Categories - TALL Stack E-commerce Framework

Categories provide a hierarchical organization structure for your products. Shopper uses nested categories with parent-child relationships, allowing unlimited depth. You can model complex product taxonomies like Electronics > Computers > Laptops without artificial limits.

Model

The model used is Shopper\Models\Category, which extends Shopper\Core\Models\Category. It implements the Shopper\Core\Models\Contracts\Category contract and Spatie\MediaLibrary\HasMedia for media support. The core model provides the business logic (relationships, scopes, slug generation, hierarchical structure via laravel-adjacency-list), while the admin model adds media collections and conversions through HasMedia and RegistersMediaCollections traits. This separation means the core model has no dependency on Spatie MediaLibrary. Media support is added at the admin layer.

Extending the Model

To add custom behavior, extend the admin model and update your configuration:

namespace App\Models;

use Shopper\Models\Category as ShopperCategory;

class Category extends ShopperCategory
{
}

Update config/shopper/models.php:

return [
    'category' => \App\Models\Category::class,
];

Database Schema

Column	Type	Nullable	Default	Description
`id`	bigint	no	auto	Primary key
`name`	string	no	-	Category name
`slug`	string	yes	auto	URL-friendly identifier (unique, auto-generated)
`description`	longtext	yes	null	Category description
`position`	smallint	no	0	Display order position
`is_enabled`	boolean	no	false	Category visibility status
`seo_title`	string(60)	yes	null	SEO meta title
`seo_description`	string(160)	yes	null	SEO meta description
`metadata`	jsonb	yes	null	Additional custom data
`parent_id`	bigint	yes	null	Foreign key to parent category
`created_at`	timestamp	yes	null	Creation timestamp
`updated_at`	timestamp	yes	null	Last update timestamp

The slug column is nullable at the database level, but is always auto-generated from the name when you set it. You never need to set it manually.

Hierarchical Structure

Categories support unlimited nesting levels, so you can organize products into deeply nested taxonomies:

Electronics (parent_id: null)
├── Computers (parent_id: 1)
│   ├── Laptops (parent_id: 2)
│   └── Desktops (parent_id: 2)
├── Phones (parent_id: 1)
│   ├── Smartphones (parent_id: 5)
│   └── Accessories (parent_id: 5)
└── Audio (parent_id: 1)

Media

Categories support two media collections through Spatie MediaLibrary, using the same config-driven collection names as products.

Collection	Config key	Behavior	Description
Default gallery	`shopper.media.storage.collection_name`	Multiple files	Category images
Thumbnail	`shopper.media.storage.thumbnail_collection`	Single file	Primary image for listings and navigation

Both collections accept JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, and SVG files by default (configurable in config/shopper/media.php). To display a category’s thumbnail on your storefront: The collection names are defined in config/shopper/media.php under the storage key. The getFirstMediaUrl method returns the URL for the first media in a collection. If no media has been uploaded, a fallback URL is returned instead. You can also request a specific conversion size like medium (500x500) or large (800x800).

use Shopper\Models\Category;

$category = Category::query()->find($id);
$collection = config('shopper.media.storage.thumbnail_collection');

$thumbnailUrl = $category->getFirstMediaUrl($collection);
$mediumUrl = $category->getFirstMediaUrl($collection, 'medium');

To add a thumbnail to a category programmatically:

$collection = config('shopper.media.storage.thumbnail_collection');

$category->addMedia($pathToImage)
    ->toMediaCollection($collection);

Relationships

Parent Category

Every category can optionally belong to a parent category. Use this to build breadcrumbs or display the parent context:

$category->parent;

if ($category->parent) {
    $breadcrumb = $category->ancestors;
}

Child Categories

Using the laravel-adjacency-list package, categories expose a full set of hierarchical relationships: The children relationship returns direct children only. Use descendants for all recursive children (children of children, etc.) and ancestors for all recursive parents up to the root.

