# Faker # Faker is a PHP library that generates fake data for you. Whether you need to bootstrap your database, create good-looking XML documents, fill-in your persistence to stress test it, or anonymize data taken from a production service, Faker is for you. Faker is heavily inspired by Perl's [Data::Faker](http://search.cpan.org/~jasonk/Data-Faker-0.07/), and by ruby's [Faker](http://faker.rubyforge.org/). Faker requires PHP >= 5.3.3. [![Monthly Downloads](https://poser.pugx.org/fzaninotto/faker/d/monthly.png)](https://packagist.org/packages/fzaninotto/faker) [![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/fzaninotto/Faker.png)](http://travis-ci.org/fzaninotto/Faker) [![SensioLabsInsight](https://insight.sensiolabs.com/projects/eceb78a9-38d4-4ad5-8b6b-b52f323e3549/mini.png)](https://insight.sensiolabs.com/projects/eceb78a9-38d4-4ad5-8b6b-b52f323e3549) ## Basic Usage Use `Faker\Factory::create()` to create and initialize a faker generator, which can generate data by accessing properties named after the type of data you want. ```php name; // 'Lucy Cechtelar'; echo $faker->address; // "426 Jordy Lodge // Cartwrightshire, SC 88120-6700" echo $faker->text; // Sint velit eveniet. Rerum atque repellat voluptatem quia rerum. Numquam excepturi // beatae sint laudantium consequatur. Magni occaecati itaque sint et sit tempore. Nesciunt // amet quidem. Iusto deleniti cum autem ad quia aperiam. // A consectetur quos aliquam. In iste aliquid et aut similique suscipit. Consequatur qui // quaerat iste minus hic expedita. Consequuntur error magni et laboriosam. Aut aspernatur // voluptatem sit aliquam. Dolores voluptatum est. // Aut molestias et maxime. Fugit autem facilis quos vero. Eius quibusdam possimus est. // Ea quaerat et quisquam. Deleniti sunt quam. Adipisci consequatur id in occaecati. // Et sint et. Ut ducimus quod nemo ab voluptatum. ``` Even if this example shows a property access, each call to `$faker->name` yields a different (random) result. This is because Faker uses `__get()` magic, and forwards `Faker\Generator->$property` calls to `Faker\Generator->format($property)`. ```php name, "\n"; } // Adaline Reichel // Dr. Santa Prosacco DVM // Noemy Vandervort V // Lexi O'Conner // Gracie Weber // Roscoe Johns // Emmett Lebsack // Keegan Thiel // Wellington Koelpin II // Ms. Karley Kiehn V ``` **Tip**: For a quick generation of fake data, you can also use Faker as a command line tool thanks to [faker-cli](https://github.com/bit3/faker-cli). ## Formatters Each of the generator properties (like `name`, `address`, and `lorem`) are called "formatters". A faker generator has many of them, packaged in "providers". Here is a list of the bundled formatters in the default locale. ### `Faker\Provider\Base` randomDigit // 7 randomDigitNotNull // 5 randomNumber($nbDigits = NULL) // 79907610 randomFloat($nbMaxDecimals = NULL, $min = 0, $max = NULL) // 48.8932 numberBetween($min = 1000, $max = 9000) // 8567 randomLetter // 'b' randomElements($array = array ('a','b','c'), $count = 1) // array('c') randomElement($array = array ('a','b','c')) // 'b' numerify($string = '###') // '609' lexify($string = '????') // 'wgts' bothify($string = '## ??') // '42 jz' ### `Faker\Provider\Lorem` word // 'aut' words($nb = 3) // array('porro', 'sed', 'magni') sentence($nbWords = 6) // 'Sit vitae voluptas sint non voluptates.' sentences($nb = 3) // array('Optio quos qui illo error.', 'Laborum vero a officia id corporis.', 'Saepe provident esse hic eligendi.') paragraph($nbSentences = 3) // 'Ut ab voluptas sed a nam. Sint autem inventore aut officia aut aut blanditiis. Ducimus eos odit amet et est ut eum.' paragraphs($nb = 3) // array('Quidem ut sunt et quidem est accusamus aut. Fuga est placeat rerum ut. Enim ex eveniet facere sunt.', 'Aut nam et eum architecto fugit repellendus illo. Qui ex esse veritatis.', 'Possimus omnis aut incidunt sunt. Asperiores incidunt iure sequi cum culpa rem. Rerum exercitationem est rem.') text($maxNbChars = 200) // 'Fuga totam reiciendis qui architecto fugiat nemo. Consequatur recusandae qui cupiditate eos quod.' ### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Person` title($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Ms.' titleMale // 'Mr.' titleFemale // 'Ms.' suffix // 'Jr.' name($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Dr. Zane Stroman' firstName($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Maynard' firstNameMale // 'Maynard' firstNameFemale // 'Rachel' lastName // 'Zulauf' ### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Address` cityPrefix // 'Lake' secondaryAddress // 'Suite 961' state // 'NewMexico' stateAbbr // 'OH' citySuffix // 'borough' streetSuffix // 'Keys' buildingNumber // '484' city // 'West Judge' streetName // 'Keegan Trail' streetAddress // '439 Karley Loaf Suite 897' postcode // '17916' address // '8888 Cummings Vista Apt. 101, Susanbury, NY 95473' country // 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)' latitude // '77.147489' longitude // '86.211205' ### `Faker\Provider\en_US\PhoneNumber` phoneNumber // '132-149-0269x3767' ### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Company` catchPhrase // 'Monitored regional contingency' bs // 'e-enable robust architectures' company // 'Bogan-Treutel' companySuffix // 'and Sons' ### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Text` realText($maxNbChars = 200, $indexSize = 2) // "And yet I wish you could manage it?) 'And what are they made of?' Alice asked in a shrill, passionate voice. 'Would YOU like cats if you were never even spoke to Time!' 'Perhaps not,' Alice replied." ### `Faker\Provider\DateTime` unixTime($max = 'now') // 58781813 dateTime($max = 'now') // DateTime('2008-04-25 08:37:17') dateTimeAD($max = 'now') // DateTime('1800-04-29 20:38:49') iso8601($max = 'now') // '1978-12-09T10:10:29+0000' date($format = 'Y-m-d', $max = 'now') // '1979-06-09' time($format = 'H:i:s', $max = 'now') // '20:49:42' dateTimeBetween($startDate = '-30 years', $endDate = 'now') // DateTime('2003-03-15 02:00:49') dateTimeThisCentury($max = 'now') // DateTime('1915-05-30 19:28:21') dateTimeThisDecade($max = 'now') // DateTime('2007-05-29 22:30:48') dateTimeThisYear($max = 'now') // DateTime('2011-02-27 20:52:14') dateTimeThisMonth($max = 'now') // DateTime('2011-10-23 13:46:23') amPm($max = 'now') // 'pm' dayOfMonth($max = 'now') // '04' dayOfWeek($max = 'now') // 'Friday' month($max = 'now') // '06' monthName($max = 'now') // 'January' year($max = 'now') // '1993' century // 'VI' timezone // 'Europe/Paris' ### `Faker\Provider\Internet` email // 'tkshlerin@collins.com' safeEmail // 'king.alford@example.org' freeEmail // 'bradley72@gmail.com' companyEmail // 'russel.durward@mcdermott.org' freeEmailDomain // 'yahoo.com' safeEmailDomain // 'example.org' userName // 'wade55' domainName // 'wolffdeckow.net' domainWord // 'feeney' tld // 'biz' url // 'http://www.skilesdonnelly.biz/aut-accusantium-ut-architecto-sit-et.html' slug // 'aut-repellat-commodi-vel-itaque-nihil-id-saepe-nostrum' ipv4 // '109.133.32.252' localIpv4 // '10.242.58.8' ipv6 // '8e65:933d:22ee:a232:f1c1:2741:1f10:117c' macAddress // '43:85:B7:08:10:CA' ### `Faker\Provider\UserAgent` userAgent // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows CE) AppleWebKit/5350 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/13.0.888.0 Safari/5350' chrome // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; PPC Mac OS X 10_6_5) AppleWebKit/5312 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/14.0.894.0 Safari/5312' firefox // 'Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linuxi686; rv:7.0) Gecko/20101231 Firefox/3.6' safari // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10_7_1 rv:3.0; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11.3 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.11.3' opera // 'Opera/8.25 (Windows NT 5.1; en-US) Presto/2.9.188 Version/10.00' internetExplorer // 'Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows 98; Win 9x 4.90; Trident/3.0)' ### `Faker\Provider\Payment` creditCardType // 'MasterCard' creditCardNumber // '4485480221084675' creditCardExpirationDate // 04/13 creditCardExpirationDateString // '04/13' creditCardDetails // array('MasterCard', '4485480221084675', 'Aleksander Nowak', '04/13') ### `Faker\Provider\Color` hexcolor // '#fa3cc2' rgbcolor // '0,255,122' rgbColorAsArray // array(0,255,122) rgbCssColor // 'rgb(0,255,122)' safeColorName // 'fuchsia' colorName // 'Gainsbor' ### `Faker\Provider\File` fileExtension // 'avi' mimeType // 'video/x-msvideo' // Copy a random file from the source to the target directory and returns the fullpath or filename file($sourceDir = '/tmp', $targetDir = '/tmp') // '/path/to/targetDir/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' file($sourceDir, $targetDir, false) // '13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' ### `Faker\Provider\Image` // Image generation provided by LoremPixel (http://lorempixel.com/) imageUrl($width = 640, $height = 480) // 'http://lorempixel.com/640/480/' imageUrl($width, $height, 'cats') // 'http://lorempixel.com/800/600/cats/' image($dir = '/tmp', $width = 640, $height = 480) // '/tmp/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' image($dir, $width, $height, 'cats') // 'tmp/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' it's a cat! ### `Faker\Provider\Uuid` uuid // '7e57d004-2b97-0e7a-b45f-5387367791cd' ### `Faker\Provider\Barcode` ean13 // '4006381333931' ean8 // '73513537' ### `Faker\Provider\Miscellaneous` boolean($chanceOfGettingTrue = 50) // true md5 // 'de99a620c50f2990e87144735cd357e7' sha1 // 'f08e7f04ca1a413807ebc47551a40a20a0b4de5c' sha256 // '0061e4c60dac5c1d82db0135a42e00c89ae3a333e7c26485321f24348c7e98a5' locale // en_UK countryCode // UK languageCode // en ## Unique and Optional modifiers Faker provides two special providers, `unique()` and `optional()`, to be called before any provider. `optional()` can be useful for seeding non-required fields, like a mobile telephone number; `unique()` is required to populate fields that cannot accept twice the same value, like primary identifiers. ```php // unique() forces providers to return unique values $values = array(); for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) { // get a random digit, but always a new one, to avoid duplicates $values []= $faker->unique()->randomDigit; } print_r($values); // [4, 1, 8, 5, 0, 2, 6, 9, 7, 3] // providers with a limited range will throw an exception when no new unique value can be generated $values = array(); try { for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) { $values []= $faker->unique()->randomDigitNotNull; } } catch (\OverflowException $e) { echo "There are only 9 unique digits not null, Faker can't generate 10 of them!"; } // you can reset the unique modifier for all providers by passing true as first argument $faker->unique($reset = true)->randomDigitNotNull; // will not throw OverflowException since unique() was reset // tip: unique() keeps one array of values per provider // optional() sometimes bypasses the provider to return a default value instead (which defaults to NULL) $values = array(); for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) { // get a random digit, but also null sometimes $values []= $faker->optional()->randomDigit; } print_r($values); // [1, 4, null, 9, 5, null, null, 4, 6, null] // optional() accepts a weight argument to specify the probability of receiving the default value. // 0 will always return the default value; 1 will always return the provider. Default weight is 0.5. $faker->optional($weight = 0.1)->randomDigit; // 90% chance of NULL $faker->optional($weight = 0.9)->randomDigit; // 10% chance of NULL // optional() accepts a default argument to specify the default value to return. // Defaults to NULL. $faker->optional($weight = 0.5, $default = false)->randomDigit; // 50% chance of FALSE $faker->optional($weight = 0.9, $default = 'abc')->word; // 10% chance of 'abc' ``` ## Localization `Faker\Factory` can take a locale as an argument, to return localized data. If no localized provider is found, the factory fallbacks to the default locale (en_EN). ```php name, "\n"; } // Luce du Coulon // Auguste Dupont // Roger Le Voisin // Alexandre Lacroix // Jacques Humbert-Roy // Thérèse Guillet-Andre // Gilles Gros-Bodin // Amélie Pires // Marcel Laporte // Geneviève Marchal ``` You can check available Faker locales in the source code, [under the `Provider` directory](https://github.com/fzaninotto/Faker/tree/master/src/Faker/Provider). The localization of Faker is an ongoing process, for which we need your help. Don't hesitate to create localized providers to your own locale and submit a PR! ## Populating Entities Using an ORM or an ODM Faker provides adapters for Object-Relational and Object-Document Mappers (currently, [Propel](http://www.propelorm.org), [Doctrine2](http://www.doctrine-project.org/projects/orm/2.0/docs/en), and [Mandango](https://github.com/mandango/mandango) are supported). These adapters ease the population of databases through the Entity classes provided by an ORM library (or the population of document stores using Document classes provided by an ODM library). To populate entities, create a new populator class (using a generator instance as parameter), then list the class and number of all the entities that must be generated. To launch the actual data population, call the `execute()` method. Here is an example showing how to populate 5 `Author` and 10 `Book` objects: ```php addEntity('Author', 5); $populator->addEntity('Book', 10); $insertedPKs = $populator->execute(); ``` The populator uses name and column type guessers