Neo4j Laravel

A Laravel package that provides integration with Neo4j graph database.

[!WARNING] Database Configuration Recommendations:

Laravel uses the default database connection for authentication, sessions, and other core features. While you can use Neo4j as your default database, we recommend:

1. Use a traditional database (SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.) as your default database connection
2. Use Neo4j as a secondary connection for your graph data

If you choose to use Neo4j as your default database:

• Set SESSION_DRIVER=file in your .env file
• Store authentication data in Neo4j only if your application model uses the Neo4j Eloquent concern described below
• Other features that depend on the default database connection may be affected

These limitations will be addressed in future releases.

Installation

composer require neo4j-php/neo4j-laravel

Configuration

Environment Variables

Add the following to your .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=neo4j
NEO4J_URL=bolt://localhost:7687
NEO4J_USERNAME=neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORD=your_password
NEO4J_DATABASE=neo4j

Query log flushing (NEO4J_QUERY_CHANNEL)

Each Neo4j connection keeps an in-memory query log (the same entries getQueryLog() returns; queries are still recorded by the existing logQuery() path with timing—nothing is double-logged at execution time). After each HTTP request finishes (or when a console command ends), that buffer is flushed once to Laravel’s logger as debug lines, then cleared.

To tune or disable logging per environment, configure the channel itself in config/logging.php (e.g. level, a null driver, or omitting the channel from your production LOG_STACK).

Example: dedicated daily channel in config/logging.php:

'neo4j_queries' => [
    'driver' => 'daily',
    'path' => storage_path('logs/neo4j-queries.log'),
    'level' => env('LOG_LEVEL', 'debug'),
    'days' => 14,
],

Then in .env:

NEO4J_QUERY_CHANNEL=neo4j_queries

Laravel Debugbar (optional)

Install barryvdh/laravel-debugbar or fruitcake/laravel-debugbar (v4+) as a dev dependency. No extra Neo4j config is required.

When Debugbar’s database (queries) collector is enabled, Cypher run through Laravel’s connection API appears in the shared Queries tab (via Laravel’s QueryExecuted event), alongside SQL from other connections. The connection name identifies Neo4j rows.

Failed Cypher is still listed there: the statement keeps the original query and appends a /* Neo4j error: … */ comment with the exception message. The in-memory query log (getQueryLog() / NEO4J_QUERY_CHANNEL flush) keeps the clean Cypher plus separate status / error_message fields.

Use the connection API or the container-resolved Neo4j client / driver / session (they are wrapped so Cypher is captured the same way):

DB::connection('neo4j')->select('MATCH (n) RETURN n LIMIT $limit', ['limit' => 10]);

// Also captured — SessionInterface / ClientInterface / DriverInterface from the container
$session->run('MATCH (n) RETURN n LIMIT $limit', ['limit' => 10]);

Calling methods on a raw client obtained outside this package (for example constructing Client yourself without going through the Laravel container) still bypasses capture.

In SPA / API apps, Debugbar often stores AJAX datasets under storage/debugbar. Ensure that directory is writable by PHP, then select the API request (for example GET /api/...) in Debugbar—not only the HTML shell that served the page.

Database Configuration

Add the Neo4j connection configuration to your config/database.php:

'neo4j' => [
    'driver' => 'neo4j',
    'url' => env('NEO4J_URL', 'bolt://localhost:7687'),
    'username' => env('NEO4J_USERNAME', 'neo4j'),
    'password' => env('NEO4J_PASSWORD', ''),
    'database' => env('NEO4J_DATABASE', 'neo4j'),
    'auth_scheme' => env('NEO4J_AUTH_SCHEME', 'basic'),
    'ssl' => [
        'mode' => env('NEO4J_SSL_MODE', 'from_url'),
        'verify_peer' => env('NEO4J_SSL_VERIFY_PEER', true),
    ],
    'connection' => [
        'timeout' => env('NEO4J_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT', 30),
        'max_pool_size' => env('NEO4J_MAX_POOL_SIZE', 100),
    ],
    'transaction' => [
        'timeout' => env('NEO4J_TRANSACTION_TIMEOUT', 30),
    ],
],

Usage

Using Laravel's DB Facade

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

// Basic query
$result = DB::connection('neo4j')->select('MATCH (n) RETURN n');

// With parameters
$result = DB::connection('neo4j')->select(<<<'CYPHER'
    MATCH (m:Movie {title: $title})
    RETURN m
CYPHER, ['title' => 'The Matrix']);

// Transactions
DB::connection('neo4j')->beginTransaction();
try {
    // Your queries here
    DB::connection('neo4j')->commit();
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    DB::connection('neo4j')->rollBack();
    throw $e;
}

Using Eloquent

Add HasNeo4jConnection to a standard Eloquent model. The model class name is used as its default Neo4j label, so User maps to :User. New models receive a UUID id automatically.

