DEV Community: Ankit Verma

Why Use Monospace Font for Amounts?

Ankit Verma — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:54:22 +0000

Why Use Monospace Font for Amounts?

Sometimes small design choices make a big difference. For example:

.amount {
    font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
}

This uses a monospace font, where every letter and number takes the same space.

Why is this useful?

When amounts (like prices, totals, or reports) are shown, they look clean and properly aligned. In normal fonts, some numbers are wider and some are thinner, which can make things look messy.

Simple benefit:

Amounts line up nicely
Easier to read
Looks neat and organized

So, using a monospace font for amounts helps your data look clear and professional with just one simple CSS rule.

Download and Save WhatsApp Media Using Media ID (WhatsApp Cloud API) in Laravel and Core PHP

Ankit Verma — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 06:02:56 +0000

When working with the WhatsApp Cloud API, media files such as
images, videos, documents, and audio are not sent directly. Instead,
WhatsApp provides a Media ID, which you must use to fetch the actual
file and store it on your server.

Laravel Method (Recommended)
Core PHP Method
MIME Type Helper Function

Step 1: MIME Type to Extension Function

protected function _get_extension_by_mime($mimeType)
{
    $map = [
        'image/jpeg' => 'jpg',
        'image/png' => 'png',
        'image/webp' => 'webp',
        'video/mp4' => 'mp4',
        'video/3gpp' => '3gp',
        'audio/mpeg' => 'mp3',
        'audio/ogg' => 'ogg',
        'audio/amr' => 'amr',
        'application/pdf' => 'pdf',
        'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document' => 'docx',
        // Add more mime types as needed
    ];

    return $map[$mimeType] ?? null;
}

Method 1: Laravel Method (Recommended)

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

public function downloadWhatsAppMedia($media_id, $access_token)
{
    if (!$media_id) return false;

    $url = "https://graph.facebook.com/v18.0/" . $media_id;

    $response = Http::withToken($access_token)->get($url);

    $response = json_decode($response->body(), true);

    if (!isset($response['url'])) return false;

    $media_url = $response['url'];

    $ext = $this->_get_extension_by_mime($response['mime_type']);

    $folder = public_path("/whatsapp_media/"); // or storage_path("/whatsapp_media/")

    if (!is_dir($folder)) mkdir($folder, 0777, true);

    $file_name = date('Ymd') . '-' . uniqid() . time() . '.' . $ext;

    $file_path = $folder . $file_name;

    Http::withToken($access_token)
        ->sink($file_path)
        ->get($media_url);

    return "/whatsapp_media/" . $file_name;
}

Method 2: Core PHP Method

function get_media_url($media_id, $access_token)
{
    if (!$media_id) return false;

    $curl = curl_init();

    curl_setopt_array($curl, [
        CURLOPT_URL => "https://graph.facebook.com/v18.0/" . $media_id,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
            "Authorization: Bearer " . $access_token
        ],
    ]);

    $response = curl_exec($curl);

    curl_close($curl);

    $response = json_decode($response, true);

    if (!isset($response['url'])) return false;

    $media_url = $response['url'];

    $ext = $this->_get_extension_by_mime($response['mime_type']);

    $folder = __DIR__ . "/whatsapp_media/";

    if (!is_dir($folder)) mkdir($folder, 0777, true);

    $file_name = date('Ymd') . '-' . uniqid() . time() . '.' . $ext;

    $file_path = $folder . $file_name;

    $command = 'curl -k -L -s "'.$media_url.'" -H "Authorization: Bearer '.$access_token.'" > '.$file_path;

    // if any issue with above command, use this
    // $command = 'curl -L -s "' . $media_url . '" -H "Authorization: Bearer ' . $access_token . '" > "' . $file_path . '"';

    shell_exec($command);

    return "whatsapp_media/" . $file_name;
}

How to Start, Stop, and Restart Nginx

Ankit Verma — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 05:54:02 +0000

🔹 Nginx (System Service)

Start

sudo systemctl start nginx

Start Nginx service.

Stop

sudo systemctl stop nginx

Stop Nginx.

Restart

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Restart Nginx (stop + start).

Reload (no downtime)

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Reload config safely.

Check status

sudo systemctl status nginx

See if Nginx is running.

Test config

sudo nginx -t

Check config before reload/restart.

🔹 Laravel Valet (Nginx managed by Valet)

Start Valet

valet start

Starts Nginx, PHP, DnsMasq.

Stop Valet

valet stop

Stops all Valet services.

Restart Valet

valet restart

Restart everything.

Restart only Nginx

valet restart nginx

Reload config

valet reload

Reload without full restart.

Check status

valet status

Diagnose issues

valet diagnose

How to delete a Git branch locally and remotely?

Ankit Verma — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 07:22:03 +0000

How to delete a Git branch locally and remotely?

