PHP Luminova: Novakit Commands and Integration Patterns

NovaKit is the built-in Command Line Interface (CLI) tool for the Luminova framework. It simplifies development tasks by allowing you to execute and manage various operations directly from the terminal.

The NovaKit CLI is powered by a novakit file located at the project root. This is a special PHP script with a shebang line (#!/usr/bin/env php) that makes it executable like a native terminal command.

What Does NovaKit Do?

NovaKit acts like a router for CLI commands. It prepares the command input and passes it to the correct controller, just like Luminova’s HTTP routing system does for web requests.

With NovaKit, you can:

• Generate boilerplate code, controllers, and scaffolds.
• Manage environment variables and config files.
• Run database tasks like:
  • Migrations
  • Versioning
  • Seeding
• Schedule and execute cron jobs.
• View or clear application logs.
• Start a local PHP development server.
• Run Composer commands more easily.
• And more — fully customizable to your application needs.

NovaKit Console Commands

To build your own CLI commands using NovaKit console:

1. Extend the Luminova\Base\BaseConsole class.
2. Define your logic in run(...) method.
3. Register your commands in CLI novakit command file (/bin/.novakit-console.php).

Once created, you can run the command via:

php novakit your-command

Unlike BaseCommand (used via index.php), BaseConsole commands:

• Run faster because they skip routing and attribute parsing.
• Are better suited for utility based CLI tools.

For details on creating custom commands, see: Base Console Controller Class

NovaKit Command Reference

List Available Commands

To view all available NovaKit commands:

php novakit list

View Help Information

NovaKit provides flexible help options for understanding available commands:

General Help:

php novakit --help

Detailed Help for All Commands:

php novakit --help --all

Help for a Specific Command:

Replace log with any available command:

php novakit log --help

Show System Information

To display system details relevant to your terminal environment:

php novakit --system-info

Default Command Flags

Use these flags with commands to modify output formatting.

No Header:

Omits the header from the output.

php novakit <command> --no-header

• No Color:

Disables colored output.

php novakit <command> --no-color

No ANSI:

Disables ANSI formatting for terminals that don't support it.

php novakit <command> --no-ansi

Basic NovaKit Generator Commands

NovaKit includes helpful commands to quickly generate boilerplate files for common components in your application—like utility classes, models, controllers, and views.

Create a Utility Class

Generate a class in the /app/Utils/ directory:

php novakit create:class "MyClass" \
    --extend "Foo\Bar\BarClassName" \
    --implement "Foo\Interface\FooClassInterface"

• --extend: (optional) Base class to extend.
• --implement: (optional) Interface to implement.

Creating a Model Class

You can generate a database model class for both MVC and HMVC applications.

Default Locations:

• MVC Application: Stored in /app/Models/
• HMVC Application: Stored in /app/Modules/Models/Use the --module <ModuleName> flag to specify a custom module name.

php novakit create:model "MyModel" \
    --implement "Optional\Interface\FooClassInterface"

Example for a Custom HMVC Module:

php novakit create:model "MyModel" --module "Info"

Create a Controller Class

Generate a controller in /app/Controllers/Http/, or in /app/Modules/<module>/Controllers/Http/ for HMVC apps:

For MVC or root HMVC

php novakit create:controller "PayStackController" --type "view"

For Custom HMVC Module

php novakit create:controller "PayStackController" --type "view" --module="Blog"

Types:

• view: Extends Luminova\Base\BaseController
• command: Extends Luminova\Base\BaseCommand
• console: Extends Luminova\Base\BaseConsole

Note: When using the HMVC design pattern, specify --module=<moduleName> to install the controller in the appropriate module directory.

If the module is not provided, the controller will be installed in the root module controller directory.
The module name is case-sensitive and must match the directory name exactly.

