CLI Tool

LavaLust includes a built-in command-line interface (CLI) tool called lava for scaffolding application files, managing cache, inspecting routes, and running the development server. It eliminates the need to manually create boilerplate files.

The lava script lives in your project root and is executed via PHP from your terminal.

php lava <command> [argument] [--flag=value]

Note

The lava script is CLI-only. Accessing it through a web browser is blocked automatically.

Available Commands

Commands are grouped by function.

Server

Command	Description
`serve [port]`	Start the PHP built-in development server (default port: `3000`)

Cache

Command	Description
`cache:clear`	Delete all files in `runtime/cache/`

Makers

Command	Description
`make:controller <name>`	Generates a controller class in `app/Controllers/`
`make:model <name>`	Generates a model class in `app/Models/`
`make:middleware <name>`	Generates a middleware class in `app/middlewares/`
`make:helper <name>`	Generates a helper file in `app/helpers/`
`make:library <name>`	Generates a library class in `app/Libraries/`
`make:view <name>`	Generates a view file in `app/views/`
`make:language <name>`	Generates a language file in `app/language/`
`make:config <name>`	Generates a config file in `app/config/`
`make:command <name>`	Generates a custom CLI command class in `app/commands/`

Utilities

Command	Description
`route:list`	Display all registered routes parsed from `app/config/routes.php`
`key:generate`	Generate a new 64-character `APP_KEY` and write it to `.env`
`env:check`	Display a summary of the current `.env` configuration

Development Server

`run [port]`

Starts the PHP built-in development server pointing to the public/ directory.

# Start on the default port 3000
php lava serve

# Start on a custom port (positional)
php lava serve 8080

# Start on a custom port (flag)
php lava serve --port=8080

Output:

Starting LavaLust development server...
Server running on: http://127.0.0.1:3000
Press Ctrl+C to stop the server.

Note

The server requires a public/ directory in the project root. An error is shown if it cannot be found.

Note

You can also use php lava run command to start the server. Results are the same with php lava serve.

Cache Management

`cache:clear`

Deletes all files and empty subdirectories inside runtime/cache/.

php lava cache:clear

Output:

Cache cleared! 14 file(s) removed from runtime/cache.

Note

The cache directory is runtime/cache/ relative to the project root (not app/cache/). An error is shown if the directory does not exist.

Generating Files

All make:* commands accept a name argument. Forward slashes (/) create subdirectories inside the target folder. Generated files include boilerplate code and will never overwrite an existing file.

make:controller

Creates a controller class extending BaseController in app/Controllers/.

php lava make:controller Dashboard
php lava make:controller Admin/UserController

Generated file (app/Controllers/Dashboard.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Controller: Dashboard
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */
class Dashboard extends BaseController {

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();
    }
}

make:model

Creates a model class extending Model in app/Models/. Includes default $table, $primary_key, $fillable, and $guarded properties.

php lava make:model UserModel
php lava make:model Blog/PostModel

Generated file (app/Models/UserModel.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Model: UserModel
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */
class UserModel extends Model {

    protected $table       = '';
    protected $primary_key = 'id';
    protected $fillable    = [];
    protected $guarded     = ['id'];

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();
    }
}

make:middleware

Creates a middleware class in app/middlewares/. The class name is automatically suffixed with Middleware.

php lava make:middleware Auth
php lava make:middleware Admin/Role

Generated file (app/middlewares/AuthMiddleware.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Middleware: AuthMiddleware
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */
class AuthMiddleware
{
    /**
     * Handle the incoming request
     *
     * @param Closure $next
     * @return mixed
     */
    public function handle(Closure $next)
    {
        // TODO: Add your middleware logic here

        return $next();
    }
}

Note

After generating a middleware, register it in app/config/middleware.php before attaching it to routes.

make:helper

Creates a helper file with a starter function in app/helpers/. The filename is suffixed with _helper.php automatically.

php lava make:helper text
php lava make:helper String/format

Generated file (app/helpers/text_helper.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Helper: text_helper.php
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */
function text_helper()
{
    // Your helper logic here
}

make:library

Creates a standalone library class in app/Libraries/.

