wheels generate resource

Generate a complete RESTful resource with model, controller, views, and routes.

Synopsis

wheels generate resource [name] [properties] [options]
wheels g resource [name] [properties] [options]

Description

The wheels generate resource command creates a complete RESTful resource including model, controller with all CRUD actions, views, routes, and optionally database migrations and tests. It's a comprehensive generator that sets up everything needed for a functioning resource.

Arguments

Argument	Description	Default
name	Resource name (typically singular)	Required
properties	Property definitions (name:type)

Options

Option	Description	Default
--skip-model	Skip model generation	false
--skip-controller	Skip controller generation	false
--skip-views	Skip view generation	false
--skip-route	Skip route generation	false
--skip-migration	Skip migration generation	false
--skip-tests	Skip test generation	false
--api	Generate API-only resource	false
--namespace	Namespace for the resource
--parent	Parent resource for nesting
--force	Overwrite existing files	false
--help	Show help information

Examples

Basic Resource

wheels generate resource product name:string price:float description:text

Generates:

• Model: /models/Product.cfc

• Controller: /controllers/Products.cfc

• Views: /views/products/ (index, show, new, edit, _form)

• Route: resources("products") in /config/routes.cfm

• Migration: /db/migrate/[timestamp]_create_products.cfc

• Tests: /tests/models/ProductTest.cfc, /tests/controllers/ProductsTest.cfc

API Resource

wheels generate resource api/product name:string price:float --api

Generates:

• Model: /models/Product.cfc

• Controller: /controllers/api/Products.cfc (JSON responses only)

• Route: resources(name="products", except="new,edit") in API namespace

• Migration: /db/migrate/[timestamp]_create_products.cfc

• Tests: API-focused test files

Nested Resource

wheels generate resource comment content:text approved:boolean --parent=post

Generates nested structure with proper associations and routing.

Generated Files

Model

/models/Product.cfc:

component extends="Model" {
    
    function init() {
        // Properties
        property(name="name", sql="name");
        property(name="price", sql="price");
        property(name="description", sql="description");
        
        // Validations
        validatesPresenceOf(properties="name,price");
        validatesNumericalityOf(property="price", greaterThan=0);
        validatesLengthOf(property="name", maximum=255);
        
        // Callbacks
        beforeSave("sanitizeInput");
    }
    
    private function sanitizeInput() {
        this.name = Trim(this.name);
        if (StructKeyExists(this, "description")) {
            this.description = Trim(this.description);
        }
    }
    
}

Controller

/controllers/Products.cfc:

component extends="Controller" {
    
    function init() {
        // Filters
        filters(through="findProduct", only="show,edit,update,delete");
    }
    
    function index() {
        products = model("Product").findAll(order="createdAt DESC");
    }
    
    function show() {
        // Product loaded by filter
    }
    
    function new() {
        product = model("Product").new();
    }
    
    function create() {
        product = model("Product").new(params.product);
        
        if (product.save()) {
            flashInsert(success="Product was created successfully.");
            redirectTo(route="product", key=product.id);
        } else {
            renderView(action="new");
        }
    }
    
    function edit() {
        // Product loaded by filter
    }
    
    function update() {
        if (product.update(params.product)) {
            flashInsert(success="Product was updated successfully.");
            redirectTo(route="product", key=product.id);
        } else {
            renderView(action="edit");
        }
    }
    
    function delete() {
        if (product.delete()) {
            flashInsert(success="Product was deleted successfully.");
        } else {
            flashInsert(error="Product could not be deleted.");
        }
        redirectTo(route="products");
    }
    
    // Filters
    private function findProduct() {
        product = model("Product").findByKey(params.key);
        if (!IsObject(product)) {
            flashInsert(error="Product not found.");
            redirectTo(route="products");
        }
    }
    
}

Views

/views/products/index.cfm:

<h1>Products</h1>

<p>
    #linkTo(route="newProduct", text="New Product", class="btn btn-primary")#
</p>