$category->children;
$category->descendants;
$category->ancestors;
$category->descendantsAndSelf;

Descendant Categories

The descendantCategories() relationship returns a HasManyOfDescendants Eloquent relation, which means you can use it in whereHas(), withCount(), and other query builder contexts. This differs from descendants() which is a recursive scope and cannot be used the same way.

$categoriesWithDescendants = Category::query()
    ->withCount('descendantCategories')
    ->get();

Products

Categories have a polymorphic many-to-many relationship with products through the product_has_relations table:

$category->products;
$category->products()->count();

$category->products()->publish()->get();

Available Tree Methods

The laravel-adjacency-list package provides these methods for traversing the hierarchy:

Method	Description
`ancestors()`	The model’s recursive parents
`ancestorsAndSelf()`	The model’s recursive parents and itself
`bloodline()`	The model’s ancestors, descendants and itself
`children()`	The model’s direct children
`childrenAndSelf()`	The model’s direct children and itself
`descendants()`	The model’s recursive children
`descendantsAndSelf()`	The model’s recursive children and itself
`parent()`	The model’s direct parent
`parentAndSelf()`	The model’s direct parent and itself
`rootAncestor()`	The model’s topmost parent
`siblings()`	The parent’s other children
`siblingsAndSelf()`	All the parent’s children

$ancestors = Category::query()->find($id)->ancestors;
$categories = Category::with('descendants')->get();
$total = Category::query()->find($id)->descendants()->count();
Category::query()->find($id)->descendants()->update(['is_enabled' => false]);

Query Scopes

Enabled Categories

Filter categories that are visible to customers:

Category::query()->enabled()->get();

Root Categories

Get only top-level categories (those without a parent):

Category::query()->whereNull('parent_id')->get();

Using the tree structure to get the full hierarchy:

Category::tree()->get();

Custom Paths & Slug Behavior

Categories automatically generate slug paths for nested URLs. For a category “Laptops” under “Computers” under “Electronics”, $category->slug_path returns electronics/computers/laptops:

public function getCustomPaths(): array
{
    return [
        [
            'name' => 'slug_path',
            'column' => 'slug',
            'separator' => '/',
        ],
    ];
}

When a category has a parent, the CategoryObserver automatically combines the parent’s slug with the category name on creation and update. For example, creating a “Laptops” category under a parent with slug computers produces the slug computers-laptops. This ensures slug uniqueness across the hierarchy.

Methods & Helpers

Find by Slug

The findBySlug static method looks up a category by its slug and throws a ModelNotFoundException if not found:

use Shopper\Models\Category;

$category = Category::findBySlug('electronics');

Label with Path

The getLabelOptionName() method returns the full hierarchical path as a formatted string, useful for select dropdowns and admin interfaces: For a category “Laptops” nested under “Computers” under “Electronics”, the method returns Electronics / Computers / Laptops.

$category->getLabelOptionName();

Status Management

Toggle a category’s visibility with updateStatus(): Pass true to enable a category or false to disable it.

$category->updateStatus(true);
$category->updateStatus(false);

Creating Categories

Create a root category by omitting the parent_id:

$electronics = Category::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Electronics',
    'is_enabled' => true,
    'position' => 1,
]);

Create a subcategory by setting parent_id:

$computers = Category::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Computers',
    'parent_id' => $electronics->id,
    'is_enabled' => true,
]);

Retrieving Categories

Root categories with their children:

$categories = Category::query()
    ->whereNull('parent_id')
    ->enabled()
    ->with('children')
    ->orderBy('position')
    ->get();

Full category tree:

$tree = Category::query()
    ->enabled()
    ->tree()
    ->get()
    ->toTree();

A category with all its descendants:

$category = Category::query()
    ->where('slug', 'electronics')
    ->with('descendants')
    ->first();

$breadcrumb = $category->ancestors;

For navigation menus with nested enabled children:

