wheels generate model

This command works correctly without options (parameters). Option support is under development and will be available soon.

Generate a model with properties, validations, and associations.

Synopsis

wheels generate model [name] [options]
wheels g model [name] [options]

Description

The wheels generate model command creates a new model CFC file with optional properties, associations, and database migrations. Models represent database tables and contain business logic, validations, and relationships.

Arguments

| Argument | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | name | Model name (singular) | Required |

Options

| Option | Description | Default | |--------|-------------|---------| | --migration | Generate database migration | true | | properties | Model properties (format: name:type,name2:type2) | | | belongs-to | Parent model relationships (comma-separated) | | | has-many | Child model relationships (comma-separated) | | | has-one | One-to-one relationships (comma-separated) | | | primary-key | Primary key column name(s) | id | | table-name | Custom database table name | | | description | Model description | | | --force | Overwrite existing files | false |

Examples

Basic model

wheels generate model user

Creates:

• /models/User.cfc
• Migration file (if enabled)

Model with properties

wheels generate model user properties="firstName:string,lastName:string,email:string,age:integer"

Model with associations

wheels generate model post belongs-to="user" has-many="comments"

Model without migration

wheels generate model setting --migration=false

Complex model

wheels generate model product \
  properties="name:string,price:decimal,stock:integer,active:boolean" \
  belongs-to="category,brand" \
  has-many="reviews,orderItems"

Property Types

| Type | Database Type | CFML Type | |------|---------------|-----------| | string | VARCHAR(255) | string | | text | TEXT | string | | integer | INTEGER | numeric | | biginteger | BIGINT | numeric | | float | FLOAT | numeric | | decimal | DECIMAL(10,2) | numeric | | boolean | BOOLEAN | boolean | | date | DATE | date | | datetime | DATETIME | date | | timestamp | TIMESTAMP | date | | binary | BLOB | binary | | uuid | VARCHAR(35) | string |

Generated Code

Basic Model

component extends="Model" {

    function init() {
        // Table name (optional if following conventions)
        table("users");
        
        // Validations
        validatesPresenceOf("email");
        validatesUniquenessOf("email");
        validatesFormatOf("email", regex="^[^@]+@[^@]+\.[^@]+$");
        
        // Callbacks
        beforeCreate("setDefaultValues");
    }
    
    private function setDefaultValues() {
        if (!StructKeyExists(this, "createdAt")) {
            this.createdAt = Now();
        }
    }

}

Model with Properties

component extends="Model" {

    function init() {
        // Properties
        property(name="firstName", label="First Name");
        property(name="lastName", label="Last Name");
        property(name="email", label="Email Address");
        property(name="age", label="Age");
        
        // Validations
        validatesPresenceOf("firstName,lastName,email");
        validatesUniquenessOf("email");
        validatesFormatOf("email", regex="^[^@]+@[^@]+\.[^@]+$");
        validatesNumericalityOf("age", onlyInteger=true, greaterThan=0, lessThan=150);
    }

}

Model with Associations

component extends="Model" {

    function init() {
        // Associations
        belongsTo("user");
        hasMany("comments", dependent="deleteAll");
        
        // Nested properties
        nestedProperties(associations="comments", allowDelete=true);
        
        // Validations
        validatesPresenceOf("title,content,userId");
        validatesLengthOf("title", maximum=255);
    }

}

Validations

Common validation methods:

// Presence
validatesPresenceOf("name,email");

// Uniqueness
validatesUniquenessOf("email,username");

// Format
validatesFormatOf("email", regex="^[^@]+@[^@]+\.[^@]+$");
validatesFormatOf("phone", regex="^\d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}$");

// Length
validatesLengthOf("username", minimum=3, maximum=20);
validatesLengthOf("bio", maximum=500);

// Numerical
validatesNumericalityOf("age", onlyInteger=true, greaterThan=0);
validatesNumericalityOf("price", greaterThan=0);

// Inclusion/Exclusion
validatesInclusionOf("status", list="active,inactive,pending");
validatesExclusionOf("username", list="admin,root,system");

// Confirmation
validatesConfirmationOf("password");

// Custom
validate("customValidation");

Associations

Belongs To

belongsTo("user");
belongsTo(name="author", modelName="user", foreignKey="authorId");

Has Many

hasMany("comments");
hasMany(name="posts", dependent="deleteAll", orderBy="createdAt DESC");

Has One

hasOne("profile");
hasOne(name="address", dependent="delete");

Many to Many

hasMany("categorizations");
hasMany(name="categories", through="categorizations");

Callbacks

Lifecycle callbacks:

// Before callbacks
beforeCreate("method1,method2");
beforeUpdate("method3");
beforeSave("method4");
beforeDelete("method5");
beforeValidation("method6");

// After callbacks
afterCreate("method7");
afterUpdate("method8");
afterSave("method9");
afterDelete("method10");
afterValidation("method11");
afterFind("method12");
afterInitialization("method13");

Generated Migration

When --migration is enabled:

component extends="wheels.migrator.Migration" {

    function up() {
        transaction {
            t = createTable("users");
            t.string("firstName");
            t.string("lastName");
            t.string("email");
            t.integer("age");
            t.timestamps();
            t.create();
            
            addIndex(table="users", columns="email", unique=true);
        }
    }

    function down() {
        transaction {
            dropTable("users");
        }
    }

}

Best Practices

1. Naming: Use singular names (User, not Users)
2. Properties: Define all database columns
3. Validations: Add comprehensive validations
4. Associations: Define all relationships
5. Callbacks: Use for automatic behaviors
6. Indexes: Add to migration for performance

Common Patterns

Soft Deletes

function init() {
    softDeletes();
}

Calculated Properties

function init() {
    property(name="fullName", sql="firstName + ' ' + lastName");
}

Scopes

function scopeActive() {
    return where("active = ?", [true]);
}

function scopeRecent(required numeric days=7) {
    return where("createdAt >= ?", [DateAdd("d", -arguments.days, Now())]);
}

Default Values

function init() {
    beforeCreate("setDefaults");
}

private function setDefaults() {
    if (!StructKeyExists(this, "status")) {
        this.status = "pending";
    }
    if (!StructKeyExists(this, "priority")) {
        this.priority = 5;
    }
}

Testing

Generate model tests:

wheels generate model user properties="email:string,name:string"
wheels generate test model user

See Also

• wheels dbmigrate create table - Create migrations
• wheels generate property - Add properties to existing models
• wheels generate controller - Generate controllers
• wheels scaffold - Generate complete CRUD