Laravel Package Quick Demo

Reusable quick-demo installer for Laravel packages.

zpmlabs/laravel-package-quick-demo lets Laravel package authors ship isolated demo environments inside any host Laravel application.

It is built for packages that want a “try it now” experience without asking users to manually copy files, edit .env, create database connections, register routes, or pollute their main application database.

With this package, a user can install a package demo with one command:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo

---

Features

• Isolated SQLite database per demo.
• Runtime Laravel database connection per demo.
• Demo migrations.
• Demo seeders.
• Demo routes.
• Demo route prefixes and route name prefixes.
• Demo Blade view namespaces.
• Demo view publishing.
• Demo asset publishing.
• Demo storage file publishing.
• Demo config file publishing.
• Install hooks.
• Uninstall hooks.
• Safe uninstall command.
• Config-based and runtime-based demo registration.

---

Installation

Install the package:

composer require zpmlabs/laravel-package-quick-demo

Publish the config file if needed:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=package-quick-demo-config

This publishes:

config/package-quick-demo.php

---

Configuration

Default config:

<?php

return [
    'database_directory' => database_path('quick-demos'),

    'default_database_stub' => null,

    'connection_prefix' => 'quick_demo_',

    'route_prefix' => 'quick-demo',

    'route_name_prefix' => 'quick-demo.',

    'route_middleware' => ['web'],

    'views_directory' => resource_path('views/vendor/quick-demos'),

    'assets_directory' => public_path('vendor/quick-demos'),

    'storage_directory' => storage_path('app/quick-demos'),

    'config_directory' => config_path('quick-demos'),

    'demos' => [
        // Config-based demo definitions may be placed here.
    ],
];

Most package authors do not need users to publish this config. Demos can be registered directly from a package service provider.

---

Basic usage in another package

Example package: vendor/blog-package.

Inside the package service provider:

<?php

namespace Vendor\BlogPackage;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Facades\QuickDemo;
use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Support\DemoDefinition;

class BlogPackageServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot(): void
    {
        QuickDemo::register(
            DemoDefinition::make(
                key: 'blog-demo',
                name: 'Blog Demo',
                databaseName: 'blog_demo',
                databaseStubPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/database/demo.sqlite.stub',
                migrationsPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/migrations',
                seeders: [
                    \Vendor\BlogPackage\Database\Seeders\BlogDemoSeeder::class,
                ],
                routesPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/routes/demo.php',
                viewsPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/views',
                assetsPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/assets',
                storagePath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/storage',
                configPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/config/demo.php',
            )
        );
    }
}

Then the user runs:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo

---

Minimal database-only demo

A demo does not need routes, views, assets, storage, or config.

For a database-only demo, register only database, migrations, and seeders:

QuickDemo::register(
    DemoDefinition::make(
        key: 'users-demo',
        name: 'Users Demo',
        databaseName: 'users_demo',
        databaseStubPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/database/demo.sqlite.stub',
        migrationsPath: __DIR__ . '/../examples/migrations',
        seeders: [
            \Vendor\UsersPackage\Database\Seeders\UsersDemoSeeder::class,
        ],
    )
);

Install it:

php artisan quick-demo:install users-demo

This creates a separate SQLite database and runs only the configured migrations and seeders.

---

Full demo package structure

Recommended structure for a package that ships a complete mini demo app:

blog-package/
  composer.json
  src/
    BlogPackageServiceProvider.php
    Http/
      Controllers/
        BlogDemoController.php
    Models/
      DemoPost.php
    Database/
      Seeders/
        BlogDemoSeeder.php
  examples/
    database/
      demo.sqlite.stub
    migrations/
      2026_01_01_000001_create_demo_posts_table.php
    routes/
      demo.php
    views/
      index.blade.php
      show.blade.php
    assets/
      demo.css
      demo.js
    storage/
      images/
        demo-cover.jpg
    config/
      demo.php

---

Commands

List all registered demos:

php artisan quick-demo:list

Show details for one demo:

php artisan quick-demo:show blog-demo

Install a demo:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo

Reinstall a demo from scratch:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --fresh

Reinstall from scratch and overwrite generated files:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --fresh --force

Skip migrations:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-migrate

Skip seeders:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-seed

Skip view publishing:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-views

Skip asset publishing:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-assets

Skip storage publishing:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-storage

Skip config publishing:

php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --no-config

Uninstall generated demo files:

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo

Drop only the generated SQLite database:

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --drop-database

Remove everything generated by the demo:

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --all --force

---

SQLite database isolation

Every registered demo gets its own SQLite database.