<cfif products.recordCount>
    <table class="table table-striped">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Name</th>
                <th>Price</th>
                <th>Created</th>
                <th>Actions</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <cfoutput query="products">
                <tr>
                    <td>#linkTo(route="product", key=products.id, text=products.name)#</td>
                    <td>#dollarFormat(products.price)#</td>
                    <td>#dateFormat(products.createdAt, "mmm dd, yyyy")#</td>
                    <td>
                        #linkTo(route="editProduct", key=products.id, text="Edit", class="btn btn-sm btn-secondary")#
                        #linkTo(route="product", key=products.id, text="Delete", method="delete", confirm="Are you sure?", class="btn btn-sm btn-danger")#
                    </td>
                </tr>
            </cfoutput>
        </tbody>
    </table>
<cfelse>
    <p class="alert alert-info">No products found. #linkTo(route="newProduct", text="Create one now")#!</p>
</cfif>

/views/products/_form.cfm:

#errorMessagesFor("product")#

#startFormTag(route=formRoute, key=formKey, class="needs-validation")#
    
    <div class="mb-3">
        #textField(objectName="product", property="name", label="Product Name", class="form-control", required=true)#
    </div>
    
    <div class="mb-3">
        #numberField(objectName="product", property="price", label="Price", class="form-control", step="0.01", min="0", required=true)#
    </div>
    
    <div class="mb-3">
        #textArea(objectName="product", property="description", label="Description", class="form-control", rows=5)#
    </div>
    
    <div class="mb-3">
        #submitTag(value=submitValue, class="btn btn-primary")#
        #linkTo(route="products", text="Cancel", class="btn btn-secondary")#
    </div>
    
#endFormTag()#

Migration

/db/migrate/[timestamp]_create_products.cfc:

component extends="wheels.migrator.Migration" hint="Create products table" {
    
    function up() {
        transaction {
            createTable(name="products", force=true) {
                t.increments("id");
                t.string("name", limit=255, null=false);
                t.decimal("price", precision=10, scale=2, null=false);
                t.text("description");
                t.timestamps();
                t.index("name");
            };
        }
    }
    
    function down() {
        transaction {
            dropTable("products");
        }
    }
    
}

Routes

Added to /config/routes.cfm:

<cfset resources("products")>

API Resource Generation

API Controller

/controllers/api/Products.cfc:

component extends="Controller" {
    
    function init() {
        provides("json");
        filters(through="findProduct", only="show,update,delete");
    }
    
    function index() {
        products = model("Product").findAll(
            order="createdAt DESC",
            page=params.page ?: 1,
            perPage=params.perPage ?: 25
        );
        
        renderWith({
            data: products,
            meta: {
                page: products.currentPage,
                totalPages: products.totalPages,
                totalRecords: products.totalRecords
            }
        });
    }
    
    function show() {
        renderWith(product);
    }
    
    function create() {
        product = model("Product").new(params.product);
        
        if (product.save()) {
            renderWith(data=product, status=201);
        } else {
            renderWith(
                data={errors: product.allErrors()},
                status=422
            );
        }
    }
    
    function update() {
        if (product.update(params.product)) {
            renderWith(product);
        } else {
            renderWith(
                data={errors: product.allErrors()},
                status=422
            );
        }
    }
    
    function delete() {
        if (product.delete()) {
            renderWith(data={message: "Product deleted successfully"});
        } else {
            renderWith(
                data={error: "Could not delete product"},
                status=400
            );
        }
    }
    
    private function findProduct() {
        product = model("Product").findByKey(params.key);
        if (!IsObject(product)) {
            renderWith(
                data={error: "Product not found"},
                status=404
            );
        }
    }
    
}

Nested Resources

Generate Nested Resource

wheels generate resource review rating:integer comment:text --parent=product

Nested Model

Includes association:

component extends="Model" {
    
    function init() {
        belongsTo("product");
        
        property(name="rating", sql="rating");
        property(name="comment", sql="comment");
        property(name="productId", sql="product_id");
        
        validatesPresenceOf(properties="rating,comment,productId");
        validatesNumericalityOf(property="rating", greaterThanOrEqualTo=1, lessThanOrEqualTo=5);
    }
    
