Console Commands

Console commands

OrangeHRM has two console entry points, each serving a different audience:

Both extend Symfony\Component\Console\Application (via OHRM's thin OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Console subclass). They wire up commands differently — see "Where commands live" below.

This skill covers writing new commands, registering them, and choosing the right console. For specific existing commands, see migrations (instance:*, migration:up), dev-environment (i:create-test-db), rest-openapi (generate-open-api-doc), scheduled-jobs (orangehrm:run-schedule).

The two consoles

bin/console — production runtime

bin/console lives at the repo root and only depends on the main app's autoload. It's safe to run anywhere the app is deployed.

// bin/console (simplified)
require_once $pathToAutoload;
new Framework($env, $debug);                                       // boot the framework

$console = new Console();
foreach ($pluginConfigs as $pluginConfig) {                        // iterate registered plugins
    $configClass = new $pluginConfig['classname']();
    $configClass->initialize($request);
    if ($configClass instanceof ConsoleConfigurationInterface) {
        $configClass->registerCommands($console);                  // ← plugins surface their commands
    }
}
$console->add(new CacheClearCommand());
$console->add(new GenerateDoctrineProxiesCommand());
$console->run();

Commands available in bin/console come from two sources:

1. Plugins that implement ConsoleConfigurationInterface and surface commands in registerCommands(Console $console).
2. The hardcoded CacheClearCommand and GenerateDoctrineProxiesCommand that bin/console adds directly (used by composer's post-autoload-dump).

php bin/console list                    # see all commands
php bin/console cache:clear
php bin/console orm:generate-proxies
php bin/console orangehrm:run-schedule      # cron scheduler — see scheduled-jobs skill

devTools/core/console.php — developer tools

devTools/core/ is a separate composer project with its own composer.json and vendor/. It depends on the main app's autoload at runtime but isolates dev dependencies (PHP-CS-Fixer, swagger-php).

php devTools/core/console.php list
php devTools/core/console.php php-cs-fix
php devTools/core/console.php instance:create-test-db -p root
php devTools/core/console.php instance:reset
php devTools/core/console.php instance:reinstall
php devTools/core/console.php migration:up "\OrangeHRM\Installer\Migration\V5_9_0\Migration"
php devTools/core/console.php add-data-group
php devTools/core/console.php add-role-permission
php devTools/core/console.php generate-open-api-doc --throw
php devTools/core/console.php event-dispatcher:debug

Commands live in devTools/core/src/Command/ and are registered directly in devTools/core/console.php (no plugin discovery). This console isn't deployed to production — devTools/ is excluded from the build artifacts.

Which console to put a new command in

When in doubt: devTools/core/ for tools the team uses while developing, bin/console for tools that production ops needs.

The Command base class

OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command is a thin wrapper around Symfony's Command:

abstract class Command extends \Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command
{
    protected ?SymfonyStyle $io = null;

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct($this->getCommandName());          // ← name comes from abstract method
    }

    protected function getIO(): SymfonyStyle
    {
        return $this->io;
    }

    public function run(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $this->setIO($input, $output);                          // ← auto-sets $this->io before execute()
        return parent::run($input, $output);
    }

    abstract public function getCommandName(): string;          // ← subclasses implement
}

Three things to note:

1. getCommandName(): string is abstract — every subclass provides its name. Symfony's setName() is set automatically from this.
2. $this->getIO() returns a SymfonyStyle ready-to-use — no need to construct one yourself in execute(). It's set up automatically before execute() runs.
3. Symfony's standard Command is still the parent — configure(), execute(InputInterface, OutputInterface), addArgument, addOption all work as usual.

