Admin panels with Filament

Pathshala’s accountant manages 1,200 students across two centres, and every list, form and filter she needs would be a controller, a view and a test written by hand. An admin panel package generates them from the model. With Filament 5.10.2, two commands gave Pathshala a login page, a students table, create and edit forms and six routes.

This lesson builds that panel, then makes it safe: only office staff get in, each action follows the model’s policy, each centre sees its own students, and the dashboard’s numbers match the database. It ends with how to choose between Filament, Laravel’s own Nova and admin pages of your own.

Two commands make a panel and a resource

php artisan filament:install --panels writes a panel providerpanel provider: A service provider class, such as AdminPanelProvider, that configures one Filament panel: its path, login, colours, middleware and the folders where its resources, pages and widgets are found., AdminPanelProvider, and registers it in bootstrap/providers.php. php artisan make:filament-resource Student --generate then writes a Filament resourceFilament resource: A class that connects a panel to one Eloquent model, with a form schema for create and edit pages, a table class for the list page, and the pages and routes for both.: one class that names the model, plus a form schema, a table class and three pages. The run starts from Pathshala with filament/filament installed:

"""A Filament 5.10.2 admin panel for Pathshala: the project with filament/filament installed (composer require -W
filament/filament:^5.10, with PHP's zip extension), the centres and students tables migrated, then
filament:install --panels, the provider it registers, make:filament-resource Student --generate, the files it wrote,
the table class it generated from the columns, and the routes of the panel. Files: the folder admin-base/ next to
this file."""

from session import run

run(
    """
    php artisan migrate --force
    php artisan filament:install --panels --no-interaction --quiet
    cat bootstrap/providers.php
    php artisan make:filament-resource Student --generate --no-interaction --quiet
    find app/Filament -type f | sort
    cat app/Filament/Resources/Students/Tables/StudentsTable.php
    php artisan route:list --path=admin
    """,
    app=True,
    overlay=("admin-base",),
    fixture="pathshala-filament",
    php_ini=("extension=zip",),
)

$ php artisan migrate --force
   INFO  Running migrations.

  2031_01_01_000002_create_centres_and_students_tables .................. DONE
$ php artisan filament:install --panels --no-interaction --quiet
$ cat bootstrap/providers.php
<?php

return [
    App\Providers\AppServiceProvider::class,
    App\Providers\Filament\AdminPanelProvider::class,
];
$ php artisan make:filament-resource Student --generate --no-interaction --quiet
$ find app/Filament -type f | sort
app/Filament/Resources/Students/Pages/CreateStudent.php
app/Filament/Resources/Students/Pages/EditStudent.php
app/Filament/Resources/Students/Pages/ListStudents.php
app/Filament/Resources/Students/Schemas/StudentForm.php
app/Filament/Resources/Students/StudentResource.php
app/Filament/Resources/Students/Tables/StudentsTable.php
$ cat app/Filament/Resources/Students/Tables/StudentsTable.php
<?php

namespace App\Filament\Resources\Students\Tables;

use Filament\Actions\BulkActionGroup;
use Filament\Actions\DeleteBulkAction;
use Filament\Actions\EditAction;
use Filament\Tables\Columns\TextColumn;
use Filament\Tables\Table;

