Class Controller

Application controller class for organization of business logic. Provides basic functionality, such as rendering views inside layouts, automatic model availability, redirection, callbacks, and more.

Controllers should provide a number of 'action' methods. These are public methods on a controller that are not inherited from Controller. Each action serves as an endpoint for performing a specific action on a resource or collection of resources. For example adding or editing a new object, or listing a set of objects.

You can access request parameters, using $this->request. The request object contains all the POST, GET and FILES that were part of the request.

After performing the required action, controllers are responsible for creating a response. This usually takes the form of a generated View, or possibly a redirection to another URL. In either case $this->response allows you to manipulate all aspects of the response.

Controllers are created by Dispatcher based on request parameters and routing. By default controllers and actions use conventional names. For example /posts/index maps to PostsController::index(). You can re-map URLs using Router::connect() or RouterBuilder::connect().

Life cycle callbacks

CakePHP fires a number of life cycle callbacks during each request. By implementing a method you can receive the related events. The available callbacks are:

  • beforeFilter(Event $event) Called before each action. This is a good place to do general logic that applies to all actions.
  • beforeRender(Event $event) Called before the view is rendered.
  • beforeRedirect(Event $event, $url, Response $response) Called before a redirect is done.
  • afterFilter(Event $event) Called after each action is complete and after the view is rendered.
Cake\Controller\Controller implements Cake\Event\EventListenerInterface, Cake\Event\EventDispatcherInterface uses Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait , Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait , Cake\Log\LogTrait , Cake\Utility\MergeVariablesTrait , Cake\Datasource\ModelAwareTrait , Cake\Routing\RequestActionTrait , Cake\View\ViewVarsTrait

Direct Subclasses

Namespace: Cake\Controller
Link: https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html
Location: Controller/Controller.php

Properties summary

  • $View public
    Cake\View\View

    Instance of the View created during rendering. Won't be set until after Controller::render() is called.

  • $_components protected
    Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
    Instance of ComponentRegistry used to create Components
  • $_responseClass protected
    string
    The class name to use for creating the response object.
  • $_validViewOptions protected
    array
    These Controller properties will be passed from the Controller to the View as options.
  • $autoRender public
    boolean

    Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.

  • $components public
    array

    Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the class name.

  • $helpers public
    array

    An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the class name.

  • $name public
    string
    The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate.
  • $paginate public
    array
    Settings for pagination.
  • $passedArgs public
    array
    Holds all passed params.
  • $plugin public
    string
    Automatically set to the name of a plugin.
  • $request public
    Cake\Http\ServerRequest

    An instance of a \Cake\Http\ServerRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.

  • $response public
    Cake\Http\Response
    An instance of a Response object that contains information about the impending response

Magic properties summary

Inherited Magic Properties

Inherited Properties

Method Summary

  • __construct() public
    Constructor.
  • __get() public
    Magic accessor for model autoloading.
  • __set() public
    Magic setter for removed properties.
  • _loadComponents() protected
    Loads the defined components using the Component factory.

  • Merge components, helpers vars from parent classes.

  • _viewPath() protected
    Get the viewPath based on controller name and request prefix.
  • afterFilter() public
    Called after the controller action is run and rendered.

  • Called before the controller action. You can use this method to configure and customize components or perform logic that needs to happen before each controller action.

  • The beforeRedirect method is invoked when the controller's redirect method is called but before any further action.

  • Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered. You can use this method to perform logic or set view variables that are required on every request.

  • components() public
    Get the component registry for this controller.

  • Returns a list of all events that will fire in the controller during its lifecycle. You can override this function to add your own listener callbacks

  • initialize() public
    Initialization hook method.

  • Dispatches the controller action. Checks that the action exists and isn't private.

  • isAction() public
    Method to check that an action is accessible from a URL.
  • Add a component to the controller's registry.
  • paginate() public
    Handles pagination of records in Table objects.
  • redirect() public
    Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender.
  • referer() public
    Returns the referring URL for this request.
  • render() public
    Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output.
  • setAction() public
    Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect()
  • setRequest() public

    Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. Controller acts as a proxy for certain View variables which must also be updated here. The properties that get set are:

  • Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

  • Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

Method Detail

__construct()source public 

__construct( Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request null , Cake\Http\Response $response null , string|null $name null , Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager null , Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry|null $components null )

Constructor.