Anatomy of a typical command

<?php
namespace OrangeHRM\X\Command;

use OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command;
use OrangeHRM\X\Traits\Service\WidgetServiceTrait;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputArgument;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;

class CleanupWidgetsCommand extends Command
{
    use WidgetServiceTrait;                                      // ← compose like a service

    public function getCommandName(): string
    {
        return 'widget:cleanup';                                 // ← <namespace>:<action>
    }

    protected function configure(): void
    {
        $this->setDescription('Delete orphaned widgets')
            ->addArgument('olderThan', InputArgument::OPTIONAL, 'In days', '30')
            ->addOption('dry-run', null, InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'Preview without deleting');
    }

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $olderThan = (int) $input->getArgument('olderThan');
        $dryRun    = (bool) $input->getOption('dry-run');

        $count = $this->getWidgetService()->countOrphaned($olderThan);
        $this->getIO()->info("Found $count orphaned widgets older than $olderThan days");

        if ($dryRun) {
            $this->getIO()->note('Dry run — nothing deleted');
            return self::SUCCESS;
        }

        if (!$this->getIO()->confirm('Delete them?', false)) {
            $this->getIO()->warning('Cancelled');
            return self::INVALID;
        }

        $deleted = $this->getWidgetService()->deleteOrphaned($olderThan);
        $this->getIO()->success("Deleted $deleted widgets");
        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Standard pattern observed across all OHRM commands:

• Extends OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command
• getCommandName() returns the user-typed name (e.g. widget:cleanup)
• configure() declares arguments, options, description
• execute() reads input, calls services via Traits, uses $this->getIO() for output, returns self::SUCCESS / self::FAILURE / self::INVALID
• Compose traits exactly like services do — WidgetServiceTrait, EventDispatcherTrait, LoggerTrait, etc.

Naming conventions

Commands use Symfony's standard namespace:action shape. Conventional namespaces in OHRM:

When choosing, match an existing namespace if your command logically fits there; reach for a new one only for genuinely new domains.

Registering commands for bin/console

Commands surface in bin/console via the plugin's <Plugin>PluginConfiguration class implementing ConsoleConfigurationInterface in addition to PluginConfigurationInterface.

namespace OrangeHRM\X;

use OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Console;
use OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\ConsoleConfigurationInterface;
use OrangeHRM\Framework\Http\Request;
use OrangeHRM\Framework\PluginConfigurationInterface;
use OrangeHRM\X\Command\CleanupWidgetsCommand;

class XPluginConfiguration implements PluginConfigurationInterface, ConsoleConfigurationInterface
{
    public function initialize(Request $request): void
    {
        // … normal service registration …
    }

    public function registerCommands(Console $console): void
    {
        $console->add(new CleanupWidgetsCommand());
    }
}

Then:

php bin/console widget:cleanup

Multiple commands? Multiple $console->add() calls.

Conditional registration (e.g. dev-only)

Wrap in a Config check:

public function registerCommands(Console $console): void
{
    $console->add(new RunScheduleCommand());                     // always available
    if (Config::PRODUCT_MODE !== Config::MODE_PROD) {
        $console->add(new EnableTestLanguagePackCommand());      // dev only
    }
}

The core plugin's CorePluginConfiguration::registerCommands() does this for the test-language-pack command. Commands that depend on dev-only state should be gated this way (or moved to devTools/core/).

Registering commands for devTools/core/console.php

Different mechanism — no plugin scan. Edit devTools/core/console.php directly and add to the $application->add(...) calls. Same pattern as bin/console, just without the plugin abstraction.

// devTools/core/console.php (representative)
$application = new Console();
$application->add(new PHPFixCodingStandardsCommand());
$application->add(new GenerateOpenApiDocCommand());
$application->add(new CreateTestDatabaseCommand());
$application->add(new ResetInstallationCommand());
$application->add(new ReInstallCommand());
$application->add(new AddDataGroupCommand());
$application->add(new AddRolePermissionCommand());
$application->add(new RunMigrationClassCommand());
$application->add(new EventDispatcherDebugCommand());
$application->run();

For a new dev-tool command, drop the class in devTools/core/src/Command/ and add one line to devTools/core/console.php.

