Laravel Runner

Run system runners via jobs with a migration-like structure. Track runner execution, support database transactions, and run runners via queue or synchronously. Now with PHP 8 Attribute support!

Features

• Migration-like runners - Tasks run in filename order and are tracked in the database
• PHP 8 Attributes - Configure runners using modern PHP attributes (optional)
• Transaction support - Optionally wrap runners in database transactions
• Queue support - Run via queue or synchronously
• Progress tracking - Track status, output, errors, and timing
• Idempotent - Won't re-run completed runners
• Per-runner queue - Specify different queues per runner
• Artisan commands - Create and run runners via CLI

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require adeildo-jr/laravel-runner

Publish the configuration file:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag="runner-config"

Publish and run the migration:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag="runner-migrations"
php artisan migrate

Create the Runner model in your application (if it doesn't exist):

# Copy the stub to your app/Models directory
cp vendor/adeildo-jr/laravel-runner/stubs/RunnerModel.stub app/Models/Runner.php

Configuration

The configuration file config/runner.php contains:

return [
    // Path where runners are stored
    'path' => env('RUNNER_PATH', app_path('Runners')),

    // Namespace for runners
    'namespace' => env('RUNNER_NAMESPACE', 'App\\Runners'),

    // Base class that runners must extend
    'base_class' => AdeildoJr\Runner\Runner::class,

    // Eloquent model for tracking runners
    'model' => App\Models\Runner::class,

    // Database table name
    'table' => env('RUNNER_TABLE', 'runners'),
];

Usage

Creating a Task

Use the artisan command to create a new runner:

php artisan make:runner SendWelcomeEmails

This creates a new runner class in app/Runners/SendWelcomeEmails.php.

Two Ways to Configure Tasks

You can configure runners using either class properties (traditional) or PHP 8 Attributes (modern). Attributes take precedence over properties when both are present.

Option 1: Class Properties (Traditional)

<?php

namespace App\Runners;

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Runner;

class SendWelcomeEmails extends Runner
{
    protected ?string $name = 'send-welcome-emails';
    protected bool $queue = true;
    protected ?string $queueName = 'emails';
    protected bool $useTransaction = true;

    public function run(): ?string
    {
        User::whereNull('welcome_email_sent')->chunk(100, function ($users) {
            foreach ($users as $user) {
                $user->notify(new WelcomeEmail());
                $user->update(['welcome_email_sent' => true]);
            }
        });

        return 'Welcome emails sent to all users';
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        User::whereNotNull('welcome_email_sent')
            ->update(['welcome_email_sent' => null]);
    }
}

Option 2: PHP 8 Attributes

<?php

namespace App\Runners;

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Attributes\ShouldQueue;
use AdeildoJr\Runner\Attributes\RunnerName;
use AdeildoJr\Runner\Attributes\RunnerQueue;
use AdeildoJr\Runner\Attributes\UseTransaction;
use AdeildoJr\Runner\Runner;

#[RunnerName('send-welcome-emails')]
#[ShouldQueue(true)]
#[RunnerQueue('emails')]
#[UseTransaction(true)]
class SendWelcomeEmails extends Runner
{
    public function run(): ?string
    {
        User::whereNull('welcome_email_sent')->chunk(100, function ($users) {
            foreach ($users as $user) {
                $user->notify(new WelcomeEmail());
                $user->update(['welcome_email_sent' => true]);
            }
        });

        return 'Welcome emails sent to all users';
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        User::whereNotNull('welcome_email_sent')
            ->update(['welcome_email_sent' => null]);
    }
}

Option 3: Mixed Approach

You can mix both approaches. Attributes override properties:

<?php

namespace App\Runners;

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Attributes\RunnerName;
use AdeildoJr\Runner\Runner;

#[RunnerName('custom-name')] // This takes precedence over the property
class MyTask extends Runner
{
    protected ?string $name = 'default-name'; // Ignored because attribute is present
    protected bool $queue = false; // Used because no attribute

    public function run(): ?string
    {
        return 'Task executed';
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
    }
}

Available Attributes

Running Tasks

Run all pending runners:

php artisan runner:go

Run a specific runner:

php artisan runner:go --runner="App\Runners\SendWelcomeEmails"

Run synchronously (without queue):

php artisan runner:go --sync

Dispatching from Code

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Jobs\RunRunnersJob;