}

Nested Routes

<cfset resources("products")>
    <cfset resources("reviews")>
</cfset>

Property Types

Supported Types

Type	Database Type	Validation
string	VARCHAR(255)	Length validation
text	TEXT	None by default
integer	INT	Numerical validation
float	DECIMAL	Numerical validation
decimal	DECIMAL	Numerical validation
boolean	BOOLEAN	Boolean validation
date	DATE	Date format validation
datetime	DATETIME	DateTime validation
time	TIME	Time validation
binary	BLOB	None

Property Options

wheels generate resource user \
  email:string:required:unique \
  age:integer:min=18:max=120 \
  bio:text:limit=1000 \
  isActive:boolean:default=true

Advanced Options

Skip Components

# Generate only model and migration
wheels generate resource product name:string --skip-controller --skip-views --skip-route

# Generate only controller and views
wheels generate resource product --skip-model --skip-migration

Namespace Resources

wheels generate resource admin/product name:string --namespace=admin

Creates:

• /controllers/admin/Products.cfc

• /views/admin/products/

• Namespaced routes

Custom Templates

wheels generate resource product name:string --template=custom

Testing

Generated Tests

Model Test (/tests/models/ProductTest.cfc):

component extends="wheels.Test" {
    
    function setup() {
        super.setup();
        model("Product").deleteAll();
    }
    
    function test_valid_product_saves() {
        product = model("Product").new(
            name="Test Product",
            price=19.99,
            description="Test description"
        );
        
        assert(product.save());
        assert(product.id > 0);
    }
    
    function test_requires_name() {
        product = model("Product").new(price=19.99);
        
        assert(!product.save());
        assert(ArrayLen(product.errorsOn("name")) > 0);
    }
    
    function test_requires_positive_price() {
        product = model("Product").new(name="Test", price=-10);
        
        assert(!product.save());
        assert(ArrayLen(product.errorsOn("price")) > 0);
    }
    
}

Controller Test (/tests/controllers/ProductsTest.cfc):

component extends="wheels.Test" {
    
    function test_index_returns_products() {
        products = createProducts(3);
        
        result = processRequest(route="products", method="GET");
        
        assert(result.status == 200);
        assert(Find("Products", result.body));
        assert(FindNoCase(products[1].name, result.body));
    }
    
    function test_create_valid_product() {
        params = {
            product: {
                name: "New Product",
                price: 29.99,
                description: "New product description"
            }
        };
        
        result = processRequest(route="products", method="POST", params=params);
        
        assert(result.status == 302);
        assert(model("Product").count() == 1);
    }
    
}

Best Practices

1. Use singular names: product not products

2. Define all properties: Include types and validations

3. Add indexes: For frequently queried fields

4. Include tests: Don't skip test generation

5. Use namespaces: For admin or API resources

6. Follow conventions: Stick to RESTful patterns

Common Patterns

Soft Delete Resource

wheels generate resource product name:string deletedAt:datetime:nullable

Publishable Resource

wheels generate resource post title:string content:text publishedAt:datetime:nullable status:string:default=draft

User-Owned Resource

wheels generate resource task title:string userId:integer:belongsTo=user completed:boolean:default=false

Hierarchical Resource

wheels generate resource category name:string parentId:integer:nullable:belongsTo=category

Customization

Custom Resource Templates

Create in ~/.wheels/templates/resources/:

custom-resource/
├── model.cfc
├── controller.cfc
├── views/
│   ├── index.cfm
│   ├── show.cfm
│   ├── new.cfm
│   ├── edit.cfm
│   └── _form.cfm
└── migration.cfc

Template Variables

Available in templates:

• ${resourceName} - Singular name

• ${resourceNamePlural} - Plural name

• ${modelName} - Model class name

• ${controllerName} - Controller class name

• ${tableName} - Database table name

• ${properties} - Array of property definitions

See Also

• wheels scaffold - Interactive CRUD generation
• wheels generate model - Generate models only
• wheels generate controller - Generate controllers only
• wheels generate api-resource - Generate API resources
• wheels generate route - Generate routes only