For example:

databaseName: 'blog_demo'

creates:

database/quick-demos/blog_demo.sqlite

The package also registers a runtime Laravel connection:

quick_demo_blog_demo

Another package can register:

databaseName: 'users_demo'

which creates:

database/quick-demos/users_demo.sqlite

and registers:

quick_demo_users_demo

These databases are independent.

The package does not modify .env and does not require users to edit config/database.php.

---

SQLite stub files

Each demo can provide a SQLite stub file:

examples/database/demo.sqlite.stub

The stub may be:

• an empty SQLite file,
• a prebuilt SQLite database with schema,
• a prebuilt SQLite database with schema and demo data.

Recommended approach:

• keep the stub empty,
• create schema through migrations,
• create sample data through seeders.

Create an empty stub:

mkdir -p examples/database
touch examples/database/demo.sqlite.stub

---

Demo migrations

Every demo migration should explicitly use the quick-demo connection.

examples/migrations/2026_01_01_000001_create_demo_posts_table.php

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Facades\QuickDemo;

return new class extends Migration
{
    public function getConnection(): string
    {
        return QuickDemo::connectionName('blog-demo');
    }

    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::connection($this->getConnection())->create('demo_posts', function (Blueprint $table): void {
            $table->id();
            $table->string('title');
            $table->text('body')->nullable();
            $table->boolean('is_published')->default(true);
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        Schema::connection($this->getConnection())->dropIfExists('demo_posts');
    }
};

This prevents demo tables from being created in the host application's default database.

---

Demo seeders

Every demo seeder should write to the quick-demo connection.

src/Database/Seeders/BlogDemoSeeder.php

<?php

namespace Vendor\BlogPackage\Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Facades\QuickDemo;

class BlogDemoSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        DB::connection(QuickDemo::connectionName('blog-demo'))
            ->table('demo_posts')
            ->insert([
                [
                    'title' => 'First demo post',
                    'body' => 'This post belongs to the isolated quick demo database.',
                    'is_published' => true,
                    'created_at' => now(),
                    'updated_at' => now(),
                ],
                [
                    'title' => 'Draft demo post',
                    'body' => 'This is another demo record.',
                    'is_published' => false,
                    'created_at' => now(),
                    'updated_at' => now(),
                ],
            ]);
    }
}

---

Demo models

Demo models should use the quick-demo connection.

src/Models/DemoPost.php

<?php

namespace Vendor\BlogPackage\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Facades\QuickDemo;

class DemoPost extends Model
{
    protected $table = 'demo_posts';

    protected $guarded = [];

    public function getConnectionName(): string
    {
        return QuickDemo::connectionName('blog-demo');
    }
}

---

Demo routes

A package can provide routes for a demo UI.

examples/routes/demo.php

<?php

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
use Vendor\BlogPackage\Http\Controllers\BlogDemoController;

Route::get('/', [BlogDemoController::class, 'index'])->name('index');
Route::get('/posts/{post}', [BlogDemoController::class, 'show'])->name('show');

The package automatically mounts these routes under a safe prefix:

/quick-demo/blog-demo

Route names are prefixed too:

quick-demo.blog_demo.index
quick-demo.blog_demo.show

This avoids collisions with the host application.

---

Demo controller

Example controller:

<?php

namespace Vendor\BlogPackage\Http\Controllers;

use Vendor\BlogPackage\Models\DemoPost;

class BlogDemoController
{
    public function index()
    {
        return view('quick-demo-blog-demo::index', [
            'posts' => DemoPost::query()->latest()->get(),
        ]);
    }

    public function show(DemoPost $post)
    {
        return view('quick-demo-blog-demo::show', [
            'post' => $post,
        ]);
    }
}

---

Demo views

A package can ship Blade views in:

examples/views

Example:

examples/views/index.blade.php
examples/views/show.blade.php

Views are registered under a generated namespace:

quick-demo-blog-demo

Usage:

return view('quick-demo-blog-demo::index', [
    'posts' => $posts,
]);

When installed, views are published to:

resources/views/vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo

The published path is checked first. The package source path is used as fallback.

---

Demo assets

A package can ship demo assets in:

examples/assets

Example:

examples/assets/demo.css
examples/assets/demo.js

Assets are published to:

public/vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo

Usage in Blade:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ asset('vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo/demo.css') }}">
<script src="{{ asset('vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo/demo.js') }}" defer></script>

---

Demo storage files

A package can ship sample storage files in:

examples/storage

Example:

examples/storage/images/demo-cover.jpg

Files are copied to:

storage/app/quick-demos/blog-demo

Usage:

storage_path('app/quick-demos/blog-demo/images/demo-cover.jpg')

---

Demo config files

A package can ship a demo config file:

examples/config/demo.php

It is copied to:

config/quick-demos/blog-demo.php

The package does not modify existing application config files.

