README

Datify auto-formats created_at and updated_at across your Laravel models. Set a default display for each column, opt into extra variants (humanized, ISO, calendar, etc.), and customize the attribute naming pattern—all via a single config file.

Why Datify?

• Consistent timestamp output without repeating format() everywhere.
• Drop-in trait: add to a base model to cover the whole project.
• Config-driven: toggle variants, set defaults per column, change attribute suffixes, or supply a custom PHP date format.

Requirements

• PHP 8.0+
• Laravel 8-12 (illuminate/support, illuminate/database) — including Laravel 12

Installation

composer require amrachraf6699/datify
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=datify-config

Quick Start

Add the trait to your base model (or any model you want to opt in):

use Datify\Concerns\HasDatifyTimestamps;

class Model extends \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model
{
    use HasDatifyTimestamps;
}

Configuration (config/datify.php)

Key options (see inline comments in the config for details):

• Boolean toggles: to_date, to_time, to_date_time, to_day_date_time, to_iso_8601, to_iso, to_human, to_short_human, to_calendar.
• custom: PHP date format string used when custom is selected; if null, raw DB timestamp is returned.
• suffix: naming pattern for appended attributes; {format} becomes the format key without to_. Default _{format} yields created_at_human, updated_at_iso_8601, etc.
• defaults: per-column default format for created_at and updated_at when you access them normally.

Example Config

return [
    // Turn on extra accessors:
    'to_human' => true,
    'to_short_human' => true,
    'to_iso_8601' => true,
    'to_date_time' => true,

    // Custom naming (created_at.pretty, updated_at.pretty, etc.)
    'suffix' => '.{format}',

    // Custom format string (used when selecting 'custom')
    'custom' => 'd/m/Y H:i',

    // Default display for base attributes
    'defaults' => [
        'created_at' => 'to_human',
        'updated_at' => 'custom',
    ],
];

Attribute Outputs

• Base attributes (created_at, updated_at): formatted using defaults.created_at / defaults.updated_at.
• Extra attributes: added only when the corresponding boolean toggle is true. Names follow suffix with {format} substituted (format key without to_).

Example Model Output

Given created_at = 2024-12-28 13:37:42 UTC, config with suffix: '_{format}', to_human: true, to_iso_8601: true, defaults.created_at: 'to_date_time':

$post = Post::first();

$post->created_at;           // "2024-12-28 13:37:42"
$post->created_at_human;     // "2 hours ago"
$post->created_at_iso_8601;  // "2024-12-28T13:37:42+00:00"

Using a Custom Format Default

// config/datify.php
'custom' => 'd/m/Y h:i A',
'defaults' => [
    'created_at' => 'custom',
    'updated_at' => 'custom',
],

// Later
$user->created_at; // "28/12/2024 01:37 PM"

Raw Database Values

• Use $model->getRawOriginal('created_at') or ->getRawOriginal('updated_at') to bypass formatting.
• If custom is selected as the default and custom is null, Datify falls back to the raw DB timestamp string (e.g., Y-m-d H:i:s).

Integration Tips

• Add the trait to your base model to cover all models at once.
• Choose minimal toggles to avoid bloating serialized output; only enable the variants you need.
• When changing the suffix, remember it affects all appended attribute names; update API consumers accordingly.

Changelog & Contributing

• Open a PR or issue at https://github.com/amrachraf6699/Datify once the repo is live.
• Please include Laravel/PHP versions and a reproduction snippet when filing bugs.