Create a View File

Generate a view file in /resources/Views/, or in a module path like /app/Modules/<module>/Views/:

php novakit create:view "blog"

To create the view inside a subdirectory:

php novakit create:view "blog" --dir "articles"

Route URI Prefix Context

To install a new route URI prefix context use the below example command.

php novakit context "test"

The above command will create a file in /routes/ directory and update your /public/index.php with a new context.

To disable adding an error handler in index.php use flag --no-error

Note: If the error handler is not disabled, you need to manually create the method name in your View errors class in /app/Errors/Controllers/ErrorController.php.

Basic NovaKit Utility Commands

NovaKit includes several utility commands to help you manage your project, environment, and deployment.

Generate Sitemap

Creates a /public/sitemap.xml for your website:

php novakit generate:sitemap

• Configure sitemap domain and ignored routes in:
  /app/Config/Sitemap.php

Generate Application Key

Creates a secure encryption/decryption key for your app:

php novakit generate:key

To generate the key without saving it to your .env file:

php novakit generate:key --no-save

Add or Update Environment Variable

Adds or updates a key-value pair in your .env file:

php novakit env:add --key="MY_NEW_KEY" --value="Some value"

To for runtime and skip saving to .env:

php novakit env:add --key="KEY" --value="Value" --no-save

Remove Environment Variable

Deletes a key from your .env file:

php novakit env:remove --key="MY_OLD_KEY"

Build Project for Deployment

Packages your application for production:

php novakit build:project --type zip

Supported types: zip, tar, or none (default).

Managing Log Files

NovaKit allows you to view and manage application log files by specifying the log level you want to interact with (e.g., debug, error, info).

View Recent Log Entries

Display the 5 most recent entries in the debug log:

php novakit log --level=debug

View Log Entries with Offset and Limit

Display log entries from line 5 to 20 in the debug log:

php novakit log --level=debug --start=5 --end=20

Clear a Log File

Clear all entries in the debug log:

php novakit log --level=debug --clear

Note: Replace debug with the appropriate log level for your application. Supported levels typically include info, error, warning, debug, etc., depending on your configuration.

Novakit Class

The Novakit helper class provides a set of static methods for registering custom console commands, checking if a command exists, and performing various other console-related tasks. These methods can be called statically from anywhere in your application when needed.

Class Definition

• Class namespace: \Luminova\Command\Novakit

Methods

constructor

Initialize the Novakit console terminal instance.

public __construct()

run

Entry point for executing Novakit CLI commands.

public run(array<string,mixed> $commands): void

Parameters:

Example:

(new Console())->run($_SERVER['argv']);

find

Find the fully qualified controller class for a given command.

This method attempts to resolve the command to a known controller class. It first checks predefined system commands, then searches registered console commands based on the provided mode (system or global).

public static find(string $command, string $mode = 'global'): ?class-string<\Luminova\Base\BaseConsole>

Parameters:

Return Value:

class-string<BaseConsole>|null - Returns the fully qualified class name if found, or null if not.

command

Registers a new console command with an optional metadata definition.

This method maps a command name to its controller class and optionally stores command metadata such as group, description, usage examples, options, and more.

public static command(string $name, class-string<Luminova\Base\BaseConsole> $class, array $properties = []): bool

Parameters:

Return Value:

bool - Returns true if the command was successfully registered, false if it already exists.

get

Get a specific property from a registered command's metadata.

public static get(string $command, string $name): mixed

Parameters:

Return Value:

mixed - Returns the value of the specified property if it exists, or null otherwise.

getCommand

Retrieve full metadata for a command based on its protected controller properties.

The returned array may include the following keys:name, group, description, usages, options, examples, etc.

public static getCommand(string $command, string $mode = 'global'): array<string,mixed>

Parameters:

Return Value:

array<string,mixed> - Returns an associative array of command metadata.

has

Check if a command exists globally (i.e., user-defined or console command).

public static has(string $command): bool

Parameters:

Return Value:

bool - Returns true if the command exists globally, otherwise, false.