to populate each column with relevant data. For instance, Faker populates a column named `first_name` using the `firstName` formatter, and a column with a `TIMESTAMP` type using the `dateTime` formatter. The resulting entities are therefore coherent. If Faker misinterprets a column name, you can still specify a custom closure to be used for populating a particular column, using the third argument to `addEntity()`: ```php addEntity('Book', 5, array( 'ISBN' => function() use ($generator) { return $generator->randomNumber(13); } )); ``` In this example, Faker will guess a formatter for all columns except `ISBN`, for which the given anonymous function will be used. **Tip**: To ignore some columns, specify `null` for the column names in the third argument of `addEntity()`. This is usually necessary for columns added by a behavior: ```php addEntity('Book', 5, array( 'CreatedAt' => null, 'UpdatedAt' => null, )); ``` Of course, Faker does not populate autoincremented primary keys. In addition, `Faker\ORM\Propel\Populator::execute()` returns the list of inserted PKs, indexed by class: ```php (34, 35, 36, 37, 38), // 'Book' => (456, 457, 458, 459, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475) // ) ``` In the previous example, the `Book` and `Author` models share a relationship. Since `Author` entities are populated first, Faker is smart enough to relate the populated `Book` entities to one of the populated `Author` entities. Lastly, if you want to execute an arbitrary function on an entity before insertion, use the fourth argument of the `addEntity()` method: ```php addEntity('Book', 5, array(), array( function($book) { $book->publish(); }, )); ``` ## Seeding the Generator You may want to get always the same generated data - for instance when using Faker for unit testing purposes. The generator offers a `seed()` method, which seeds the random number generator. Calling the same script twice with the same seed produces the same results. ```php seed(1234); echo $faker->name; // 'Jess Mraz I'; ``` > **Tip**: DateTime formatters won't reproduce the same fake data if you don't fix the `$max` value: > > ```php > // even when seeded, this line will return different results because $max varies > $faker->dateTime(); // equivalent to $faker->dateTime($max = 'now') > // make sure you fix the $max parameter > $faker->dateTime('2014-02-25 08:37:17'); // will return always the same date when seeded ## Faker Internals: Understanding Providers A `Faker\Generator` alone can't do much generation. It needs `Faker\Provider` objects to delegate the data generation to them. `Faker\Factory::create()` actually creates a `Faker\Generator` bundled with the default providers. Here is what happens under the hood: ```php addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Person($faker)); $faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Address($faker)); $faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\PhoneNumber($faker)); $faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Company($faker)); $faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\Lorem($faker)); $faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\Internet($faker)); ```` Whenever you try to access a property on the `$faker` object, the generator looks for a method with the same name in all the providers attached to it. For instance, calling `$faker->name` triggers a call to `Faker\Provider\Person::name()`. And since Faker starts with the last provider, you can easily override existing formatters: just add a provider containing methods named after the formatters you want to override. That means that you can easily add your own providers to a `Faker\Generator` instance. A provider is usually a class extending `\Faker\Provider\Base`. This parent class allows you to use methods like `lexify()` or `randomNumber()`; it also gives you access to formatters of other providers, through the protected `$generator` property. The new formatters are the public methods of the provider class. Here is an example provider for populating Book data: ```php generator->sentence($nbWords); return substr($sentence, 0, strlen($sentence) - 1); } public function ISBN() { return $this->generator->randomNumber(13); } } ``` To register this provider, just add a new instance of `\Faker\Provider\Book` to an existing generator: ```php addProvider(new \Faker\Provider\Book($faker)); ``` Now you can use the two new formatters like any other Faker formatter: ```php setTitle($faker->title); $book->setISBN($faker->ISBN); $book->setSummary($faker->text); $book->setPrice($faker->randomNumber(2)); ``` **Tip**: A provider can also be a Plain Old PHP Object. In that case, all the public methods of the provider become available to the generator. ## Real Life Usage The following script generates a valid XML document: ```php boolean(25)): ?>
streetAddress ?> city ?> postcode ?> state ?>
