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DBStan – Database Analysis for Laravel

README

The DBStan package provides detailed analysis and insights into your database schema for Laravel applications. It helps identify structural issues, missing indexes, normalization problems, nullable column risks, foreign key inconsistencies, and performance concerns.

It is an essential tool for debugging, optimizing, reviewing, and maintaining a healthy database architecture in Laravel projects.

Important Notice: Configure Database Before Using This Package

Before using this package, ensure your database connection is properly configured in your Laravel application.

If the database is not configured correctly, DBStan will not be able to analyze your schema.

Make sure your .env file contains valid database credentials.

Security Warning

This package exposes detailed database schema analysis.
It is intended for admin and development use only.

Do NOT expose this tool publicly in production without proper access restrictions, as schema details may reveal sensitive structural information.

#Laravel  #Database  #Schema  #PHP  #Performance  #Optimization  #Analysis

Documentation

Features

  • Analyze full database schema structure
  • Detect missing indexes on foreign keys and log tables
  • Identify nullable column overuse and high NULL value ratios
  • Detect normalization and integrity issues (duplicate rows, orphan risks, improper foreign key naming)
  • Audit trail checks (created_by, updated_by, deleted_by columns)
  • Detect repeated common fields across tables
  • Identify tables with too many columns or wide VARCHARs
  • Highlight performance risks (large TEXT columns, JSON overuse, unbounded growth, table size)
  • Detect improper pivot table structures
  • Identify enum and boolean overuse
  • Detect mixed domain columns (e.g., info/data/details in varchar)
  • Check for missing soft deletes and timestamps
  • Detect status columns missing indexes
  • Detect polymorphic relation overuse and missing indexes
  • Lightweight and optimized for fast schema scanning
  • Supports Laravel 9, 10, and 11 with PHP 8+ compatibility
  • CLI-based analysis with structured categorized output

Supported Versions

  • PHP: ^8.0
  • Illuminate Support: ^9.0 | ^10.0 | ^11.0

Installation

To install the package, run:

composer require itpathsolutions/dbstan

Commands

Vendor Publish (Optional)

After installing the package, you may publish the configuration file using:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=dbstan-config

This will create the configuration file at:

config/dbstan.php

You can customize thresholds like:

  • Maximum columns per table
  • Maximum VARCHAR length
  • JSON column limits
  • Large table size threshold
  • Nullable ratio threshold

Run Analysis for Production

To analyze your database schema:

php artisan dbstan:analyze

or

http://127.0.0.1:8000/dbstan

These both scans your entire database and displays categorized results in the browser or terminal.

Export Report

Currently, DBStan displays analysis results in the terminal or browser.

Future versions may support exporting reports to JSON, HTML, or PDF formats.

Output Categories

DBStan organizes its findings into four main categories:

1. Structure Issues

  • Tables with too many columns
  • Wide VARCHAR fields
  • Missing timestamps or soft deletes
  • Boolean and enum overuse
  • Nullable column overuse
  • Large TEXT columns
  • Data type appropriateness
  • Mixed domain columns
  • Repeated common fields across tables
  • Pivot table structure issues

2. Integrity Issues

  • Duplicate rows detection
  • Foreign key naming inconsistencies
  • Cascading action problems
  • Possible orphan risks
  • Unique constraint violations

3. Performance Issues

  • Missing indexes on foreign keys
  • Missing indexes on log tables
  • Missing indexes on status columns
  • High NULL value ratios
  • Table size analysis
  • Unbounded growth risks

4. Architecture Issues

  • Audit trail implementation (created_by, updated_by, deleted_by)
  • JSON column overuse
  • Polymorphic relation overuse

Environment Configuration

Ensure your .env file contains:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

After updating configuration:

php artisan config:clear

FAQs

1. What does this package do?

DBStan analyzes your Laravel database schema and detects structural, normalization, and performance issues.

2. Does it modify my database?

No. DBStan is completely read-only.
It does NOT make any changes to your database.

3. Is it safe for production?

Yes, but it is recommended to use it in development or staging environments.
Avoid exposing schema analysis publicly.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

If you’d like to contribute:

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

Please ensure:

  • Your code follows PSR-12 coding standards
  • All tests pass before submitting
  • You include tests for new features

For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Security Vulnerabilities

If you discover a security vulnerability within DBStan, please send an email to enquiry@itpathsolutions.com.

All security vulnerabilities will be promptly addressed.

For more details, see our Security Policy.

License

DBStan is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

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