Channels - TALL Stack E-commerce Framework

Channels represent different sales platforms where your products can be sold. Examples include your main website, mobile app, marketplace integrations, or physical stores.

Model

The model used is Shopper\Core\Models\Channel. It implements Shopper\Core\Models\Contracts\Channel and uses the HasSlug trait for automatic slug generation. The model is configurable via config/shopper/models.php.

Extending the Model

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

namespace App\Models;

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel as BaseChannel;

class Channel extends BaseChannel
{
}

Update config/shopper/models.php:

return [
    'channel' => \App\Models\Channel::class,
];

Database Schema

Column	Type	Nullable	Default	Description
`id`	bigint	no	auto	Primary key
`name`	string	no	-	Channel name
`slug`	string	yes	auto	URL-friendly identifier (unique)
`description`	text	yes	null	Channel description
`timezone`	string	yes	null	Channel timezone
`url`	string	yes	null	Channel URL
`is_default`	boolean	no	false	Default channel flag
`is_enabled`	boolean	no	false	Channel visibility
`metadata`	json	yes	null	Additional custom data
`created_at`	timestamp	yes	null	Creation timestamp
`updated_at`	timestamp	yes	null	Last update timestamp

Relationships

Products

Channels have a many-to-many polymorphic relationship with products:

// Get all products for a channel
$channel->products; // Collection of Product models

// Add products to channel
$channel->products()->attach([$productId1, $productId2]);

// Remove products from channel
$channel->products()->detach($productId);

// Sync products
$channel->products()->sync($productIds);

Query Scopes

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;

// Get only the default channel
Channel::query()->default()->first();

// Get only enabled channels
Channel::query()->enabled()->get();

// Combine scopes
Channel::query()
    ->enabled()
    ->where('timezone', 'UTC')
    ->get();

Observer Behavior

The ChannelObserver ensures only one channel can be default:

// When creating/updating a channel with is_default = true:
// 1. Any existing default channel is set to is_default = false
// 2. The new/updated channel becomes the default

$channel = Channel::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Mobile App',
    'is_default' => true, // Previous default is automatically unset
]);

Default Channel

You can retrieve the default channel using the default scope:

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;

// Get the default channel
$channel = Channel::query()->default()->first();

// Use in controllers
public function index()
{
    $channel = Channel::query()->default()->first();

    $products = Product::query()
        ->forChannel($channel->id)
        ->publish()
        ->get();
}

Creating Channels

Default Website Channel

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;

$channel = Channel::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Website',
    'slug' => 'website',
    'description' => 'Main e-commerce website',
    'url' => 'https://example.com',
    'timezone' => 'UTC',
    'is_default' => true,
    'is_enabled' => true,
]);

Additional Channels

// Mobile app channel
$mobileChannel = Channel::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Mobile App',
    'slug' => 'mobile-app',
    'description' => 'iOS and Android mobile application',
    'timezone' => 'UTC',
    'is_enabled' => true,
]);

// Marketplace channel
$marketplaceChannel = Channel::query()->create([
    'name' => 'Amazon',
    'slug' => 'amazon',
    'description' => 'Amazon marketplace integration',
    'url' => 'https://amazon.com/store/your-store',
    'is_enabled' => true,
    'metadata' => [
        'marketplace_id' => 'ATVPDKIKX0DER',
        'seller_id' => 'A1234567890',
    ],
]);

Retrieving Channels

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;

// Get all enabled channels
$channels = Channel::query()->enabled()->get();

// Get default channel
$default = Channel::query()->default()->first();

// Get channel by slug
$channel = Channel::query()
    ->where('slug', 'website')
    ->first();

// Get channel with products
$channel = Channel::query()
    ->with('products')
    ->where('slug', 'mobile-app')
    ->first();

// Get channels with product counts
$channels = Channel::query()
    ->enabled()
    ->withCount('products')
    ->get();

Assigning Products to Channels

use Shopper\Models\Product;

$product = Product::query()->find($id);

// Assign to channels (via product)
$product->channels()->attach([$channelId1, $channelId2]);

// Get products for a specific channel
$products = Product::query()
    ->forChannel($channelId)
    ->publish()
    ->get();

// Get products available on multiple channels
$products = Product::query()
    ->forChannel([$channelId1, $channelId2])
    ->publish()
    ->get();

Storefront Example

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;
use Shopper\Models\Product;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        // Get products for default channel
        $channel = Channel::query()->default()->first();

        $products = Product::query()
            ->forChannel($channel->id)
            ->publish()
            ->with(['brand', 'categories'])
            ->paginate(12);

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

Multi-Channel API

namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;

use Shopper\Core\Models\Channel;
use Shopper\Models\Product;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function index(Request $request)
    {
        $channelSlug = $request->header('X-Channel', 'website');

        $channel = Channel::query()
            ->where('slug', $channelSlug)
            ->enabled()
            ->firstOrFail();

        $products = Product::query()
            ->forChannel($channel->id)
            ->publish()
            ->paginate(20);

        return response()->json($products);
    }
}

Use Cases

Channel	Example Use
Website	Main e-commerce storefront
Mobile App	iOS/Android application
Marketplace	Amazon, eBay, Etsy integration
POS	Physical store point of sale
Wholesale	B2B customer portal
Social	Facebook/Instagram shop

Best Practices

Default Channel: Always have one default channel for fallback
Product Assignment: Assign products to relevant channels during creation
Timezone: Set appropriate timezone for each channel
Metadata: Use metadata for channel-specific configuration (API keys, etc.)

// Example: Channel-specific pricing
$channel = Channel::query()->find($id);
$apiKey = $channel->metadata['api_key'] ?? null;
$merchantId = $channel->metadata['merchant_id'] ?? null;

Documentation Index

​Model

​Extending the Model

​Database Schema

​Relationships

​Products

​Query Scopes

​Observer Behavior

​Default Channel

​Creating Channels

​Default Website Channel

​Additional Channels

​Retrieving Channels

​Assigning Products to Channels

​Storefront Example

​Multi-Channel API

​Use Cases

​Best Practices