# Controllers

Controllers sit between your routes and your repositories. They take the request, ask the repository for data, and return a view or redirect. Keeping controllers thin — no SQL, no business rules — is what makes the Repository Pattern worth the effort.

For Laravel-specific guidance, see the Laravel controllers docs (opens new window).

# 📁 Create the controller files

Krayin keeps controllers under Http/Controllers/<Domain>/ inside each package, with a thin base Controller.php at the root of the Controllers/ folder.

# 1. Add the folder structure

packages
└── Webkul
    └── Example
        └── src
            ├── ...
            └── Http
                └── Controllers
                    ├── Controller.php
                    └── Example
                        └── ExampleController.php

# 2. Create the base controller

packages/Webkul/Example/src/Http/Controllers/Controller.php extends Laravel's base controller and pulls in the standard traits so every concrete controller in your package gets them for free:

<?php

namespace Webkul\Example\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\Access\AuthorizesRequests;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Bus\DispatchesJobs;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Validation\ValidatesRequests;
use Illuminate\Routing\Controller as BaseController;

class Controller extends BaseController
{
    use AuthorizesRequests, DispatchesJobs, ValidatesRequests;
}

# 3. Create the concrete controller

packages/Webkul/Example/src/Http/Controllers/Example/ExampleController.php:

<?php

namespace Webkul\Example\Http\Controllers\Example;

use Webkul\Example\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Webkul\Example\Repositories\ExampleRepository;

class ExampleController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct(
        protected ExampleRepository $exampleRepository
    ) {}

    public function index()
    {
        $examples = $this->exampleRepository->all();

        return view('example::admin.index', compact('examples'));
    }

    public function show(int $id)
    {
        $example = $this->exampleRepository->findOrFail($id);

        return view('example::admin.show', compact('example'));
    }

    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        $example = $this->exampleRepository->create($request->all());

        return redirect()
            ->route('admin.examples.index')
            ->with('success', trans('example::app.examples.create-success'));
    }

    public function update(Request $request, int $id)
    {
        $this->exampleRepository->update($request->all(), $id);

        return redirect()
            ->route('admin.examples.index')
            ->with('success', trans('example::app.examples.update-success'));
    }

    public function destroy(int $id)
    {
        $this->exampleRepository->delete($id);

        return response()->json([
            'message' => trans('example::app.examples.delete-success'),
        ]);
    }
}

Constructor property promotion

The protected ExampleRepository $exampleRepository in the constructor argument list is PHP 8 property promotion — it declares the property and assigns it in one line. No $this->exampleRepository = $exampleRepository; needed.

# 🧱 How the pieces connect

The controller is the meeting point of every other layer you've built:

  1. The route names the controller method ([ExampleController::class, 'index']).
  2. Laravel's container sees ExampleRepository in the constructor and injects an instance.
  3. The action calls a method on the repository.
  4. The repository talks to the model, which talks to the database.
  5. The action returns a view or a redirect.

Keep the controller small. If a method grows past 20–30 lines, push the work down to the repository (custom query method) or up to a form request (validation rules) — not the controller.

# 🧪 Verify

Hit the route from your browser or with curl:

curl -i http://your-krayin.local/admin/examples

You should get a 200 OK (or 302 redirect to the login screen if the route is gated). If you get 500, check the Laravel log at storage/logs/laravel.log — the most common causes are a typo in the repository import or a missing index view.

# 📝 Next steps

  • Views — build the Blade templates this controller returns.
  • Validation — replace $request->all() with a form request that sanitises input.
  • Admin Menu — surface admin.examples.index in the sidebar.

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