Sets a number of properties based on conventions if they are empty. To override the conventions CakePHP uses you can define properties in your class declaration.

Parameters

Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request optional null

Request object for this controller. Can be null for testing, but expect that features that use the request parameters will not work.

Cake\Http\Response $response optional null
Response object for this controller.
string|null $name optional null
Override the name useful in testing when using mocks.
Cake\Event\EventManager|null $eventManager optional null
The event manager. Defaults to a new instance.
Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry|null $components optional null
The component registry. Defaults to a new instance.

__get()source public 

__get( string $name )

Magic accessor for model autoloading.

Parameters

string $name
Property name

Returns

boolean|object
The model instance or false

__set()source public 

__set( string $name , mixed $value )

Magic setter for removed properties.

Parameters

string $name
Property name.
mixed $value
Value to set.

_loadComponents()source protected 

_loadComponents( )

Loads the defined components using the Component factory.

_mergeControllerVars()source protected 

_mergeControllerVars( )

Merge components, helpers vars from parent classes.

_viewPath()source protected 

_viewPath( )

Get the viewPath based on controller name and request prefix.

Returns

string

afterFilter()source public 

afterFilter( Cake\Event\Event $event )

Called after the controller action is run and rendered.

Parameters

Cake\Event\Event $event
An Event instance

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#request-life-cycle-callbacks

beforeFilter()source public 

beforeFilter( Cake\Event\Event $event )

Called before the controller action. You can use this method to configure and customize components or perform logic that needs to happen before each controller action.

Parameters

Cake\Event\Event $event
An Event instance

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#request-life-cycle-callbacks

beforeRedirect()source public 

beforeRedirect( Cake\Event\Event $event , string|array $url , Cake\Http\Response $response )

The beforeRedirect method is invoked when the controller's redirect method is called but before any further action.

If the event is stopped the controller will not continue on to redirect the request. The $url and $status variables have same meaning as for the controller's method. You can set the event result to response instance or modify the redirect location using controller's response instance.

Parameters

Cake\Event\Event $event
An Event instance
string|array $url

A string or array-based URL pointing to another location within the app, or an absolute URL

Cake\Http\Response $response
The response object.

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#request-life-cycle-callbacks

beforeRender()source public 

beforeRender( Cake\Event\Event $event )

Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered. You can use this method to perform logic or set view variables that are required on every request.

Parameters

Cake\Event\Event $event
An Event instance

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#request-life-cycle-callbacks

components()source public 

components( Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry|null $components null )

Get the component registry for this controller.

If called with the first parameter, it will be set as the controller $this->_components property

Parameters

Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry|null $components optional null
Component registry.

Returns

Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry

implementedEvents()source public 

implementedEvents( )

Returns a list of all events that will fire in the controller during its lifecycle. You can override this function to add your own listener callbacks

Returns

array

Implementation of

Cake\Event\EventListenerInterface::implementedEvents()

initialize()source public 

initialize( )

Initialization hook method.

Implement this method to avoid having to overwrite the constructor and call parent.

invokeAction()source public 

invokeAction( )

Dispatches the controller action. Checks that the action exists and isn't private.

Returns

mixed
The resulting response.

Throws

LogicException
When request is not set.
Cake\Controller\Exception\MissingActionException
When actions are not defined or inaccessible.

isAction()source public 

isAction( string $action )

Method to check that an action is accessible from a URL.

Override this method to change which controller methods can be reached. The default implementation disallows access to all methods defined on Cake\Controller\Controller, and allows all public methods on all subclasses of this class.

Parameters

string $action
The action to check.

Returns

boolean
Whether or not the method is accessible from a URL.

loadComponent()source public 

loadComponent( string $name , array $config [] )

Add a component to the controller's registry.

This method will also set the component to a property. For example:

$this->loadComponent('Acl.Acl');

Will result in a Toolbar property being set.

Parameters

string $name
The name of the component to load.
array $config optional []
The config for the component.

Returns

Cake\Controller\Component

paginate()source public 

paginate( Cake\ORM\Table|string|Cake\ORM\Query|null $object null , array $settings [] )

Handles pagination of records in Table objects.

