laravel-state-machines

To implement Laravel state machines with Spatie Model States, install the package, define a base state and concrete state classes, create transition classes, and use the HasStates trait on your models. This provides type-safe state checks and transition orchestration.

You should use Laravel state transitions when your models require type-safe state checks, transition guards, validation rules, or side effects. State machines enforce valid transitions and encapsulate state-specific behavior, preventing invalid status changes that simple columns cannot restrict.

You add guards and side effects to Laravel state transitions by defining them within your Transition classes. Guards evaluate whether a transition is allowed, while side effects execute additional logic during the transition process when calling transitionTo on your model.

Spatie Model States integrates with existing Laravel model validations by allowing you to define validation logic within transition classes. This ensures that state changes adhere to your application's business rules before the transition is executed.

The best way to structure a Laravel state hierarchy is to create an abstract base state class extending the Spatie Model States package, then define concrete state classes for each specific status. Transition classes handle the logic moving between these concrete states.