Managing Laravel Application Settings with a Database-Driven Approach

When building robust web applications, flexibility and maintainability are essential; Laravel provides elegant syntax and a rich toolset for managing application settings.

Step 1: Store Settings Using Database

Create a migration to hold key‑value pairs for settings.

php artisan make:migration create_settings_table

In the generated migration file, define the key and value columns:

Schema::create('settings', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('key')->unique();
    $table->text('value');
    $table->timestamps();
});

Step 2: Create a Settings Model

Generate the model with the Artisan command: php artisan make:model Setting Open the generated Setting model and add the $fillable property:

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Setting extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['key', 'value'];
}

Step 3: Add Initial Settings with a Seeder

Create a seeder class: php artisan make:seeder SettingsSeeder Inside SettingsSeeder, insert the required key‑value pairs:

use App\Models\Setting;

public function run()
{
    Setting::insert([
        ['key' => 'site_title', 'value' => 'My Awesome Website'],
        ['key' => 'site_description', 'value' => 'Default website description.'],
        ['key' => 'website_logo', 'value' => '/images/logo.png'],
        ['key' => 'points_expiry_days', 'value' => '365'],
        // Add other settings as needed
    ]);
}

Run the seeder:

php artisan db:seed --class=SettingsSeeder

Step 4: Retrieve Settings from the Database

In AppServiceProvider (or a custom service provider), load settings during the boot() method:

use App\Models\Setting;

public function boot()
{
    if (Schema::hasTable('settings')) {
        $settings = Setting::all()->pluck('value', 'key')->toArray();
        config(['settings' => $settings]); // Dynamically load settings into Laravel's config
    }
}

Now any setting can be accessed via config('settings.key'), e.g., config('settings.site_title').

Finally, create an admin Blade view with a form to edit these settings. Example form:

<form action="{{ route('admin.settings.update') }}" method="POST">
    @csrf
    <div>
        <label for="site_title">Site Title</label>
        <input type="text" name="site_title" value="{{ config('settings.site_title') }}" />
    </div>
    
    <div>
        <label for="site_description">Site Description</label>
        <textarea name="site_description" class="form-control">{{ config('settings.site_description') }}</textarea>
    </div>
    
    <div>
        <label>Current Logo</label>
        <img src="{{ Storage::url(config('settings.website_logo')) }}" style="max-width:190px;">
    </div>
    
    <div>
        <label for="website_logo">Upload New Logo</label>
        <input name="website_logo" type="file" id="website_logo" class="form-control">
    </div>
    <button type="submit">Save Settings</button>
</form>

By implementing this database‑driven settings system, you simplify development, improve flexibility, and ensure your Laravel application can adapt to future configuration changes.