Helper Functions

ZephyrPHP provides a collection of global helper functions to make common tasks more convenient. These helpers follow industry-standard naming conventions found in Laravel and other modern frameworks.

Application Helpers

app()

Get the application instance or resolve a service from the container:

// Get the application instance
$app = app();

// Resolve a service from the container
$logger = app('logger');
$mailer = app(Mailer::class);

// With parameters
$service = app(MyService::class, ['config' => $config]);

container()

Get the container instance:

$container = container();
$container->bind('service', MyService::class);

resolve()

Resolve a service from the container:

$service = resolve(UserService::class);
$mailer = resolve('mailer', ['debug' => true]);

singleton()

singleton('cache', CacheService::class);
singleton(PaymentGateway::class, StripeGateway::class);

bind()

Bind a service to the container:

bind('logger', FileLogger::class);
bind(LoggerInterface::class, DatabaseLogger::class);

tagged()

Get all services with a specific tag:

$validators = tagged('validators');
$handlers = tagged('event.handlers');

Request Helpers

request()

Get the request instance or a specific input value:

// Get the request instance
$request = request();

// Get a specific input value
$name = request('name');

// With default value
$page = request('page', 1);

// Access request methods
$email = request()->string('email');
$age = request()->integer('age');
$remember = request()->boolean('remember');

old()

Retrieve old input from the previous request (for form repopulation):

$email = old('email');
$name = old('name', 'Default Name');

Response Helpers

response()

Create a new response:

// Simple response
return response('Hello World');

// With status code
return response('Not Found', 404);

// With headers
return response('Hello', 200, ['X-Custom' => 'Value']);

json()

Create a JSON response:

return json(['name' => 'John', 'email' => 'john@example.com']);
return json(['error' => 'Not found'], 404);

redirect()

Create a redirect response:

redirect('/dashboard');
redirect('/login', 301);

back()

Redirect back to the previous page:

back();
back('/fallback-url'); // With fallback if no previous URL

abort()

Throw an HTTP exception:

abort(404);
abort(404, 'User not found');
abort(403, 'Access denied');

abort_if()

Throw an HTTP exception if condition is true:

abort_if(!$user->isAdmin(), 403, 'Access denied');
abort_if($post->isDeleted(), 404, 'Post not found');

abort_unless()

Throw an HTTP exception unless condition is true:

abort_unless($user->canEdit($post), 403, 'Cannot edit this post');
abort_unless($request->has('token'), 400, 'Token required');

Session Helpers

session()

Access session data:

// Get the session instance
$session = session();

// Get a value
$userId = session('user_id');

// With default
$theme = session('theme', 'light');

flash()

Get or set flash data:

// Set flash data
flash('success', 'Your changes have been saved!');

// Get flash data
$message = flash('success');

csrf_token()

Get the current CSRF token:

$token = csrf_token();

csrf_field()

Generate a CSRF hidden input field:

echo csrf_field();
// <input type="hidden" name="_token" value="...">

csrf_meta()

Generate a CSRF meta tag (useful for AJAX):

echo csrf_meta();
// <meta name="csrf-token" content="...">

method_field()

Generate a hidden method field for PUT/PATCH/DELETE forms:

echo method_field('PUT');
// <input type="hidden" name="_method" value="PUT">

echo method_field('DELETE');
// <input type="hidden" name="_method" value="DELETE">

Path Helpers

base_path()

Get the application base path:

$basePath = base_path();
$configPath = base_path('config/app.php');

storage_path()

Get the storage directory path:

$storagePath = storage_path();
$logPath = storage_path('logs/app.log');

public_path()

Get the public directory path:

$publicPath = public_path();
$imagePath = public_path('images/logo.png');

URL Helpers

url()

Generate a full URL:

$url = url('/users');
$url = url('/users/1/edit');

get_base_url()

Get the application base URL:

$baseUrl = get_base_url();
// Returns: 'https://example.com'

route()

Generate a URL for a named route:

$url = route('home');
$url = route('users.show', ['id' => 1]);
$url = route('posts.edit', ['post' => 5]);

Asset Helpers

These helpers use the powerful Asset Manager which supports versioning, CDN, and more. See the Asset Management documentation for full details.

asset()

Generate a versioned URL for an asset:

$cssUrl = asset('assets/css/styles.css');
// Returns: /assets/css/styles.css?v=1737741234

$jsUrl = asset('assets/js/app.js');

// With options (disable CDN, custom version)
$url = asset('assets/css/app.css', ['cdn' => false, 'version' => '2.0.0']);

css()

Generate a CSS link tag with automatic versioning:

echo css('assets/css/styles.css');
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/styles.css?v=1737741234">

echo css('assets/css/print.css', ['media' => 'print']);
// <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/print.css?v=..." media="print">

js()

Generate a JavaScript script tag:

echo js('assets/js/app.js');
// <script src="/assets/js/app.js?v=..."></script>

echo js('assets/js/app.js', ['defer' => true]);
// <script src="/assets/js/app.js?v=..." defer></script>

echo js('assets/js/module.js', ['type' => 'module', 'async' => true]);
// <script src="/assets/js/module.js?v=..." type="module" async></script>

image()

Generate an image tag with automatic lazy loading:

echo image('assets/images/logo.png', 'Logo');
// <img src="/assets/images/logo.png?v=..." alt="Logo" loading="lazy">

echo image('assets/images/hero.jpg', 'Hero', ['loading' => 'eager', 'fetchpriority' => 'high']);
// <img src="/assets/images/hero.jpg?v=..." alt="Hero" loading="eager" fetchpriority="high">

View Helper

view()