Delete a local branch
Safe delete (recommended)
Deletes the branch only if it’s already merged.

git branch -d branch_name

Force delete (even if not merged)
Use this carefully:

git branch -D branch_name

Delete a remote branch

git push origin --delete branch_name

Delete local + remote together (common workflow)

git branch -d branch_name
git push origin --delete branch_name

Important

You cannot delete the branch you are currently on

git checkout main

Replace branch_name with your actual branch name
origin is the default remote — change it if needed

Verify deletion

List local branches

git branch

List remote branches

git branch -r

Clean up stale remote branches

git fetch -p

Quick Action Command

Delete local (safe): git branch -d branch
Delete local (force): git branch -D branch
Delete remote: git push origin --delete branch
Cleanup: git fetch -p

How to Undo the Most Recent Local Commits in Git

Ankit Verma — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:01:00 +0000

Git makes it easy to undo your most recent local commits (commits that haven’t been pushed yet). Below are the safest and most common ways to do it.

1. Undo the Last Commit (Keep Changes Staged)

If you want to undo the last commit but keep your changes staged:

git reset --soft HEAD~1

2. Undo the Last Commit (Keep Changes Unstaged)

To undo the commit but keep the changes in your working directory:

git reset --mixed HEAD~1

or simply:

git reset HEAD~1

3. Completely Remove the Last Commit

If you want to remove the commit and discard all changes:

git reset --hard HEAD~1

⚠️ This permanently deletes your changes.

Use only when you are absolutely sure.

4. Undo Multiple Local Commits

To undo the last N commits, replace N with the number of commits:

git reset --soft HEAD~N

Example (undo last 3 commits):

git reset --soft HEAD~3

Use these commands only for local commits.

If the commit is already pushed to a remote repository, prefer git revert to avoid breaking shared history.

How to Check External API Throttle Limit in Laravel

Ankit Verma — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 05:02:36 +0000

When working with external APIs, you don’t always know their rate limits in advance. Most APIs don’t publish limits or send headers until you exceed them.
So the only reliable way is to detect throttling from the API response itself.

This short example shows how to check if an API is throttling your requests in Laravel.

The Idea

Call the external API
Check if the response status is 429 (Too Many Requests)
Read rate-limit headers (if provided)
Handle throttling gracefully

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

public function checkApiThrottle()
{
    $response = Http::withOptions([
        'http_errors' => false, // prevent exceptions
    ])->get({API-ENDPOINT});

    // Check if API is throttling
    if ($response->status() === 429) {
        return response()->json([
            'throttled' => true,
            'message' => 'API rate limit exceeded',
            'retry_after' => $response->header('Retry-After'),
        ], 429);
    }

    // Read rate-limit headers (if available)
    $rateLimit = [
        'limit'     => $response->header('X-RateLimit-Limit'),
        'remaining' => $response->header('X-RateLimit-Remaining'),
        'reset'     => $response->header('X-RateLimit-Reset'),
    ];

    return response()->json([
        'throttled' => false,
        'rate_limit_headers' => $rateLimit,
        'data' => $response->json(),
    ]);
}

Or you can check as your requirement ($maxCall)

public function checkApiThrottle()
{
    $statusCode = '';
    $count = 0;
    $responseArray = [];
    $maxCall = 10;

    while ($count < $maxCall) {
        $response = Http::get({API-ENDPOINT});

        $statusCode = $response->status();
        $count++;

        $responseArray[] = [
            'statusCode' => $statusCode,
            'count' => $count
        ];

        if ($statusCode !== 200) {
            break;
        }
    }

    echo "<pre>".print_r($responseArray,true)."</pre>";
}

How to create custom helper functions in Laravel ?

Ankit Verma — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:16:25 +0000

How to Create Custom Helper Functions in Laravel

Sometimes you need small reusable functions across your Laravel app—formatting data, generating slugs, or handling common logic. Custom helper functions are perfect for this.

Here’s the simplest way to create them in Laravel.

Step 1: Create a Helper File

Create a new file:

app/Helpers/helpers.php

Add your helper functions:

<?php

if (!function_exists('format_price')) {
    function format_price($amount)
    {
        return '₹' . number_format($amount, 2);
    }
}

Step 2: Autoload the Helper File

Open composer.json and add the file under autoload → files:

"autoload": {
    "files": [
        "app/Helpers/helpers.php"
    ]
}

Then run:

composer dump-autoload

Step 3: Use the Helper Anywhere

Now you can call your helper function from anywhere in your app:

echo format_price(1500);

Output:

₹1,500.00

Optional: Organize Multiple Helpers

You can create multiple helper files like:

app/Helpers/string.php
app/Helpers/date.php
app/Helpers/common.php

And list them all in composer.json.

How do I get the query builder to output its raw SQL query as a string?

Ankit Verma — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:06:28 +0000

How to Get the Raw SQL Query from Laravel’s Query Builder

While working with Laravel’s Query Builder or Eloquent, there are times when you just want to see the actual SQL query being generated—especially when debugging complex queries.

Laravel provides a clean and simple way to do this.

Get the Raw SQL (with placeholders)

Use the toSql() method to view the generated SQL:

$query = User::where('email', 'like', '%gmail.com%');

dd($query->toSql());

Output:

select * from `users` where `email` like ?