boolean(33)): ?> bs ?> boolean(33)): ?> boolean(15)): ?>
text(400) ?> ]]>
``` Running this script produces a document looking like: ```xml
182 Harrison Cove North Lloyd 45577 Alabama
orchestrate compelling web-readiness
90111 Hegmann Inlet South Geovanymouth 69961-9311 Colorado
9791 Nona Corner Harberhaven 74062-8191 RhodeIsland
11161 Schultz Via Feilstad 98019 NewJersey
6106 Nader Village Suite 753 McLaughlinstad 43189-8621 Missouri
expedite viral synergies
7546 Kuvalis Plaza South Wilfrid 77069 Georgia
478 Daisha Landing Apt. 510 West Lizethhaven 30566-5362 WestVirginia
orchestrate dynamic networks
1251 Koelpin Mission North Revastad 81620 Maryland
6396 Langworth Hills Apt. 446 New Carlos 89399-0268 Wyoming
2246 Kreiger Station Apt. 291 Kaydenmouth 11397-1072 Wyoming
grow sticky portals
``` ## Language specific formatters ### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\Address` ```php region; // "Liberecký kraj" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\Company` ```php ico; // "69663963" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\DateTime` ```php monthNameGenitive; // "prosince" echo $faker->formattedDate; // "12. listopadu 2015" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Person` ```php cpr; // "051280-2387" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Address` ```php kommune; // "Frederiksberg" // Generates a random region name echo $faker->region; // "Region Sjælland" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Company` ```php cvr; // "32458723" // Generates a random P number echo $faker->p; // "5398237590" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Company` ```php siren; // 082 250 104 // Generates a random SIRET number echo $faker->siret; // 347 355 708 00224 // Generates a random SIRET number (controlling the number of sequential digits) echo $faker->siret(3); // 438 472 611 01513 ``` ### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Address` ```php departmentName; // "Haut-Rhin" // Generates a random department number echo $faker->departmentNumber; // "2B" // Generates a random department info (department number => department name) $faker->department; // array('18' => 'Cher'); // Generates a random region echo $faker->region; // "Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\ja_JP\Person` ```php kanaName; // "アオタ ナオコ" // Generates a 'kana' first name echo $faker->firstKanaName; // "トモミ" // Generates a 'kana' last name echo $faker->lastKanaName; // "ナギサ" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Person` ```php pesel; // "40061451555" // Generates a random personal identity card number echo $faker->personalIdentityNumber; // "AKX383360" // Generates a random taxpayer identification number (NIP) echo $faker->taxpayerIdentificationNumber; // '8211575109' ``` ### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Company` ```php regon; // "714676680" // Generates a random local REGON number echo $faker->regonLocal; // "15346111382836" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Payment` ```php bank; // "Narodowy Bank Polski" // Generates a random bank account number echo $faker->bankAccountNumber; // "PL14968907563953822118075816" ``` ### `Faker\Provider\pt_PT\Person` ```php taxpayerIdentificationNumber; // '165249277' ``` ### `Faker\Provider\ro_RO\Person` ```php prefixMale; // "ing." // Generates a random female name prefix/title echo $faker->prefixFemale; // "d-na." // Generates a random male fist name echo $faker->firstNameMale; // "Adrian" // Generates a random female fist name echo $faker->firstNameFemale; // "Miruna" // Generates a random Personal Numerical Code (CNP) echo $faker->cnp; // "2800523081231" echo $faker->cnp($gender = NULL, $century = NULL, $county = NULL); // Valid option values: // $gender: m, f, 1, 2 // $century: 1800, 1900, 2000, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 // $county: 2 letter ISO 3166-2:RO county codes and B1-B6 for Bucharest's 6 sectors ``` ### `Faker\Provider\ro_RO\PhoneNumber` ```php tollFreePhoneNumber; // "0800123456" // Generates a random premium-rate phone number echo $faker->premiumRatePhoneNumber; // "0900123456" ``` ## License Faker is released under the MIT Licence. See the bundled LICENSE file for details.