• wysiwyg

Important behavior:

• encrypted inputs are returned as ************************ when the model already has a value
• root readonly is preserved in the payload so the frontend can render the whole form without mutating actions
• field-level meta.readonly remains available for locking individual fields
• multi-select values are normalized to arrays of tracked keys
• datepicker values are formatted with the configured or field-specific format
• select source routes are converted to relative application paths
• select fields that define enum class options are expanded through ::select() and default to translated labels
• wysiwyg fields use TinyMCE by default and receive the configured TinyMCE API key automatically
• wysiwyg fields may set editor: trix to use the Trix frontend editor instead

Supported meta keys

The validator accepts the following optional meta keys:

• options, multiple, custom, content
• step, min, max
• disabled, readonly, hidden
• source, format, altFormat, time
• rows, placeholder
• trackBy, label
• tooltip, symbol, precision, thousand, decimal
• positive, negative, zero
• resize, translated
• time12hr, disable-clear
• objects, toolbar, plugins, editor, taggable
• searchMode, params, pivotParams, customParams

Template validation rules

Validator runs four checks:

• Structure: verifies root attributes, section format, columns, and tab consistency
• Actions: only allows Enso form actions supported by the package
• Routes: requires actual named routes for every action except back
• Fields: verifies field attributes, checkbox values, select value shape, and delegates meta validation

Notable enforced rules:

• create forms can use only back and store
• update forms can use only back, create, show, update, and destroy
• select fields must define options or source
• checkbox fields must have boolean values
• multi-select fields must receive array or object values
• columns: custom requires an integer column per field

Enum-backed select fields may opt out of frontend label translation by setting "translated": false explicitly in the template.

Frontend companion

The canonical renderer is @enso-ui/forms.

Its public Vue components are:

• EnsoForm
• VueForm
• CoreForm

The package integrates with companion UI packages such as:

• @enso-ui/select
• @enso-ui/datepicker
• @enso-ui/wysiwyg
• @enso-ui/money
• @enso-ui/switch
• @enso-ui/tabs

EnsoForm also exposes runtime helpers to the host application, including:

• fetch()
• submit()
• field(name)
• param(name)
• routeParam(name)
• fill(state)
• setOriginal()
• undo()
• hideField(name) / showField(name)
• hideTab(name) / showTab(name)

API

Services

• LaravelEnso\\Forms\\Services\\Form
• LaravelEnso\\Forms\\Services\\Builder
• LaravelEnso\\Forms\\Services\\Validator

Published resources

• config/enso/forms.php
• app/Forms/Builders/ModelForm.php
• app/Forms/Templates/template.php

Configuration highlights

• validations
• buttons
• altDateFormat
• selectPlaceholder
• authorize
• dividerTitlePlacement
• labels
• tinyMCEApiKey

Test traits

• CreateForm
• EditForm
• DestroyForm

Depends On

Required Enso packages:

• laravel-enso/enums ↗
• laravel-enso/helpers ↗

Companion frontend package:

• @enso-ui/forms ↗

Contributions

are welcome. Pull requests are great, but issues are good too.

Thank you to all the people who already contributed to Enso!