The make:controller command generates a new controller class in the App/Controllers directory.
Syntax
php rawr make:controller <Name>
The name of the controller class (use PascalCase)
Basic Usage
Create a new controller:
php rawr make:controller UserController
Controller created: App/Controllers/UserController.php
Generated File
The command creates a controller with a default index() method:
App/Controllers/UserController.php
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace App\Controllers;
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
class UserController
{
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::json(['message' => 'UserController controller']);
}
}
All generated controllers use strict types and return typed Response objects for better code quality.
Controller Structure
Namespace
Controllers are automatically namespaced under App\Controllers:
namespace App\Controllers;
Imports
Default imports include:
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
Default Method
Each controller includes an index() method that returns a JSON response:
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::json(['message' => 'UserController controller']);
}
Naming Conventions
Controller names must follow these rules:
- Use PascalCase (e.g.,
UserController, ProductController)
- Start with a letter
- Only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores
- Conventionally end with
Controller suffix
Valid Names
php rawr make:controller UserController
php rawr make:controller ProductController
php rawr make:controller Api_UserController
php rawr make:controller DashboardController
Invalid Names
php rawr make:controller user-controller # Hyphens not allowed
php rawr make:controller 1UserController # Cannot start with number
php rawr make:controller User Controller # Spaces not allowed
Validation
The command validates the controller name:
if (!preg_match('/^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*$/', $name)) {
echo "Error: Invalid controller name. Use PascalCase\n";
exit(1);
}
Error Handling
Missing Name
Output:
Error: Controller name required
Duplicate Controller
php rawr make:controller UserController
# Run again
php rawr make:controller UserController
Error: Controller UserController already exists
The command prevents overwriting existing controllers to protect your code.
Common Patterns
RESTful Controller
Create a controller and add RESTful methods:
App/Controllers/ProductController.php
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace App\Controllers;
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
class ProductController
{
// List all products
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::json(['products' => []]);
}
// Show single product
public function show(int $id): Response
{
return Response::json(['product' => ['id' => $id]]);
}
// Create new product
public function store(Request $request): Response
{
$data = $request->all();
return Response::json(['created' => true], 201);
}
// Update product
public function update(Request $request, int $id): Response
{
$data = $request->all();
return Response::json(['updated' => true]);
}
// Delete product
public function destroy(int $id): Response
{
return Response::json(['deleted' => true]);
}
}
API Controller
Create an API controller with versioning:
App/Controllers/ApiController.php
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace App\Controllers;
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
class ApiController
{
protected string $version = 'v1';
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::json([
'version' => $this->version,
'endpoints' => [
'/api/users',
'/api/products',
'/api/orders'
]
]);
}
}
App/Controllers/ContactController.php
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace App\Controllers;
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
class ContactController
{
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::html('<form>...</form>');
}
public function submit(Request $request): Response
{
$name = $request->input('name');
$email = $request->input('email');
$message = $request->input('message');
// Process form data
return Response::json([
'success' => true,
'message' => 'Contact form submitted'
]);
}
}
Using Generated Controllers
After creating a controller, register it in your routes:
<?php
use App\Controllers\UserController;
$router->get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
$router->get('/users/{id}', [UserController::class, 'show']);
$router->post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);
Workflow Example
php rawr make:controller OrderController
Source Code
The controller generation logic:
function makeController(string $basePath, ?string $name): void
{
if ($name === null) {
echo "Error: Controller name required\n";
exit(1);
}
if (!preg_match('/^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_]*$/', $name)) {
echo "Error: Invalid controller name. Use PascalCase\n";
exit(1);
}
$controllersPath = $basePath . '/App/Controllers';
if (!is_dir($controllersPath)) {
mkdir($controllersPath, 0755, true);
}
$targetPath = $controllersPath . '/' . $name . '.php';
if (file_exists($targetPath)) {
echo "Error: Controller {$name} already exists\n";
exit(1);
}
$content = <<<PHP
<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
namespace App\Controllers;
use Lyger\Http\Request;
use Lyger\Http\Response;
class {$name}
{
public function index(): Response
{
return Response::json(['message' => '{$name} controller']);
}
}
PHP;
file_put_contents($targetPath, $content);
echo "Controller created: App/Controllers/{$name}.php\n";
}
Next Steps
Make Model
Create models to interact with database
Routing
Register controller routes
Request Handling
Work with HTTP requests
Responses
Return different response types