---

Config-based demo registration

Demos may also be registered through config/package-quick-demo.php.

'demos' => [
    'blog-demo' => [
        'name' => 'Blog Demo',
        'database_name' => 'blog_demo',
        'database_stub_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/database/demo.sqlite.stub'),
        'migrations_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/migrations'),
        'seeders' => [
            \Vendor\BlogPackage\Database\Seeders\BlogDemoSeeder::class,
        ],
        'routes_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/routes/demo.php'),
        'views_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/views'),
        'assets_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/assets'),
        'storage_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/storage'),
        'config_path' => base_path('vendor/vendor/blog-package/examples/config/demo.php'),
    ],
],

Runtime registration from a package service provider is usually preferred.

---

Install and uninstall hooks

A demo can run custom logic before or after installation and uninstallation.

DemoDefinition::make(
    key: 'blog-demo',
    name: 'Blog Demo',
    databaseName: 'blog_demo',
    beforeInstall: \Vendor\BlogPackage\Demo\BeforeInstallBlogDemo::class,
    afterInstall: \Vendor\BlogPackage\Demo\AfterInstallBlogDemo::class,
    beforeUninstall: \Vendor\BlogPackage\Demo\BeforeUninstallBlogDemo::class,
    afterUninstall: \Vendor\BlogPackage\Demo\AfterUninstallBlogDemo::class,
)

Hook classes should have a handle method:

<?php

namespace Vendor\BlogPackage\Demo;

use ZPMLabs\LaravelPackageQuickDemo\Support\QuickDemoContext;

class AfterInstallBlogDemo
{
    public function handle(QuickDemoContext $context): void
    {
        // Custom demo setup logic.
    }
}

The context contains useful information:

$context->definition;
$context->databasePath;
$context->connectionName;
$context->routePrefix;
$context->routeNamePrefix;
$context->viewNamespace;
$context->assetsDestination;
$context->storageDestination;
$context->configDestination;
$context->options;

Hooks can also be closures or callable arrays.

DemoDefinition::make(
    key: 'blog-demo',
    name: 'Blog Demo',
    databaseName: 'blog_demo',
    afterInstall: function (QuickDemoContext $context): void {
        // Custom logic.
    },
)

---

Safe uninstall behavior

By default, uninstall does not remove everything automatically.

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo

Use specific flags:

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --drop-database
php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --remove-views
php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --remove-assets
php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --remove-storage
php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --remove-config

Remove everything:

php artisan quick-demo:uninstall blog-demo --all --force

---

Generated paths

For demo key:

blog-demo

and database name:

blog_demo

Generated paths are:

database/quick-demos/blog_demo.sqlite
resources/views/vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo
public/vendor/quick-demos/blog-demo
storage/app/quick-demos/blog-demo
config/quick-demos/blog-demo.php

Generated route prefix:

/quick-demo/blog-demo

Generated route name prefix:

quick-demo.blog_demo.

Generated view namespace:

quick-demo-blog-demo

Generated connection:

quick_demo_blog_demo

---

Recommended naming

Good demo keys:

blog-demo
users-demo
orders-demo

Avoid vague keys:

demo
example
test

Good database names:

blog_demo
users_demo
orders_demo

Good table names:

demo_posts
demo_users
demo_orders

Avoid using real application table names for demo tables:

posts
users
orders

---

Safety rules

This package is designed to avoid polluting the host Laravel application.

It does not require users to:

• edit .env,
• edit config/database.php,
• edit routes/web.php,
• create a database connection manually,
• copy demo files manually.

Package authors should avoid:

• writing demo tables into the default database,
• registering unprefixed routes,
• using generic route names,
• publishing files directly into root public/resource/storage folders,
• overwriting files without --force,
• using generic demo keys.

---

Testing a demo locally

From a Laravel test application:

composer require vendor/blog-package
php artisan quick-demo:list
php artisan quick-demo:show blog-demo
php artisan quick-demo:install blog-demo --fresh --force
php artisan serve

Open:

http://localhost:8000/quick-demo/blog-demo

Validate:

php artisan route:list

Check that:

• the demo route is prefixed,
• the demo route names are prefixed,
• the SQLite database exists,
• migrations ran on the quick-demo connection,
• seeders inserted demo data,
• views render correctly,
• assets load correctly,
• storage files were copied if configured,
• config file was copied if configured,
• the host default database was not modified.

---

License

MIT