README

A granular, license-aware demo / sandbox controller for Laravel products — block writes, gate features, reset data periodically, isolate visitors, auto-login, and show a banner, all configurable with sensible defaults.

Requires PHP ^8.4 || ^8.5 on Laravel ^13. Complements laranail/license-verifier (a trial app can drop into demo mode automatically) but works standalone with no hard dependency.

Install

composer require laranail/demo-mode
php artisan vendor:publish --tag="demo-mode-config"

The service provider and the Demo facade are auto-discovered.

Quick start

Turn demo mode on (or drive it from the license):

DEMO_MODE_ENABLED=true        # manual toggle
# DEMO_MODE_TRIGGER=license   # or: demo when the license is not usable

Block writes on your routes and models, and gate a feature:

Route::middleware('demo.readonly')->group(/* writes blocked in demo */);
Route::post('export', ...)->middleware('demo.feature:export');

use Simtabi\Laranail\Demo\Mode\Concerns\PreventsDemoWrites;

class Setting extends Model
{
    use PreventsDemoWrites; // all writes blocked in demo
}

@demo <span class="badge">Demo</span> @enddemo

See Getting started for every surface — facade, middleware, controllers, models, Blade, and events.

What it controls

Documentation

Full documentation is at opensource.simtabi.com/documentation/laranail/demo-mode — getting started, activation triggers, write protection, per-model/route/feature gating, reset strategies, per-visitor sandboxing, middleware, the Artisan commands, and configuration.

Guides

• Installation — requirements, publishing, optional dependencies, scheduling.
• Getting started — facade, middleware, controllers, models, Blade, events.
• Configuration — every section of config/demo-mode.php.
• Architecture — components, activation/request/reset flows, prior art.
• License integration — driving demo mode from the license state.
• Security & threat model — what the guards do and do not protect against.
• Release — versioning and how releases are cut.

Reference

• Commands — laranail::demo-mode.* and the demo:* aliases.
• Write guards — the layered write-protection model and strategies.
• Reset & restore — strategies, scope, safety, triggers.
• Per-visitor sandbox — shared, transactional, scoped, and tenant isolation.

Stability

Semver. The package is on the 0.x line — minor versions may contain breaking changes until 1.0; pin to a patch range and read the CHANGELOG and UPGRADE guide before upgrading.

Local development

composer install
composer test    # pest
composer lint    # pint + phpstan + rector --dry-run

Sister packages

The laranail licensing family:

Community

Questions, bug reports, and ideas go to GitHub Issues.

Contributing & security

Issues and PRs are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. Report vulnerabilities per SECURITY.md (opensource@simtabi.com); participation follows the Code of Conduct.

License

MIT © Simtabi LLC. See LICENSE.