// Run all pending runners
RunRunnersJob::dispatch();

// Run a specific runner
RunRunnersJob::dispatch(App\Runners\SendWelcomeEmails::class);

Task Options

Each runner class supports the following options:

Priority: Attributes > Properties > Defaults

Customizing Task Names

The runner name is auto-generated from the class name using kebab-case:

• SendWelcomeEmails → send-welcome-emails
• CleanUpOldDataTask → clean-up-old-data (Task suffix removed)

Override with property:

protected ?string $name = 'custom-runner-name';

Or with attribute:

#[RunnerName('custom-runner-name')]

Database Transactions

Enable database transactions for data integrity:

Using property:

protected bool $useTransaction = true;

Using attribute:

#[UseTransaction(true)]

When enabled, the entire runner runs within a database transaction. If the runner fails, all changes are rolled back.

Queue Configuration

Disable queuing (run synchronously):

Using property:

protected bool $queue = false;

Using attribute:

#[ShouldQueue(false)]

Specify a custom queue:

Using property:

protected ?string $queueName = 'high-priority';

Using attribute:

#[RunnerQueue('high-priority')]

Skippable Tasks

Sometimes you may want to temporarily disable a runner without deleting it. Mark a runner as skippable to exclude it from execution:

Using property:

protected bool $skippable = true;

Using attribute:

#[Skippable]
// or explicitly
#[Skippable(true)]

Use cases:

• Temporarily disabling a problematic runner
• Conditional runner execution based on environment
• Feature-flagging runners during development

Note: Skipped runners are not tracked in the database at all. They are silently ignored during runner discovery.

Database Schema

The runners table tracks all runner executions:

Task Execution Flow

1. Discovery - The job scans the configured runners directory for PHP files
2. Filtering - Abstract classes and non-runner classes are skipped
3. Tracking - Each runner is tracked in the runners table
4. Execution - Tasks are executed in filename order
5. Status Updates - Status is updated throughout execution:
   • pending → running → completed/failed

Available Commands

Testing

Run the test suite:

composer test

Run tests with coverage:

vendor/bin/pest --coverage

Advanced Usage

Task Output

Return data from your runner to store in the database:

public function run(): ?string
{
    $count = User::count();
    
    return "Processed {$count} users";
}

Rollback Support

Implement the down() method to reverse a runner:

public function down(): void
{
    // Undo the changes made by run()
    User::where('processed_at', today())->update(['processed_at' => null]);
}

Manual Task Registration

You can manually register a runner as completed:

use App\Models\Runner;

Runner::create([
    'runner_class' => App\Runners\MyTask::class,
    'status' => 'completed',
    'completed_at' => now(),
]);

Events

The package dispatches events during the runner lifecycle:

RunnerStarted

Fired when a runner begins execution:

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Events\RunnerStarted;

Event::listen(RunnerStarted::class, function (RunnerStarted $event) {
    // $event->runner - The runner instance
    // $event->model - The database model
    
    Log::info("Runner started: {$event->runner->getName()}");
});

RunnerFinished

Fired when a runner completes successfully:

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Events\RunnerFinished;

Event::listen(RunnerFinished::class, function (RunnerFinished $event) {
    // $event->runner - The runner instance
    // $event->model - The database model
    // $event->output - The output from the runner
    
    Log::info("Runner finished: {$event->runner->getName()}", [
        'output' => $event->output,
    ]);
});

RunnerFailed

Fired when a runner fails:

use AdeildoJr\Runner\Events\RunnerFailed;

Event::listen(RunnerFailed::class, function (RunnerFailed $event) {
    // $event->runner - The runner instance
    // $event->model - The database model
    // $event->exception - The exception that caused the failure
    
    Log::error("Runner failed: {$event->runner->getName()}", [
        'error' => $event->exception->getMessage(),
    ]);
});

All events implement Laravel's ShouldQueue interface by default, so they can be queued for async processing.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│         runner:go Command           │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│      RunRunnersJob (Queue)      │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Task Discovery (File System)      │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Task Configuration                 │
│  (Attributes > Properties)          │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Task Execution (with transaction)  │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│    Database (runners table)    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Requirements

• PHP ^8.2
• Laravel ^11.0 || ^12.0

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.