Model factories chain example

README.md

• Comment BELONGSTO Post
• Comment BELONGSTO User
• Post BELONGSTO User
• Post BELONGSTOMANY Category
• Category BELONGSTO User

---

When you call

factory(\App\Comment::class)->create();

It will generate a Comment, Post, Category. All belonging to the same User. The Category will also be related to the Post.

---

P.S. Depending on the scenario, I'd consider using something more organized like "Model Factory Stories" https://github.com/jeffochoa/factory-stories

CategoryFactory.php

<?php

use Faker\Generator as Faker;

$factory->define(App\Category::class, function (Faker $faker) {
    return [
        'user_id' => factory(\App\User::class),
    ];
});

CommentFactory.php

<?php

use Faker\Generator as Faker;

$factory->define(App\Comment::class, function (Faker $faker) {
    return [
        'post_id' => factory(\App\Post::class),
        'user_id' => function ($comment) {
            return \App\Post::find($comment['post_id'])->user_id;
        }
    ];
});

PostFactory.php

<?php

use Faker\Generator as Faker;

$factory->define(App\Post::class, function (Faker $faker) {
    return [
        'user_id' => factory(\App\User::class)
    ];
});

$factory->afterCreating(\App\Post::class, function (\App\Post $post, Faker $faker) {
    $post->categories()->save(factory(\App\Category::class)->make([
        'user_id' => $post->user_id
    ]));
});