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Neo4j\Neo4jLaravel\Concerns\HasNeo4jConnection;

class User extends Model
{
    use HasNeo4jConnection;

    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email'];
}

The regular Eloquent read and CRUD APIs then use the Neo4j connection, Query Builder, and Cypher grammar:

$user = User::where('name', 'Pratiksha')->first();

$user = User::create([
    'name' => 'Pratiksha',
    'email' => 'pratiksha@example.com',
]);

$user->update(['name' => 'Pratiksha Zalte']);
$user->delete();

When a full node is returned, Neo4j's native element id is hydrated onto the model (separate from the UUID primary key):

$user = User::where('name', 'Pratiksha')->first();
$user->id;          // UUID property used as Eloquent key
$user->elementId(); // Neo4j element id, e.g. "4:xxx:123"

Laravel's SoftDeletes trait works on Neo4j models (deleted_at property, withTrashed / restore / forceDelete). Hard deletes use DETACH DELETE.

Pagination APIs (paginate, simplePaginate, cursorPaginate) work via Cypher SKIP / LIMIT and aggregates for totals.

For a dedicated graph model, the package also provides Neo4j\Neo4jLaravel\Neo4jModel, which already includes the concern. Graph relationship APIs are not part of the initial Eloquent integration.

Using Neo4j Client Interface

ClientInterface, DriverInterface, and SessionInterface resolved from the container are capturing wrappers, so $session->run(...) appears in Debugbar like DB::connection('neo4j'):

use Laudis\Neo4j\Contracts\SessionInterface;

class YourController extends Controller
{
    public function index(SessionInterface $session)
    {
        $result = $session->run(<<<'CYPHER'
            MATCH (n)
            RETURN n
        CYPHER);
        return response()->json($result->toArray());
    }
}

Example: Movie Management

// Create a movie
$result = DB::connection('neo4j')->statement(<<<'CYPHER'
    CREATE (m:Movie {
        title: $title,
        released: $released,
        tagline: $tagline,
        created_at: datetime()
    })
    RETURN m
CYPHER, [
    'title' => 'The Matrix',
    'released' => 1999,
    'tagline' => 'Welcome to the Real World'
]);

// Add an actor to a movie
$result = DB::connection('neo4j')->select(<<<'CYPHER'
    MATCH (m:Movie {title: $movieTitle})
    MERGE (a:Person {name: $actorName})
    MERGE (a)-[r:ACTED_IN]->(m)
    SET r.roles = $roles
    RETURN m, a, r
CYPHER, [
    'movieTitle' => 'The Matrix',
    'actorName' => 'Keanu Reeves',
    'roles' => ['Neo']
]);

// Find similar movies
$result = DB::connection('neo4j')->select(<<<'CYPHER'
    MATCH (m:Movie {title: $title})<-[:ACTED_IN]-(a:Person)-[:ACTED_IN]->(other:Movie)
    WHERE m <> other
    WITH other, count(distinct a) as commonActors
    RETURN other, commonActors
    ORDER BY commonActors DESC
    LIMIT 5
CYPHER, ['title' => 'The Matrix']);

Example: User Management

// Create a user
$result = $session->run(<<<'CYPHER'
    CREATE (u:User {
        name: $name,
        email: $email,
        created_at: datetime()
    })
    RETURN u
CYPHER, [
    'name' => 'John Doe',
    'email' => 'john@example.com'
]);

// Update a user
$result = $session->run(<<<'CYPHER'
    MATCH (u:User {email: $email})
    SET u.name = $name, u.updated_at = datetime()
    RETURN u
CYPHER, [
    'email' => 'john@example.com',
    'name' => 'John Smith'
]);

Features

• Seamless integration with Laravel's database layer
• Support for both DB Facade and Neo4j Client Interface
• Transaction support
• Parameterized queries
• Optional Laravel Debugbar support (Cypher in the shared Queries tab)
• Query log flushing via NEO4J_QUERY_CHANNEL
• SSL configuration options
• Connection pooling
• Timeout settings for connections and transactions

License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.