Overview
The db:seed command has been extended with a --module option, allowing you to run seeders from a specific module’s namespace.
Syntax
php artisan db:seed [options]
Options
The name of the module where the seeder resides
The class name of the root seeder (defaults to DatabaseSeeder)
The database connection to use
Force the operation to run when in production
Usage
Run Module’s Default Seeder
Run the DatabaseSeeder from a specific module:
php artisan db:seed --module=blog
Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders\DatabaseSeeder.
Run Specific Seeder from Module
Specify both the module and seeder class name:
php artisan db:seed --module=blog --class=PostSeeder
Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders\PostSeeder.
Run Application Seeder
Without the --module option, it works like the standard Laravel command:
How It Works
The command automatically qualifies the seeder class name with the module’s namespace:
protected function getSeeder()
{
if ($module = $this->module()) {
$default = $this->getDefinition()->getOption('class')->getDefault();
$class = $this->input->getOption('class');
if ($class === $default) {
// Use module's DatabaseSeeder
$class = $module->qualify($default);
} elseif (! Str::contains($class, 'Database\\Seeders')) {
// Qualify the class with module namespace
$class = $module->qualify("Database\\Seeders\\{$class}");
}
return $this->laravel->make($class)
->setContainer($this->laravel)
->setCommand($this);
}
return parent::getSeeder();
}
Module Seeder Structure
Directory Structure
app-modules/
blog/
database/
seeders/
DatabaseSeeder.php
PostSeeder.php
CategorySeeder.php
Example DatabaseSeeder
<?php
namespace Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
public function run(): void
{
$this->call([
CategorySeeder::class,
PostSeeder::class,
]);
}
}
Example PostSeeder
<?php
namespace Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use Modules\Blog\Models\Post;
class PostSeeder extends Seeder
{
public function run(): void
{
Post::factory()->count(50)->create();
}
}
Calling Seeders Within Modules
When calling other seeders from within a module seeder, use the fully qualified class name or relative reference:
namespace Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
public function run(): void
{
// Using fully qualified class names
$this->call([
\Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders\CategorySeeder::class,
\Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders\PostSeeder::class,
]);
// Or use relative class names (same namespace)
$this->call([
CategorySeeder::class,
PostSeeder::class,
]);
}
}
Examples
Seed Multiple Modules
# Seed blog module
php artisan db:seed --module=blog
# Seed user module
php artisan db:seed --module=user-management
# Seed products module with specific seeder
php artisan db:seed --module=products --class=ProductSeeder
Production Seeding
Use the --force flag to seed in production:
php artisan db:seed --module=blog --force
Specify Database Connection
php artisan db:seed --module=blog --database=mysql_secondary
Using with Factories
Module seeders work seamlessly with module factories:
namespace Modules\Blog\Database\Seeders;
use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use Modules\Blog\Models\Post;
use Modules\Blog\Models\Category;
class PostSeeder extends Seeder
{
public function run(): void
{
// Create categories first
$categories = Category::factory()->count(5)->create();
// Create posts with random categories
Post::factory()
->count(50)
->recycle($categories)
->create();
}
}
Workflow Integration
Development
# Reset and seed in one command
php artisan migrate:fresh --seed --module=blog
Testing
Call seeders in your tests:
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use Tests\TestCase;
class BlogTest extends TestCase
{
use RefreshDatabase;
public function test_blog_posts(): void
{
$this->artisan('db:seed', [
'--module' => 'blog',
'--class' => 'PostSeeder',
]);
$this->assertDatabaseCount('posts', 50);
}
}
Organize your module seeders by feature or entity type. Use the main DatabaseSeeder to orchestrate the seeding order.
See Also