Will load the referenced Table object, and have the PaginatorComponent paginate the query using the request date and settings defined in $this->paginate.

This method will also make the PaginatorHelper available in the view.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Table|string|Cake\ORM\Query|null $object optional null

Table to paginate (e.g: Table instance, 'TableName' or a Query object)

array $settings optional []
The settings/configuration used for pagination.

Returns

Cake\ORM\ResultSet
Query results

Throws

RuntimeException
When no compatible table object can be found.

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#paginating-a-model

redirect()source public 

redirect( string|array $url , integer $status 302 )

Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender.

Parameters

string|array $url

A string or array-based URL pointing to another location within the app, or an absolute URL

integer $status optional 302
HTTP status code (eg: 301)

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#Controller::redirect

referer()source public 

referer( string|array|null $default null , boolean $local false )

Returns the referring URL for this request.

Parameters

string|array|null $default optional null
Default URL to use if HTTP_REFERER cannot be read from headers
boolean $local optional false
If true, restrict referring URLs to local server

Returns

string
Referring URL

render()source public 

render( string|null $view null , string|null $layout null )

Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output.

Parameters

string|null $view optional null
View to use for rendering
string|null $layout optional null
Layout to use

Returns

Cake\Http\Response
A response object containing the rendered view.

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#rendering-a-view

setAction()source public 

setAction( string $action , ... $args )

Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect()

Examples:

setAction('another_action');
setAction('action_with_parameters', $parameter1);

Parameters

string $action

The new action to be 'redirected' to. Any other parameters passed to this method will be passed as parameters to the new action.

... $args
$args Arguments passed to the action

Returns

mixed
Returns the return value of the called action

setRequest()source public 

setRequest( Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request )

Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. Controller acts as a proxy for certain View variables which must also be updated here. The properties that get set are:

  • $this->request - To the $request parameter
  • $this->plugin - To the $request->params['plugin']
  • $this->passedArgs - Same as $request->params['pass]
  • View::$plugin - $this->plugin

Parameters

Cake\Http\ServerRequest $request
Request instance.

shutdownProcess()source public 

shutdownProcess( )

Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

  • triggers the component shutdown callback.
  • calls the Controller's afterFilter method.

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

startupProcess()source public 

startupProcess( )

Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.

  • Initializes components, which fires their initialize callback
  • Calls the controller beforeFilter.
  • triggers Component startup methods.

Returns

Cake\Http\Response|null

Methods used from Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait

dispatchEvent()source public 

dispatchEvent( string $name , array|null $data null , object|null $subject null )

Wrapper for creating and dispatching events.

Returns a dispatched event.

Parameters

string $name
Name of the event.
array|null $data optional null

Any value you wish to be transported with this event to it can be read by listeners.

object|null $subject optional null

The object that this event applies to ($this by default).

Returns

Cake\Event\Event

eventManager()source public 

eventManager( Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager null )

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Deprecated

3.5.0 Use getEventManager()/setEventManager() instead.

Parameters

Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager optional null
the eventManager to set

Returns

Cake\Event\EventManager

getEventManager()source public 

getEventManager( )

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Returns

Cake\Event\EventManager

setEventManager()source public 

setEventManager( Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager )

Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.

You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Parameters

Cake\Event\EventManager $eventManager
the eventManager to set

Returns


$this

Methods used from Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait

getTableLocator()source public 

getTableLocator( )

Gets the table locator.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface

setTableLocator()source public 

setTableLocator( Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator )

Sets the table locator.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator
LocatorInterface instance.

Returns


$this

tableLocator()source public 

tableLocator( Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator null )

Sets the table locator. If no parameters are passed, it will return the currently used locator.

Deprecated

3.5.0 Use getTableLocator()/setTableLocator() instead.

Parameters

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface $tableLocator optional null
LocatorInterface instance.

Returns

Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface

Methods used from Cake\Log\LogTrait

log()source public 

log( mixed $msg , integer|string $level LogLevel::ERROR , string|array $context [] )

Convenience method to write a message to Log. See Log::write() for more information on writing to logs.