SymfonyStyle helpers — $this->getIO()

SymfonyStyle (returned by getIO()) has rich output helpers:

$this->getIO()->title('Cleanup widgets');
$this->getIO()->section('Phase 1: discovery');

$this->getIO()->success('Done');                                 // green box
$this->getIO()->error('Failed');                                 // red box
$this->getIO()->warning('Risk');                                 // yellow box
$this->getIO()->note('FYI');                                     // grey box
$this->getIO()->info('FYI');                                     // blue
$this->getIO()->caution('Heads up');                             // red banner

$this->getIO()->writeln('Plain text line');
$this->getIO()->write('No newline');

// Interactive
$value = $this->getIO()->ask('Enter value', 'default');
$value = $this->getIO()->ask('Enter value', null, fn ($v) => $v ?: throw new \InvalidArgumentException('Required'));
$password = $this->getIO()->askHidden('Password');
$yes = $this->getIO()->confirm('Proceed?', false);

$choice = $this->getIO()->choice('Pick', ['a', 'b', 'c']);

$this->getIO()->table(['Col1', 'Col2'], [['a', 1], ['b', 2]]);
$this->getIO()->listing(['item 1', 'item 2', 'item 3']);

$bar = $this->getIO()->createProgressBar(100);
// $bar->advance(); $bar->finish();

Use these consistently — they match how every other OHRM command formats output. Don't roll your own colored output via <info> tags unless SymfonyStyle doesn't cover what you need.

Interactive vs non-interactive

Commands often need to support both interactive use (devs at terminal) and non-interactive (CI, scripts). Symfony provides $input->isInteractive():

if ($input->isInteractive() && !$input->hasOption('confirmed')) {
    if (!$this->getIO()->confirm('Are you sure?', false)) {
        return self::INVALID;
    }
}

The installer commands (install:on-new-database, upgrade:run) check this — interactive mode prompts, non-interactive mode requires every option as a flag.

Composing helpers in commands

Commands can use any of the trait helpers that services and subscribers use — LoggerTrait, ConfigServiceTrait, EventDispatcherTrait, plugin-specific *ServiceTrait. Same DI container, same lazy-getter mechanics.

class SyncCommand extends Command
{
    use EmployeeServiceTrait;
    use ConfigServiceTrait;
    use LoggerTrait;

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $this->getLogger()->info('Sync started');
        $batchSize = (int) $this->getConfigService()->getConfigValue('sync.batch_size', '100');
        $employees = $this->getEmployeeService()->getActiveEmployees();
        // …
    }
}

See services skill for the full trait pattern.

Existing OHRM dev commands (devTools/core)

Already documented in their respective skills, but the catalog:

Existing OHRM bin/console commands

From the core plugin's registerCommands():

Plus per-plugin commands like ldap:sync-user from the LDAP plugin.

Recipes

Recipe 1 — A new bin/console command for a feature plugin

<?php
namespace OrangeHRM\X\Command;

use OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command;
use OrangeHRM\X\Traits\Service\WidgetServiceTrait;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;

class WidgetExportCommand extends Command
{
    use WidgetServiceTrait;

    public function getCommandName(): string
    {
        return 'widget:export';
    }

    protected function configure(): void
    {
        $this->setDescription('Export widgets to CSV')
             ->addOption('path', null, InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'Output file', 'widgets.csv');
    }

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $path = $input->getOption('path');
        $count = $this->getWidgetService()->exportToCsv($path);
        $this->getIO()->success("Exported $count widgets to $path");
        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Register in XPluginConfiguration:

class XPluginConfiguration implements PluginConfigurationInterface, ConsoleConfigurationInterface
{
    public function registerCommands(Console $console): void
    {
        $console->add(new WidgetExportCommand());
    }
}

Run:

php bin/console widget:export --path=/tmp/out.csv

Recipe 2 — A dev-only command in devTools

<?php
namespace OrangeHRM\DevTools\Command;

use OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;

class SeedDevDataCommand extends Command
{
    public function getCommandName(): string
    {
        return 'dev:seed';
    }

    protected function configure(): void
    {
        $this->setDescription('Seed development fixtures');
    }