$navCategories = Category::query()
    ->whereNull('parent_id')
    ->enabled()
    ->with(['children' => fn ($q) => $q->enabled()])
    ->orderBy('position')
    ->get();

Working with Products

Products in this category only:

$category = Category::query()->find($id);
$products = $category->products;

Products in category and all descendants:

$categoryIds = $category->descendants->pluck('id')->push($category->id);

$products = Product::query()
    ->publish()
    ->whereHas('categories', fn ($q) => $q->whereIn('id', $categoryIds))
    ->get();

Metadata

The metadata JSON column lets you store arbitrary key-value data on a category without modifying the schema. This is useful for storing custom attributes like banner colors, display preferences, or integration identifiers:

$category = Category::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Summer Sale',
    'is_enabled' => true,
    'metadata' => [
        'banner_color' => '#FF6B35',
        'featured_on_homepage' => true,
        'external_id' => 'cat_abc123',
    ],
]);

$color = $category->metadata['banner_color'];

Disabling Category Feature

If your store doesn’t use categories, you can disable the feature entirely. This removes the category section from the admin panel: In your config/shopper/features.php file, set the category feature to disabled:

use Shopper\Enum\FeatureState;

return [
    'category' => FeatureState::Disabled,
];

Permissions

The admin panel generates four permissions for category management:

Permission	Description
`browse_categories`	View the categories list
`read_categories`	View a single category
`add_categories`	Create new categories
`edit_categories`	Edit existing categories
`delete_categories`	Delete categories

Components

You can publish the Livewire components to customize the admin UI for categories:

php artisan shopper:component:publish category

Creates config/shopper/components/category.php:

use Shopper\Livewire;

return [
    'pages' => [
        'category-index' => Livewire\Pages\Category\Index::class,
    ],
    'components' => [
        'slide-overs.category-form' => Livewire\SlideOvers\CategoryForm::class,
        'slide-overs.re-order-categories' => Livewire\SlideOvers\ReOrderCategories::class,
    ],
];

Storefront Example

Here is a complete controller for displaying categories and their products on your storefront. The show method collects products from the category and all its descendants, so browsing “Electronics” also returns products from “Computers”, “Laptops”, etc.

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Shopper\Models\Category;
use Shopper\Models\Product;

class CategoryController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $categories = Category::query()
            ->whereNull('parent_id')
            ->enabled()
            ->with(['children' => fn ($q) => $q->enabled()])
            ->withCount('products')
            ->orderBy('position')
            ->get();

        return view('categories.index', compact('categories'));
    }

    public function show(string $slug)
    {
        $category = Category::findBySlug($slug);

        abort_unless($category->is_enabled, 404);

        $category->load('ancestors');

        $categoryIds = $category->descendants
            ->pluck('id')
            ->push($category->id);

        $products = Product::query()
            ->publish()
            ->whereHas('categories', fn ($q) => $q->whereIn('id', $categoryIds))
            ->paginate(12);

        return view('categories.show', compact('category', 'products'));
    }
}

Documentation Index

​Model

​Extending the Model

​Database Schema

​Hierarchical Structure

​Media

​Relationships

​Parent Category

​Child Categories

​Descendant Categories

​Products

​Available Tree Methods

​Query Scopes

​Enabled Categories

​Root Categories

​Custom Paths & Slug Behavior

​Methods & Helpers

​Find by Slug

​Label with Path

​Status Management

​Creating Categories

​Retrieving Categories

​Working with Products

​Metadata

​Disabling Category Feature

​Permissions

​Components

​Storefront Example

Model

Extending the Model

Database Schema

Hierarchical Structure

Media

Relationships

Parent Category

Child Categories

Descendant Categories

Products

Available Tree Methods

Query Scopes

Enabled Categories

Root Categories

Custom Paths & Slug Behavior

Methods & Helpers

Find by Slug

Label with Path

Status Management

Creating Categories

Retrieving Categories

Working with Products

Metadata

Disabling Category Feature

Permissions

Components

Storefront Example