php lava make:library PDF
php lava make:library Payment/Stripe

Generated file (app/Libraries/PDF.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Library: PDF
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */
class PDF {

    public function __construct()
    {
        // Library initialized
    }
}

make:view

Creates an HTML view file in app/views/.

php lava make:view homepage
php lava make:view user/profile

Generated file (app/views/homepage.php):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Homepage</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Homepage View</h1>
</body>
</html>

make:language

Creates a language file in app/language/.

php lava make:language en-US
php lava make:language tag-PH

Generated file (app/language/en-US.php):

<?php
return array(
    /**
     * Other strings to be translated here
     */
    'welcome' => 'Hello {username} {type}',
);

make:config

Creates a blank configuration file in app/config/.

php lava make:config auth
php lava make:config payment

Generated file (app/config/auth.php):

<?php
defined('PREVENT_DIRECT_ACCESS') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');

/**
 * Config: auth
 *
 * Automatically generated via CLI.
 */

// Add your configuration here

make:command

Creates a custom CLI command class in app/commands/. After generating, register the command in the lava script using register_command().

php lava make:command SendEmails
php lava make:command PruneUsers

Generated file (app/commands/SendEmails.php):

<?php
/**
* Command: SendEmails
*
* Auto-discovered by the LavaLust CLI.
* No registration needed — just drop this file in app/commands/.
*/
class SendEmails
{
   /**
   * The CLI command name.
   * Usage: php lava send:emails
   */
   public static $command = 'send:emails';

   /** Short description shown in php lava help */
   public static $description = 'Description for send:emails';

   /**
   * Argument/flag descriptions shown in help.
   *
   * Example:
   *   public static $arguments = [
   *       'name'        => 'A positional argument',
   *       '[--flag=<v>]' => 'An optional flag',
   *   ];
   */
   public static $arguments = [];

   /**
   * Command entry point.
   *
   * @param string|null $input   First positional argument (php lavasend:emails <input>)
   * @param array       $flags   Associative array of --flag=value pairs
   */
   public function handle($input = null, array $flags = [])
   {
      // TODO: Add your command logic here
      echo "Running SendEmails..." . PHP_EOL;
   }
}

Registering the command in lava:

php lava send:emails
php lava send:emails --dry-run

Utility Commands

`route:list`

Parses app/config/routes.php and prints a table of all registered routes.

php lava route:list

Output:

Registered Routes
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Method   URI                            Handler
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  GET    /                              HomeController@index
  GET    /users                         UsersController@index
  POST   /users                         UsersController@store
  GET    /users/{id}                    UsersController@show
  PUT    /users/{id}                    UsersController@update
  DELETE /users/{id}                    UsersController@destroy
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total: 6 route(s) found.

Note

route:list uses regex pattern matching against your routes.php file. Routes defined inside closures, or routes that use complex dynamic registration, may not be detected. Only routes following the standard $router->method('/path', 'Controller::method') pattern are shown.

`key:generate`

Generates a cryptographically secure 64-character hex key and writes it to your .env file as APP_KEY. If APP_KEY already exists in .env it is replaced; otherwise the key is appended.

php lava key:generate

Output (when .env exists):

Generated key: 3f8a2c1d...e9b47f06
APP_KEY updated in .env

Output (when no .env file is found):

Generated key: 3f8a2c1d...e9b47f06
Note: No .env file found. Copy the key above and set APP_KEY manually.

Note

Run key:generate once during initial project setup, or whenever you need to rotate the application key. Never share or commit your APP_KEY to version control — it is used to secure sessions and encrypted values.