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        // … insert dev fixtures …
        $this->getIO()->success('Seeded');
        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Edit devTools/core/console.php:

$application->add(new SeedDevDataCommand());

Run:

php devTools/core/console.php dev:seed

Recipe 3 — Interactive command with arg validation

class ImportFileCommand extends Command
{
    public function getCommandName(): string
    {
        return 'data:import';
    }

    protected function configure(): void
    {
        $this->addArgument('path', InputArgument::OPTIONAL, 'CSV file path');
    }

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $path = $input->getArgument('path');

        if (!$path && $input->isInteractive()) {
            $path = $this->getIO()->ask('Path to CSV', null, function ($value) {
                if (!is_file($value)) {
                    throw new \InvalidArgumentException("File not found: $value");
                }
                return $value;
            });
        }

        if (!$path) {
            $this->getIO()->error('--path is required in non-interactive mode');
            return self::INVALID;
        }

        // … process …
        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

The pattern: optional argument, prompt for it interactively if missing, fail with a clear message if missing and non-interactive.

Recipe 4 — Command that runs another command (sub-command invocation)

class FullResetCommand extends Command
{
    public function getCommandName(): string
    {
        return 'dev:full-reset';
    }

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
    {
        $resetCmd = $this->getApplication()->find('instance:reset');
        $reinstallCmd = $this->getApplication()->find('instance:reinstall');

        $resetCmd->run(new \Symfony\Component\Console\Input\ArrayInput([]), $output);
        $reinstallCmd->run(new \Symfony\Component\Console\Input\ArrayInput([]), $output);

        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Use $this->getApplication()->find('command:name')->run() to invoke another command. Each gets its own ArrayInput for arguments.

Checklists

Add a new bin/console command

• Class in src/plugins/orangehrm{X}Plugin/Command/<Name>Command.php extending OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command
• getCommandName() returns the user-typed name (<namespace>:<action> convention)
• configure() for arguments + options + description
• execute() reads input, uses $this->getIO() for output, returns self::SUCCESS|FAILURE|INVALID
• Compose any services/helpers via Traits (WidgetServiceTrait, LoggerTrait, etc.)
• Plugin's <Plugin>PluginConfiguration implements ConsoleConfigurationInterface and registers the command in registerCommands(Console $console)
• Test by running php bin/console list — your command should appear

Add a new devTools command

• Class in devTools/core/src/Command/<Name>Command.php extending OrangeHRM\Framework\Console\Command
• Standard getCommandName, configure, execute
• Add $application->add(new <Name>Command()) to devTools/core/console.php
• Test: php devTools/core/console.php list

Things that bite

• Forgetting ConsoleConfigurationInterface — the plugin must implement both PluginConfigurationInterface AND ConsoleConfigurationInterface for registerCommands() to be called. Implementing only the second silently fails (the framework only checks for both).
• Forgetting to register in devTools/core/console.php — for dev-tool commands, there's no plugin scan. The class file alone isn't enough; the $application->add(...) line is mandatory.
• Mixing dev dependencies into a bin/console command — if your command pulls in something only present in devTools/core/vendor/, it'll fail on production deploys. Keep bin/console commands using only what's in src/vendor/.
• $this->getIO() returns null before execute() — the framework sets it up in run(), but if your configure() tries to use it, you'll get a TypeError. configure() runs without IO; do all IO inside execute().
• composer install's post-autoload-dump runs cache:clear and orm:generate-proxies. If you break either of those commands, every composer install afterwards fails. Test these specifically when modifying them.
• Commands run with no HTTP request context — composables expecting getCurrentInstance() or session won't work. Most things do (DI container, EM, traits) but some Vue-side helpers and request-coupled subscribers might not.
• getCommandName() typos are silent. If you misspell widget:expott, bin/console list shows it as-is and bin/console widget:export says "command not found." The typed name and the constant should match.
• In dev mode the cache is ArrayAdapter — cache:clear clears nothing visible because nothing was persisted. The command still reports success. Use it in prod where it actually matters.