Parameters

mixed $msg
Log message.
integer|string $level optional LogLevel::ERROR
Error level.
string|array $context optional []
Additional log data relevant to this message.

Returns

boolean
Success of log write.

Methods used from Cake\Utility\MergeVariablesTrait

_mergeProperty()source protected 

_mergeProperty( string $property , array $parentClasses , array $options )

Merge a single property with the values declared in all parent classes.

Parameters

string $property
The name of the property being merged.
array $parentClasses
An array of classes you want to merge with.
array $options
Options for merging the property, see _mergeVars()

_mergePropertyData()source protected 

_mergePropertyData( array $current , array $parent , boolean $isAssoc )

Merge each of the keys in a property together.

Parameters

array $current
The current merged value.
array $parent
The parent class' value.
boolean $isAssoc
Whether or not the merging should be done in associative mode.

Returns

mixed
The updated value.

_mergeVars()source protected 

_mergeVars( array $properties , array $options [] )

Merge the list of $properties with all parent classes of the current class.

Options:

  • associative - A list of properties that should be treated as associative arrays. Properties in this list will be passed through Hash::normalize() before merging.

Parameters

array $properties
An array of properties and the merge strategy for them.
array $options optional []
The options to use when merging properties.

Methods used from Cake\Datasource\ModelAwareTrait

_setModelClass()source protected 

_setModelClass( string $name )

Set the modelClass and modelKey properties based on conventions.

If the properties are already set they will not be overwritten

Parameters

string $name
Class name.

getModelType()source public 

getModelType( )

Get the model type to be used by this class

Returns

string

loadModel()source public 

loadModel( string|null $modelClass null , string|null $modelType null )

Loads and constructs repository objects required by this object

Typically used to load ORM Table objects as required. Can also be used to load other types of repository objects your application uses.

If a repository provider does not return an object a MissingModelException will be thrown.

Parameters

string|null $modelClass optional null
Name of model class to load. Defaults to $this->modelClass
string|null $modelType optional null
The type of repository to load. Defaults to the modelType() value.

Returns

Cake\Datasource\RepositoryInterface
The model instance created.

Throws

Cake\Datasource\Exception\MissingModelException
If the model class cannot be found.
InvalidArgumentException
When using a type that has not been registered.
UnexpectedValueException
If no model type has been defined

modelFactory()source public 

modelFactory( string $type , callable $factory )

Override a existing callable to generate repositories of a given type.

Parameters

string $type
The name of the repository type the factory function is for.
callable $factory
The factory function used to create instances.

modelType()source public 

modelType( string|null $modelType null )

Set or get the model type to be used by this class

Deprecated

3.5.0 Use getModelType()/setModelType() instead.

Parameters

string|null $modelType optional null
The model type or null to retrieve the current

Returns

string|Cake\Datasource\ModelAwareTrait
$this

setModelType()source public 

setModelType( string $modelType )

Set the model type to be used by this class

Parameters

string $modelType
The model type

Returns


$this

Methods used from Cake\Routing\RequestActionTrait

requestAction()source public 

requestAction( string|array $url , array $extra [] )

Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.

Under the hood this method uses Router::reverse() to convert the $url parameter into a string URL. You should use URL formats that are compatible with Router::reverse()

Examples

A basic example getting the return value of the controller action:

$variables = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular');

A basic example of request action to fetch a rendered page without the layout.

$viewHtml = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', ['return']);

You can also pass the URL as an array:

$vars = $this->requestAction(['controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'popular']);

Passing other request data

You can pass POST, GET, COOKIE and other data into the request using the appropriate keys. Cookies can be passed using the cookies key. Get parameters can be set with query and post data can be sent using the post key.

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'query' => ['page' => 1],
  'cookies' => ['remember_me' => 1],
]);

Sending environment or header values

By default actions dispatched with this method will use the global $_SERVER and $_ENV values. If you want to override those values for a request action, you can specify the values:

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'environment' => ['CONTENT_TYPE' => 'application/json']
]);

Transmitting the session

By default actions dispatched with this method will use the standard session object. If you want a particular session instance to be used, you need to specify it.