class StudentsTable
{
    public static function configure(Table $table): Table
    {
        return $table
            ->columns([
                TextColumn::make('centre.name')
                    ->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('name')
                    ->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('admission_no')
                    ->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('fee_status')
                    ->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('dues_paise')
                    ->numeric()
                    ->sortable(),
                TextColumn::make('guardian_phone')
                    ->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('created_at')
                    ->dateTime()
                    ->sortable()
                    ->toggleable(isToggledHiddenByDefault: true),
                TextColumn::make('updated_at')
                    ->dateTime()
                    ->sortable()
                    ->toggleable(isToggledHiddenByDefault: true),
            ])
            ->filters([
                //
            ])
            ->recordActions([
                EditAction::make(),
            ])
            ->toolbarActions([
                BulkActionGroup::make([
                    DeleteBulkAction::make(),
                ]),
            ]);
    }
}
$ php artisan route:list --path=admin
  GET|HEAD   admin filament.admin.pages.dashboard › Filament\Pages › Dashboard
  GET|HEAD   admin/login ... filament.admin.auth.login › Filament\Auth › Login
  POST       admin/logout filament.admin.auth.logout › Filament\Auth › Logout…
  GET|HEAD   admin/students filament.admin.resources.students.index › App\Fil…
  GET|HEAD   admin/students/create filament.admin.resources.students.create  …
  GET|HEAD   admin/students/{record}/edit filament.admin.resources.students.e…

                                                            Showing [6] routes

The resource got six files and the panel six routes: the dashboard, login, logout and the students’ list, create and edit pages. --generate read the students table and put every column into the table class, guardian_phone included. Generated code is a first draft: Pathshala’s finished table drops the phone, shows the dues in rupees and adds a filter by fee status. The three parts split the work: the form schema lists the fields of the create and edit pages, the table class lists columns, filters and actions, and the pages give the routes.

<?php

namespace App\Filament\Resources\Students\Tables;

use Filament\Actions\BulkActionGroup;
use Filament\Actions\DeleteAction;
use Filament\Actions\DeleteBulkAction;
use Filament\Actions\EditAction;
use Filament\Tables\Columns\TextColumn;
use Filament\Tables\Filters\SelectFilter;
use Filament\Tables\Table;
use Illuminate\Support\Number;

class StudentsTable
{
    public static function configure(Table $table): Table
    {
        return $table
            ->columns([
                TextColumn::make('admission_no')->label('Admission no.')->searchable(),
                TextColumn::make('name')->searchable()->sortable(),
                TextColumn::make('centre.name')->label('Centre'),
                TextColumn::make('fee_status')->badge(),
                TextColumn::make('dues_paise')->label('Dues')
                    ->formatStateUsing(fn (int $state): string => Number::currency($state / 100, in: 'INR', locale: 'en_IN'))
                    ->sortable(),
            ])
            ->filters([
                SelectFilter::make('fee_status')
                    ->options(['paid' => 'Paid', 'due' => 'Due', 'overdue' => 'Overdue']),
            ])
            ->recordActions([
                EditAction::make(),
                DeleteAction::make(),
            ])
            ->toolbarActions([
                BulkActionGroup::make([
                    DeleteBulkAction::make(),
                ]),
            ]);
    }
}

<?php

namespace App\Filament\Resources\Students\Schemas;

use Filament\Forms\Components\Select;
use Filament\Forms\Components\TextInput;
use Filament\Schemas\Schema;

class StudentForm
{
    public static function configure(Schema $schema): Schema
    {
        return $schema
            ->components([
                Select::make('centre_id')->relationship('centre', 'name')->required(),
                TextInput::make('name')->required()->maxLength(120),
                TextInput::make('admission_no')->required()->unique(ignoreRecord: true),
                Select::make('fee_status')
                    ->options(['paid' => 'Paid', 'due' => 'Due', 'overdue' => 'Overdue'])
                    ->required(),
                TextInput::make('dues_paise')->label('Dues in paise')->numeric()->minValue(0)->default(0)->required(),
                TextInput::make('guardian_phone')->tel()->required(),
            ]);
    }
}

The panel lets in only the users the User model allows

A panel is a second application inside yours, so the first question is who may open it. Follow one request through the checks:

The tests below run with APP_ENV=testing. Before the change, the User model is the skeleton’s, and every signed-in member of staff was refused. Filament’s middleware allows a User that does not implement FilamentUser only in the local environment, so a panel that worked on a laptop answers 403 in production. Implementing the contract’s canAccessPanel() decides it instead:

