Reading from specific targets

Beyond class-level attributes, you can read attributes from methods, properties, constants, parameters, and standalone functions.

All examples on this page use the following setup:

use Spatie\Attributes\Attributes;

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_METHOD)]
class Route
{
    public function __construct(public string $path) {}
}

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_PROPERTY)]
class Column
{
    public function __construct(public string $name) {}
}

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_CLASS_CONSTANT)]
class Label
{
    public function __construct(public string $text) {}
}

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_PARAMETER)]
class FromQuery
{
    public function __construct(public string $key = '') {}
}

#[Attribute(Attribute::TARGET_METHOD | Attribute::IS_REPEATABLE)]
class Middleware
{
    public function __construct(public string $name) {}
}

class UserController
{
    #[Label('Active')]
    public const STATUS_ACTIVE = 'active';

    #[Column('email_address')]
    public string $email;

    #[Route('/users')]
    #[Middleware('auth')]
    #[Middleware('verified')]
    public function index(#[FromQuery('q')] string $query) {}
}

##Methods

$route = Attributes::onMethod(UserController::class, 'index', Route::class);

$route->path; // '/users'

##Properties

$column = Attributes::onProperty(UserController::class, 'email', Column::class);

$column->name; // 'email_address'

##Constants

$label = Attributes::onConstant(UserController::class, 'STATUS_ACTIVE', Label::class);

$label->text; // 'Active'

##Parameters

Specify both the method name and parameter name:

$fromQuery = Attributes::onParameter(UserController::class, 'index', 'query', FromQuery::class);

$fromQuery->key; // 'q'

##Functions

For standalone functions, use onFunction() with the fully qualified function name. For namespaced functions, you must use the full namespace:

#[Attribute]
class Deprecated
{
    public function __construct(public string $reason = '') {}
}

#[Deprecated('Use newHelper() instead')]
function oldHelper() {}

$deprecated = Attributes::onFunction('oldHelper', Deprecated::class);

$deprecated->reason; // 'Use newHelper() instead'

// For namespaced functions, use the fully qualified name:
// Attributes::onFunction('App\Helpers\oldHelper', Deprecated::class);

If the function does not exist, onFunction() returns null.

##Repeated attributes

When an attribute is repeatable, use the getAllOn* methods to retrieve all instances:

$middlewares = Attributes::getAllOnMethod(UserController::class, 'index', Middleware::class);

$middlewares[0]->name; // 'auth'
$middlewares[1]->name; // 'verified'

The same pattern is available for all target types:

Attributes::getAllOnMethod($class, $method, $attribute);                // array
Attributes::getAllOnProperty($class, $property, $attribute);            // array
Attributes::getAllOnConstant($class, $constant, $attribute);            // array
Attributes::getAllOnParameter($class, $method, $parameter, $attribute); // array
Attributes::getAllOnFunction($function, $attribute);                    // array

##Getting all attributes without filtering

All on* and getAllOn* methods accept an optional attribute parameter. When omitted, they return all attributes on that target regardless of type:

// Get the first attribute on a method (any type)
$attribute = Attributes::onMethod(UserController::class, 'index');

// Get all attributes on a property
$attributes = Attributes::getAllOnProperty(UserController::class, 'email');

// Works on all targets
Attributes::onProperty($class, $property);
Attributes::onConstant($class, $constant);
Attributes::onParameter($class, $method, $parameter);
Attributes::onFunction($function);

Attributes::getAllOnMethod($class, $method);
Attributes::getAllOnProperty($class, $property);
Attributes::getAllOnConstant($class, $constant);
Attributes::getAllOnParameter($class, $method, $parameter);
Attributes::getAllOnFunction($function);

##Missing targets

The on* methods return null when the target doesn't exist or lacks the attribute. The getAllOn* methods return an empty array. No exceptions are thrown.

Attributes::onMethod(UserController::class, 'nonExistent', Route::class); // null
Attributes::getAllOnMethod(UserController::class, 'nonExistent', Middleware::class); // []