Your first resource

A resource describes how the records of one model are listed, shown, created and edited. This page builds a resource for invoices.

1. Create the table

Either generate migration, model, entity and resource in one go:

php spark make:anvil-model Invoice --fields "number!:string:30,customer_id!:belongs_to,amount:decimal:12.2,due_on:date" --soft-deletes --resource
php spark migrate

and continue with step 3, or write the migration yourself:

<?php

namespace App\Database\Migrations;

use CodeIgniter\Database\Migration;

class CreateInvoices extends Migration
{
    public function up(): void
    {
        $this->forge->addField([
            'id'          => ['type' => 'INT', 'unsigned' => true, 'auto_increment' => true],
            'uuid'        => ['type' => 'BINARY', 'constraint' => 16],
            'tenant_id'   => ['type' => 'INT', 'unsigned' => true],
            'customer_id' => ['type' => 'INT', 'unsigned' => true],
            'number'      => ['type' => 'VARCHAR', 'constraint' => 30],
            'status'      => ['type' => 'ENUM', 'constraint' => ['draft', 'sent', 'paid'], 'default' => 'draft'],
            'amount'      => ['type' => 'DECIMAL', 'constraint' => '12,2', 'default' => '0.00'],
            'due_on'      => ['type' => 'DATE', 'null' => true],
            'created_at'  => ['type' => 'DATETIME', 'null' => true],
            'updated_at'  => ['type' => 'DATETIME', 'null' => true],
            'deleted_at'  => ['type' => 'DATETIME', 'null' => true],
        ]);
        $this->forge->addPrimaryKey('id');
        $this->forge->addUniqueKey('uuid');
        $this->forge->addKey('tenant_id');
        $this->forge->addKey('customer_id');
        $this->forge->addForeignKey('tenant_id', 'anvil_tenants', 'id', 'CASCADE', 'CASCADE');
        $this->forge->addForeignKey('customer_id', 'customers', 'id', 'CASCADE', 'RESTRICT');
        $this->forge->createTable('invoices', false, ['ENGINE' => 'InnoDB']);
    }

    public function down(): void
    {
        $this->forge->dropTable('invoices', true);
    }
}

php spark migrate

2. Generate the resource

php spark make:anvil-resource Invoice

This reads the columns of invoices and creates:

File	Content
app/Resources/InvoiceResource.php	form fields and list columns derived from the columns
app/Models/InvoiceModel.php	Anvil model with $allowedFields
app/Entities/Invoice.php	entity with boolean casts

Existing files are never overwritten unless you pass --force. Use --table when the table name is not the plural of the resource name. The table must have a uuid column, otherwise the command stops.

3. Read and adjust the code

The generated code is a starting point, meant to be read and adjusted, not regenerated. The fields are derived from the column types:

Column	Field	List column
ENUM	Select with the values	badge
TINYINT(1), or TINYINT named is_*, has_*, active, …	Toggle	yes / no
integer *_id	searchable BelongsTo on <Name>Model (customer_id → CustomerModel)	title of the related record
DECIMAL named like an amount (amount, price, total, budget, …)	NumberInput::currency('EUR')	money
other DECIMAL, integers	NumberInput with the decimals of the column, integer()	number
DATE, DATETIME	DateInput, withTime() for date and time	date
TEXT	Textarea	shortened text
JSON	TagsInput for names containing tag, otherwise a TODO comment	–
strings	TextInput with the length of the column, email(), tel() or url() by name	searchable text

NOT NULL columns without a default become required(). The list shows the first eight columns; from the fifth on they are toggleable.

A typical result after a few changes:

final class InvoiceResource extends Resource
{
    protected string $model                = InvoiceModel::class;
    protected string $recordTitleAttribute = 'number';
    protected string $navigationIcon       = 'receipt';
    protected ?string $navigationGroup     = 'Sales';

    public function form(Form $form): Form
    {
        return $form->schema([
            Section::make('Invoice')->columns(2)->schema([
                TextInput::make('number')->required()->maxLength(30),
                BelongsTo::make('customer_id')->label('Customer')->relationship(CustomerModel::class, 'name')->searchable()->required(),
                Select::make('status')->options(['draft' => 'Draft', 'sent' => 'Sent', 'paid' => 'Paid'])->required()->default('draft'),
                NumberInput::make('amount')->currency('EUR')->min(0),
                DateInput::make('due_on'),
            ]),
        ]);
    }

    public function collection(Collection $collection): Collection
    {
        return $collection
            ->columns([
                TextColumn::make('number')->sortable()->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('customer_id')->label('Customer')->relationship(CustomerModel::class, 'name'),
                TextColumn::make('status')->badge()->sortable(),
                TextColumn::make('amount')->money('EUR')->sortable(),
                TextColumn::make('due_on')->date()->sortable(),
            ])
            ->defaultSort('number');
    }
}

Forms: Forms, Schemas. Lists: Tables.

4. Register it in the panel

final class AdminPanel extends Panel
{
    public function resources(): array
    {
        return [
            InvoiceResource::class,
            ...Access::resources(),
        ];
    }
}

The panel now has the routes /admin/invoices, /admin/invoices/create, /admin/invoices/{uuid} and /admin/invoices/{uuid}/edit, and a navigation entry.

5. Grant the permissions

The resource defines the permissions invoices.view, invoices.create, invoices.update, invoices.delete and invoices.history. The Administrator role created by anvil:install has full access; grant the permissions to other roles under Access → Roles. Users without invoices.view do not see the navigation entry and get 403 when they open the URL.

Next steps

• Resources – labels, navigation, relations, actions, extension points
• Forms – fields and validation
• Schemas – sections, tabs and wizards
• Tables – columns, filters, cards