Lightpack Settings

Modern web applications need dynamic, database-driven settings to power everything from feature toggles and branding to user preferences and operational parameters.

Why Database-Driven Settings?

Instant updates: Change app behavior without code deploys.
Multi-tenant support: Each user, organization, product, or any model can have their own settings.
Feature toggles: Enable/disable features on the fly.
Central management: Manage all settings from an admin UI or API.
Polymorphic: Settings can be attached to any model, not just users or orgs.

Data Model

settings table

Column	Type	Notes
id	int	PK, auto-increment
key	string(150)	Setting key (not necessarily unique globally)
value	text	Serialized or plain value
key_type	string(25)	(optional) for type hints (int, bool, json, etc.)
group	string(150)	Logical namespace (e.g., 'global', 'users', etc.)
owner	bigint	The owner id within the group (nullable for global)
updated_at	timestamp	Last update time

Indexes:

Composite index on (group, owner, key) for efficient lookups.

Migration

Create schema migration file:

php console create:migration --support=settings

Run migration:

php console migrate:up

Configuration

Please run following command to create config/settings.php configuration file.

php console create:config --support=settings

Core API (via Model Trait)

On any model using SettingsTrait:

class User extends Model
{
    use Lightpack\Settings\SettingsTrait;
}

$user->settings()->set('key', 'value');
$value = $user->settings()->get('key', 'default');
$all = $user->settings()->all();
$user->settings()->forget('key');

Global/App Settings

Instantiate via container or you can type hint Settings as your controller's method dependency.

app('settings')
    ->group('global')
    ->owner(null)
    ->set('site_name', 'Lightpack Demo');

$name = app('settings')
    ->group('global')
    ->owner(null)
    ->get('site_name', 'Default Name');

Owner/Tenant/Model specific

app('settings')
    ->group('users')
    ->owner($userId)
    ->set('theme', 'dark');

app('settings')
    ->group('products')
    ->owner($productId)
    ->set('tax_rate', 0.18);

Or, better using the trait on the model:

$user = new User(23);
$user->settings()->set('theme', 'dark');

$product = new Product(100);
$product->settings()->set('tax_rate', 0.18);

Design Principles

Explicit API: No global helpers or magic loading—always opt-in via trait or direct instantiation.
No Magic: Settings are loaded only when requested, not injected everywhere.
Type Safety: Values are stored with explicit type hints (key_type), and serialization/casting is handled explicitly.
Extensible: Add new groups, owners, or custom serialization as needed.
Cache-Friendly: Caches settings per group/owner scope, with auto-invalidation on update.
Polymorphic: Any model or logical group can have settings—no schema changes needed for new types.
Isolation: Always enforce tenant/model ownership before reading/writing settings.

Advanced Features

JSON/Array Support: Store and retrieve structured data with automatic (de)serialization.
Caching: Settings are cached per group/owner (using Lightpack's cache system), and cache is invalidated on update/delete for consistency and performance.
Type Handling: Values are automatically cast to the declared type (int, bool, float, json, etc.) on retrieval.
Multi-tenant Ready: Use group/owner for per-tenant, per-user, per-product, etc. settings.
Environment Awareness: Optionally fallback to .env or config files if not found in DB.