diagnostics.md

Diagnostics

Two commands help you reach into a running project without going through the HTTP layer:

Command	Purpose
call	Invoke a method on a controller, model, or arbitrary class from the terminal
log	List, view, and clear log files from the storage directory

These are debugging and operations tools — not the path you'd take from regular application code, but invaluable for one-off scripts, scheduled tasks, and post-mortem inspection.

call

php webrium call <Class@Method> [--params=<JSON>] [--model] [--namespace=<Namespace>]

Calls a public method on a class directly, prints the return value, and exits. The class is instantiated with no constructor arguments, so it must either have no required constructor parameters or be designed to handle that.

Arguments and options

Argument / Option	Description
Class@Method	Class and method, separated by @ (e.g. UserController@index)
--params, -p	JSON array of arguments passed to the method. Default: []
--model, -m	Resolve the class as a model (default namespace App\Models) instead of a controller
--namespace	Custom namespace. Overrides the default for either mode

Examples

# Call a controller action
php webrium call UserController@index

# Pass arguments via JSON
php webrium call UserController@find --params='[42]'

# Call a model method (different default namespace)
php webrium call User@active --model

# Use a custom namespace (e.g. a service class)
php webrium call Report@generate \
    --params='["2024-01", true]' \
    --namespace="App\\Services"

When to use it

• Cron / scheduled jobs. Wire a method into a system cron job: php /path/to/project/webrium call NewsletterJob@dispatch --namespace="App\\Jobs".
• One-off maintenance. Run a cleanup, recompute aggregates, or import a CSV without writing a dedicated CLI command.
• Debugging. Reproduce an issue from the terminal where you can drop in var_dump() or attach a debugger, without round-tripping through HTTP.

What it does not do

• Doesn't bind route parameters. --params is a flat JSON array passed positionally. It does not parse the route, resolve int $id from a URL, or perform any of the type-coercion that Kernel::executeControllerMethod() does during a real request.
• Doesn't run middleware. Controller methods invoked through call skip the route's middleware chain. If the method assumes the user is authenticated, you need to set that state up yourself (or refactor the method to take its dependencies as arguments).
• Doesn't call boot() / teardown(). The lifecycle hooks that fire during a real request are not invoked. If you rely on them, call them explicitly in your method.

For workflows that go beyond what call provides, write a dedicated CLI command — see Introduction for the Symfony Console base classes.

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log

php webrium log <action> [<name>]

Manages log files in the configured logs directory. By default — when Debug logging is enabled — Webrium writes one log file per day, named with the date.

Actions

Action	Effect
list	List all log files in the logs directory, most recent first
latest	Display the most recent log file's contents
file <name>	Display a specific log file by name
clear	Delete every log file in the directory

Examples

# What log files do we have?
php webrium log list

# Show today's (or the most recent) log file
php webrium log latest

# Show a specific file
php webrium log file 2024-01-15.log

# Wipe the logs (intentional — there is no undo)
php webrium log clear

Notes

• The directory inspected is the one registered as logs via Directory::initDefaultStructure() — typically storage/logs/. Configure it with Debug::setLogPath() if you've moved it.
• log clear is destructive. There's no --force requirement and no confirmation prompt — the assumption is that you ran this command because you meant to.
• For piping into other tools, log file writes plain text to standard output: php webrium log file 2024-01-15.log | grep ERROR.

For more on how Webrium handles errors and writes log entries, see Core → Error Handling.