Render a view template:

return view('home');
return view('users/profile', ['user' => $user]);
return view('emails/welcome', ['name' => $name]);

Configuration Helpers

config()

Get configuration values:

// Get a value
$appName = config('app.name');

// With default
$debug = config('app.debug', false);

// Nested values
$dbHost = config('database.connections.mysql.host');

env()

Get environment variables:

$debug = env('APP_DEBUG');
$dbHost = env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1');

// Automatic type casting
$debug = env('APP_DEBUG');    // Returns boolean true/false
$port = env('DB_PORT');       // Returns string value

The env() function automatically converts special string values:

'true', '(true)' → true
'false', '(false)' → false
'null', '(null)' → null
'empty', '(empty)' → ''

Logging Helper

logger()

Get the logger instance:

// Get the default logger
$logger = logger();
$logger->info('User logged in', ['user_id' => 1]);

// Get a specific channel
$logger = logger('slack');
$logger->error('Critical error occurred');

Debugging Helpers

dd()

Dump and die - useful for debugging:

dd($user);
dd($request->all(), $errors);

dump()

Dump without dying:

dump($data);
dump($user, $roles);

Date Helper

now()

Get current DateTime:

$now = now();
// Returns DateTime instance

echo $now->format('Y-m-d H:i:s');

String Helpers

e()

HTML escape a string:

$safe = e($userInput);
// Converts <script> to &lt;script&gt;

class_basename()

Get the class name without namespace:

$name = class_basename('App\\Models\\User');
// Returns: 'User'

$name = class_basename($userObject);
// Returns: 'User'

Value Helpers

value()

Return the value or call a closure:

$result = value('default');
// Returns: 'default'

$result = value(fn() => expensive_computation());
// Returns result of closure

filled()

Check if a value is "filled" (not blank):

filled('hello');     // true
filled('');          // false
filled('   ');       // false
filled([1, 2]);      // true
filled([]);          // false
filled(null);        // false

blank()

Check if a value is "blank" (empty):

blank('');           // true
blank('   ');        // true
blank(null);         // true
blank([]);           // true
blank('hello');      // false

tap()

Call a callback with a value and return the value:

$user = tap(User::find(1), function($user) {
    $user->updateLastLogin();
});
// Returns the user after calling updateLastLogin()

retry()

Retry a callback multiple times:

$result = retry(3, function($attempt) {
    return file_get_contents('https://api.example.com/data');
}, 100); // 100ms delay between retries

Collection Helper

collect()

Returns the array as-is (placeholder for future Collection class):

$items = collect([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
// Currently returns the array directly

Usage in Templates

Many helpers are available in Twig templates:

{# Asset URLs #}
<link rel="stylesheet" href="{{ asset('css/styles.css') }}">
{{ css('css/app.css')|raw }}
{{ js('js/app.js')|raw }}

{# Route URLs #}
<a href="{{ route('users.show', {id: user.id}) }}">View</a>

{# Session data #}
{{ session('user_name') }}

{# CSRF protection #}
<form method="POST">
    {{ csrf_field()|raw }}
    {{ method_field('PUT')|raw }}
    ...
</form>

{# Old input for form repopulation #}
<input type="email" name="email" value="{{ old('email') }}">

{# Config values #}
{{ config('app.name') }}

{# Flash messages #}
{% if flash('success') %}
    <div class="alert alert-success">{{ flash('success') }}</div>
{% endif %}

Controller Shortcuts

Inside controllers, you can use convenient shortcuts instead of accessing $this->request:

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function store()
    {
        // Input shortcuts
        $name = $this->string('name');
        $age = $this->integer('age');
        $active = $this->boolean('active');
        $tags = $this->array('tags');

        // Check input
        if ($this->filled('email')) {
            $email = $this->input('email');
        }

        // Get specific keys
        $data = $this->only(['name', 'email', 'password']);

        // Validation
        $validated = $this->validate([
            'name' => 'required|string|max:255',
            'email' => 'required|email'
        ]);

        // Response shortcuts
        return $this->json(['success' => true]);
    }
}

Helper Function Reference

Category	Function	Description
Application	`app()`	Get app instance or resolve service
Application	`container()`	Get container instance
Application	`resolve()`	Resolve service from container
Application	`singleton()`	Register singleton
Application	`bind()`	Bind service to container
Request	`request()`	Get request or input value
Request	`old()`	Get old input value
Response	`response()`	Create response
Response	`json()`	Create JSON response
Response	`redirect()`	Redirect to URL
Response	`back()`	Redirect back
Response	`abort()`	Throw HTTP exception
Session	`session()`	Get session or value
Session	`flash()`	Get/set flash data
Security	`csrf_token()`	Get CSRF token
Security	`csrf_field()`	Generate CSRF input
Security	`csrf_meta()`	Generate CSRF meta tag
Security	`method_field()`	Generate method input
Path	`base_path()`	Get base path
Path	`storage_path()`	Get storage path
Path	`public_path()`	Get public path
URL	`url()`	Generate URL
URL	`route()`	Generate route URL
URL	`asset()`	Generate asset URL
Asset	`css()`	Generate CSS link tag
Asset	`js()`	Generate JS script tag
Asset	`image()`	Generate image tag
View	`view()`	Render template
Config	`config()`	Get config value
Config	`env()`	Get environment variable
Logging	`logger()`	Get logger instance
Debug	`dd()`	Dump and die
Debug	`dump()`	Dump variables
Date	`now()`	Get current DateTime
String	`e()`	HTML escape
String	`class_basename()`	Get class name
Value	`value()`	Get value or call closure
Value	`filled()`	Check if filled
Value	`blank()`	Check if blank
Value	`tap()`	Tap and return
Value	`retry()`	Retry with callback