"""Who may open Pathshala's Filament panel: the panel and the Student resource (finished table with a fee filter),
seeded with two centres, six students and three staff, then two test classes: DefaultAccessTest with the User model
as the skeleton has it, and PanelAccessTest after User implements FilamentUser with canAccessPanel().
Files: the folders admin-base/, admin-panel/ and access/ next to this file."""

from session import run

run(
    """
    export COLLISION_IGNORE_DURATION=true
    php artisan test --filter=DefaultAccessTest
    cp stubs/User.php app/Models/User.php
    php artisan test --filter=PanelAccessTest
    """,
    app=True,
    overlay=("admin-base", "admin-panel", "access"),
    fixture="pathshala-filament",
    php_ini=("extension=zip",),
)

$ export COLLISION_IGNORE_DURATION=true
$ php artisan test --filter=DefaultAccessTest
   PASS  Tests\Feature\DefaultAccessTest
  ✓ a guest is sent to the panel login
  ✓ outside local every signed in user is refused

  Tests:    2 passed (6 assertions)
  Duration: …s
$ cp stubs/User.php app/Models/User.php
$ php artisan test --filter=PanelAccessTest
   PASS  Tests\Feature\PanelAccessTest
  ✓ a teacher is refused
  ✓ the accountant sees the students and their dues
  ✓ the overdue filter keeps three of six students

  Tests:    3 passed (13 assertions)
  Duration: …s

After canAccessPanel() returned true for the accountant and the admin, the teacher still got 403, while the accountant saw six students and ₹4,500.00 of dues for Asha Verma. The Livewire test drove the table itself: filterTable('fee_status', 'overdue') left three students.

Filament, Nova or admin pages of your own

Three ways can serve Pathshala’s office. Filament is an open-source package under the MIT licence, built on Livewire, Alpine.js and Tailwind CSS by its own team, outside Laravel. Laravel Nova is Laravel’s own commercial admin panel, which needs a licence key and a production URL to run in production. Admin pages of your own are Blade, Livewire or Inertia pages, often started from one of Laravel’s starter kits, with every screen written by you.

Filament fits an office that needs many tables and forms soon. Pages of your own fit a few screens that must look like the rest of the product. Nova fits a team already licensed for it. Whichever you pick, pin its major version in composer.json, because each Filament major has asked existing panels for changes:

A constraint such as "filament/filament": "^5.10" accepts every 5.x release from 5.10 on and keeps 6.0 out until you upgrade on purpose, with the upgrade guide open.

Policies on every row, and bulk actions that ask about each record Pro: opens with a Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass

One panel for many centres, and the queries tenancy does not cover Pro: opens with a Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass

Dashboard numbers you can test, and what polling costs Pro: opens with a Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass

Practise

In your own Pathshala project, install Filament with --panels, generate a Student resource with --generate, and remove every column that the office does not need. Then implement FilamentUser with a role check, and write a Livewire test that filters the table by fee status. These questions check the three opening sections:

Interview questions

Warm-up: why does a new Filament panel work on your laptop but answer 403 in production?

Filament’s authentication middleware lets a signed-in User that does not implement FilamentUser into the panel only when the app’s environment is local. Anywhere else it answers 403, which the recorded tests showed for all three staff with APP_ENV=testing. Implement Filament\Models\Contracts\FilamentUser on the User model and return true from canAccessPanel() only for the roles that need the panel, such as an accountant or an admin.

The module’s bank keeps three panel questions for longer answers:

Key takeaways

• filament:install --panels adds a panel provider, and make:filament-resource --generate writes a resource with a form, a table and three pages from the model’s columns, which you then review.
• A User that does not implement FilamentUser gets into the panel only locally, so canAccessPanel() is what lets the right staff in elsewhere.
• Filament is an open-source package built on Livewire, Nova is Laravel’s commercial panel, and pages of your own trade generated screens for full control; pin the major you choose.