$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [
  'session' => new Session($someSessionConfig)
]);

Deprecated

3.3.0 You should refactor your code to use View Cells instead of this method.

Parameters

string|array $url

String or array-based url. Unlike other url arrays in CakePHP, this url will not automatically handle passed arguments in the $url parameter.

array $extra optional []

if array includes the key "return" it sets the autoRender to true. Can also be used to submit GET/POST data, and passed arguments.

Returns

mixed

Boolean true or false on success/failure, or contents of rendered action if 'return' is set in $extra.


Methods used from Cake\View\ViewVarsTrait

createView()source public 

createView( string|null $viewClass null )

Constructs the view class instance based on the current configuration.

Parameters

string|null $viewClass optional null
Optional namespaced class name of the View class to instantiate.

Returns

Cake\View\View

Throws

Cake\View\Exception\MissingViewException
If view class was not found.

set()source public 

set( string|array $name , mixed $value null )

Saves a variable or an associative array of variables for use inside a template.

Parameters

string|array $name
A string or an array of data.
mixed $value optional null

Value in case $name is a string (which then works as the key). Unused if $name is an associative array, otherwise serves as the values to $name's keys.

Returns


$this

viewBuilder()source public 

viewBuilder( )

Get the view builder being used.

Returns

Cake\View\ViewBuilder

viewOptions()source public 

viewOptions( string|array|null $options null , boolean $merge true )

Get/Set valid view options in the object's _validViewOptions property. The property is created as an empty array if it is not set. If called without any parameters it will return the current list of valid view options. See createView().

Parameters

string|array|null $options optional null
string or array of string to be appended to _validViewOptions.
boolean $merge optional true

Whether to merge with or override existing valid View options. Defaults to true.

Returns

array
The updated view options as an array.

Magic methods summary

isAuthorized()source public 

isAuthorized( $user )

Parameters

$user

Returns

boolean

Magic methods inherited from Cake\Event\EventDispatcherInterface

getEventManager()

Properties detail

$Viewsource

public Cake\View\View

Instance of the View created during rendering. Won't be set until after Controller::render() is called.

Deprecated

3.1.0 Use viewBuilder() instead.

$_componentssource

protected Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry

Instance of ComponentRegistry used to create Components

$_responseClasssource

protected string

The class name to use for creating the response object.

'Cake\Http\Response'

$_validViewOptionssource

protected array

These Controller properties will be passed from the Controller to the View as options.

See

Cake\View\View
[
    'passedArgs'
]

$autoRendersource

public boolean

Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.

true

$componentssource

public array

Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the class name.

Example:

public $components = ['RequestHandler', 'Acl'];

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers/components.html
[]

$helperssource

public array

An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the class name.

Example:

public $helpers = ['Form', 'Html', 'Time'];

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html#configuring-helpers-to-load
[]

$namesource

public string

The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate.

Set automatically using conventions in Controller::__construct().

$paginatesource

public array

Settings for pagination.

Used to pre-configure pagination preferences for the various tables your controller will be paginating.

See

Cake\Controller\Component\PaginatorComponent
[]

$passedArgssource

public array

Holds all passed params.

Deprecated

3.1.0 Use $this->request->getParam('pass') instead.
[]

$pluginsource

public string

Automatically set to the name of a plugin.

$requestsource

public Cake\Http\ServerRequest

An instance of a \Cake\Http\ServerRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers/request-response.html#request

$responsesource

public Cake\Http\Response

An instance of a Response object that contains information about the impending response

Link

https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers/request-response.html#response

Magic properties detail

$Authsource

public Cake\Controller\Component\AuthComponent

$Cookiesource

public Cake\Controller\Component\CookieComponent

$Csrfsource

public Cake\Controller\Component\CsrfComponent

$Flashsource

public Cake\Controller\Component\FlashComponent

$Paginatorsource

public Cake\Controller\Component\PaginatorComponent

$RequestHandlersource

public Cake\Controller\Component\RequestHandlerComponent

$Securitysource

public Cake\Controller\Component\SecurityComponent

© 2005–2017 The Cake Software Foundation, Inc.
Licensed under the MIT License.
CakePHP is a registered trademark of Cake Software Foundation, Inc.
We are not endorsed by or affiliated with CakePHP.
https://api.cakephp.org/3.4/class-Cake.Controller.Controller.html