Importing schemas

The optional admin interface converts example JSON, JSON Schema or database columns into DTO definitions. It previews text for copying; it does not write definition files or generated PHP classes.

Enable access

Importer pages deny access unless CakeDto.adminAccess is a Closure returning literal true. Configure a check matching your application's identity and access rules during bootstrap:

use Cake\Core\Configure;
use Cake\Http\ServerRequest;

Configure::write('CakeDto.adminAccess', static function (ServerRequest $request): bool {
    $identity = $request->getAttribute('identity');

    return $identity !== null && $identity->get('is_admin') === true;
});

This example assumes an identity with a boolean is_admin field and a get() method. Adapt that check to your actual identity; signing in alone does not imply admin access.

An unset setting, a non-Closure, or a result other than literal true denies access with HTTP 403. Explicit HTTP exceptions from your callback keep their status; unexpected failures are logged without their exception message and become a generic 403.

The importer extends CakePHP's base Controller, independently of your AppController components and callbacks. Application middleware still runs. The gate skips the authorization policy check when the request has an authorization service; it supplies the access decision itself. Authentication must have made the identity available before Controller.initialize, when the gate runs.

Load plugin routes normally, then open /admin/cake-dto or /admin/cake-dto/generate. The pages use your application's layout and Flash elements. The interface includes schema and database tools.

JSON and JSON Schema

Open /admin/cake-dto/generate/schema, paste input and select the input type. If no type is selected, the importer attempts detection.

Example data can suggest field types, nested DTOs and collections, but does not establish which fields are required. The initial top-level name may be Object; rename it before generation. Review inferred names, optional fields and collection keys against the full API contract.

JSON Schema can supply more detail, including required fields. Local $ref pointers such as #/definitions/Product are supported. External-file references need a base path that the web interface does not provide.

Choose PHP, YAML, XML or NEON on the result page, then copy the definition into a file matching your configured engine. The web interface produces XML with the plugin's cakephp-dto namespace. XML produced by the standalone library uses a different namespace and must be adapted before generation. Run bin/cake dto generate --confirm after saving the definition.

The CakeDto.assocKeyFields candidates default to slug, login, name and id. Set this option before plugin bootstrap. Review inferred collection keys for uniqueness and string type.

Database columns

Open /admin/cake-dto/generate/database and select tables. The web tool uses the default connection; it does not expose a connection selector. The parser API accepts another connection name:

use CakeDto\Importer\DatabaseParser;

$parser = new DatabaseParser();
$tables = $parser->listTables('reporting');
$definitions = $parser->parse(['products'], 'reporting');

Selected table columns become DTO fields. This is schema inference, not ORM association mapping or automatic construction of complete related-record DTOs.

Current mappings include decimal to string, json to array, date to Cake\I18n\Date, and datetime types to Cake\I18n\DateTime. Decimal strings preserve stored precision. JSON columns can contain scalar values as well as arrays; override that mapping if your data needs them:

Configure::write('CakeDto.databaseTypeMap', [
    'json' => 'mixed',
]);

Projects using a decimal value object can map decimal to its fully qualified class name. Install the corresponding dependency and verify its construction and serialization before generating that field. Overriding decimal to float restores older generation output while accepting floating-point precision limits.