Laravel Folio

Overview Laravel Folio shifts the Laravel routing paradigm from code-defined routes in `web.php` to a file-based system. This approach maps your directory structure directly to your application's URLs. It is particularly effective for content-heavy sections like marketing pages, blogs, or documentation where creating a dedicated controller for every static view feels like overkill. By removing the middleman, you can build faster and keep your logic closer to the UI. Prerequisites To get the most out of this tutorial, you should be comfortable with the PHP programming language and the basics of the Laravel framework. Familiarity with Blade templating and the Composer package manager is necessary to manage dependencies and create views. Key Libraries & Tools * **Laravel Folio**: The primary page-based router package. * **Blade**: Laravel's powerful templating engine used for the page files. * **Artisan**: Laravel's command-line interface for generating pages and managing the environment. * **Sushi**: A flat-file database driver (optional, mentioned for markdown-based workflows). Code Walkthrough Installation First, pull the package into your project and run the installation command to prepare your directories. ```bash composer require laravel/folio php artisan folio:install ``` Creating a Basic Page Folio looks for files inside `resources/views/pages`. Any Blade file created here automatically becomes a route. ```php <!-- resources/views/pages/hi.blade.php --> <div> <h1>Hi there!</h1> </div> ``` Navigating to `/hi` in your browser will now render this view instantly without any entry in `web.php`. Route Model Binding You can capture dynamic parameters or even perform Route Model Binding by naming your files with brackets. ```bash Creates a route at /users/{user} php artisan folio:page "users/[User]" ``` Inside the file, you access the model directly: ```php @php use function Laravel\Folio\name; name('profile'); @endphp <h1>User: {{ $user->name }}</h1> ``` Syntax Notes Folio introduces specialized functions that live within `@php` blocks at the top of your Blade files. The `name()` function allows you to assign a route name for easy referencing via the `route()` helper. For security, the `middleware()` function lets you attach authentication or custom logic directly to the page file. Practical Examples * **Marketing Sites**: Rapidly deploy dozens of landing pages by simply dropping Blade files into the pages folder. * **Blogs**: Combine Folio with a markdown parser to turn a directory of text files into a fully functional blog. * **Admin Dashboards**: Use nested directories to create organized, resource-specific management views. Tips & Gotchas Always remember that Folio routes are additive; they do not override existing routes defined in your `web.php` unless you explicitly remove the conflicting definitions. If you are on a Windows environment, note that custom key binding syntax might require dashes instead of colons in filenames. For performance, use `php artisan folio:list` to visualize your route tree and ensure nested directories are resolving as expected.