`env:check`

Reads your .env file and prints a sanitised summary. Sensitive values (anything not in the safe whitelist) are masked with asterisks.

php lava env:check

Output:

Environment Summary
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
  APP_NAME               My Application
  APP_ENV                development
  APP_DEBUG              true
  APP_URL                http://localhost
  DB_CONNECTION          mysql
  DB_HOST                127.0.0.1
  DB_PORT                3306
  DB_DATABASE            my_database
  DB_USERNAME            ********
  DB_PASSWORD            ********
  CACHE_DRIVER           file
  SESSION_DRIVER         file
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
PHP 8.2.0 · Linux

Whitelisted keys (shown as plain text):

`APP_NAME`	`APP_ENV`
`APP_DEBUG`	`APP_URL`
`DB_CONNECTION`	`DB_HOST`
`DB_PORT`	`DB_DATABASE`
`CACHE_DRIVER`	`SESSION_DRIVER`

All other keys are masked. Comments (lines beginning with #) are skipped.

Subdirectory Support

All make:* commands support nested subdirectories using forward slashes. The CLI creates any missing intermediate directories automatically.

Command	Generated path
`php lava make:controller Admin/UserController`	`app/Controllers/Admin/UserController.php`
`php lava make:model Blog/PostModel`	`app/Models/Blog/PostModel.php`
`php lava make:view user/profile`	`app/views/user/profile.php`
`php lava make:middleware Admin/Role`	`app/middlewares/Admin/RoleMiddleware.php`
`php lava make:library Payment/Stripe`	`app/Libraries/Payment/Stripe.php`
`php lava make:command Queue/ProcessJobs`	`app/commands/Queue/ProcessJobs.php`

File Overwrite Protection

If a file already exists at the target path the CLI will not overwrite it. An error message is shown instead:

Controller "Dashboard" already exists.

Delete the existing file manually before regenerating it.

Getting Help

Running php lava with no arguments prints the full grouped command reference:

php lava

Output:

LavaLust CLI Code Generator
Usage: php lava <command> [options]

Server:
  serve                    → Start PHP built-in development server
    [port]                  Port number (default: 3000)
    [--port=<n>]            Port number via flag (e.g. --port=8080)

Cache:
  cache:clear            → Clear all files in runtime/cache

Makers:
  make:controller        → Creates a controller
  make:model             → Creates a model
  make:middleware        → Creates a middleware
  make:helper            → Creates a helper
  make:library           → Creates a library
  make:view              → Creates a view file
  make:language          → Creates a language file
  make:config            → Creates a config file
  make:command           → Creates a custom CLI command

Utilities:
  route:list             → Display all registered routes
  key:generate           → Generate a new application key
  env:check              → Display current environment configuration summary

Examples:
  php lava serve
  php lava serve 8080
  php lava serve --port=8080
  php lava make:controller Dashboard
  php lava make:model User
  php lava cache:clear
  php lava route:list
  php lava env:check
  php lava key:generate

Tips and Best Practices

Run php lava serve during local development instead of configuring a full web server.
Use the --port flag (php lava serve --port=8080) when port 3000 is already in use.
Use subdirectory syntax (e.g. Admin/UserController) from the start to keep larger applications organised.
After generating a model, fill in $table, $fillable, and $guarded before using it with the Query Builder.
After generating a middleware, register it in app/config/middleware.php before attaching it to routes.
Run php lava key:generate once during initial project setup and whenever you rotate the application key.
Use php lava env:check to quickly verify your environment settings on a new server without opening the .env file directly.
Use php lava route:list to audit all registered routes before deploying — it is a quick way to spot misconfigured or forgotten routes.
Generated files are a starting point — always add your own logic after scaffolding.
Use make:config for feature-specific settings rather than adding everything to the main config.php.
Use make:command to encapsulate recurring maintenance tasks (sending emails, pruning old records, syncing data) as named CLI commands instead of writing one-off scripts.

CLI Tool

Available Commands

Development Server

run [port]

Cache Management

cache:clear

Generating Files

make:controller

make:model

make:middleware

make:helper

make:library

make:view

make:language

make:config

make:command

Utility Commands

route:list

key:generate

env:check

Subdirectory Support

File Overwrite Protection

Getting Help

Tips and Best Practices

`run [port]`

`cache:clear`

`route:list`

`key:generate`

`env:check`