This shows the query with ? placeholders instead of real values.

Get the Query Bindings
To see the values bound to the placeholders:

dd($query->getBindings());

Get the Full SQL Query (Debugging Only)
If you want to see the SQL with actual values filled in:

$sql = vsprintf(
    str_replace('?', "'%s'", $query->toSql()),
    $query->getBindings()
);

dd($sql);

Output:

select * from `users` where `email` like '%gmail.com%'

This method is for debugging or logging only. Do not use it to execute queries.

Bonus: Log All SQL Queries
You can log every SQL query executed by Laravel:

DB::listen(function ($query) {
    logger($query->sql, $query->bindings);
});

How to check if a string contains specific words in PHP

Ankit Verma — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 11:44:41 +0000

There are multiple ways to check if a string contains any words from the given array using PHP. You can check one specific word or multiple words from an array.

Check if a string contains a specific word:
Use the PHP str_contains() function to determine if a string contains a specific word.

<?php 

$string = 'Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry area.'; 
$word = 'dummy'; 

// Case sensitive 
if (str_contains($string, $word)) { 
    echo "String contains '$word'"; 
} else { 
    echo "String does not contains '$word'"; 
} 

// Case insensitive 
if (stripos($string, $word) !== false) { 
    echo "String contains '$word'"; 
} else { 
    echo "String does not contains '$word'"; 
} 

?>

php

Check if a string contains multiple specific words:
If you want to check multiple words in a string, define words in an array. The following code snippets can help to check whether a string contains any words from the given array using PHP.

<?php 

$string = "Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry area."; 
$words = ["ipsum", "text", "area"]; 

// Using str_contains (PHP 8+) 
foreach ($words as $word) { 
    if (str_contains($string, $word)) { 
        echo "String contains '$word'\n"; 
    } 
} 

// Using stripos (case-insensitive) 
foreach ($words as $word) { 
    if (stripos($string, $word) !== false) { 
        echo "String contains '$word'\n"; 
    } 
} 

// Using preg_match (case-insensitive) 
$pattern = '/\b(' . implode('|', array_map('preg_quote', $words)) . ')\b/i'; 
if (preg_match($pattern, $string, $matches)) { 
    echo "String contains a word from the array: " . implode(", ", array_unique($matches)) . "\n"; 
} 

?>

Custom function to check if a string contains specific words from an array and return a boolean value (true/false) using PHP:

function stringContainsWords(string $string, array $words): bool 
{ 
    foreach ($words as $word) { 
        if (stripos($string, $word) !== false) { 
            return true; // If any word is found, return true immediately 
        } 
    } 
    return false; // Words were not found 
}

Say Goodbye to Cronjobs: It’s Time to Use Task Scheduler & Queue in Laravel

Ankit Verma — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:33:08 +0000

Use Laravel's Scheduler & Queues Instead of Dispersing Cronjobs

There is a much cleaner and more manageable solution in Laravel if your project still uses several cronjobs on the server, such as one for emailing, another for cleanup, and another for backups. You can handle heavy and recurring tasks from within your application by combining Laravel's Task Scheduler with its Queue system rather than dispersing cron entries throughout your system.
In the middle

This method makes it easier to scale and debug your architecture as your application expands, helps you organize all scheduled work in your application, pushes heavy processes into the background, and keeps the server clean. This is how it operates and the reasons it is superior.

Reasons to Leave Cronjobs:

1. A single central scheduling file

Conventional cronjobs require you to manage multiple server cron entries that are located outside of your codebase. It is simple to forget where they are, what they do, or how they are set up.

In contrast, all of your scheduled tasks can be defined within your application using Laravel's Task Scheduler, typically in the app/Console/Kernel.php file. This implies that your schedule is consistent across environments, version-controlled, and easily accessible.

2. Use Cron as a Trigger Only

Your server only needs one cron entry to run Laravel's scheduler once every minute. Laravel's scheduler is triggered by this single entry, which subsequently verifies and executes all specified schedules. The cronjob merely transfers control to Laravel; it doesn't perform any heavy lifting.
Laravel

This is crucial because complex tasks like sending hundreds of emails, creating sizable reports, or synchronizing external services ought to be delegated to background workers rather than being carried out directly from a cron process.

How to Enhance Your Workflow with Laravel's Scheduler + Queues

✏ Central Configuration: This eliminates the need to search for cron entries across various servers or environments.
✏ Background Processing: In order to avoid interfering with other application processes, heavy tasks are queued.
✏ Scalability: You can maintain clean task scheduling and scale queue workers independently as your app expands.
✏ Maintainability: Since everything is written in code, it can be examined, tested, and implemented just like any other component of your application.

1. Define Your Schedules in Laravel

Use schedule() in your console kernel to register tasks — for example:

// app/Console/Kernel.php

protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule)
{
    $schedule->command('emails:send')->hourly();
    $schedule->job(new CleanupOldRecords)->daily();
}

2. Set Up One Cron Entry

On your production server, add this single cron entry:

* * * * * cd /path-to-project && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

3. Use Queues for Heavy Work

Tasks that take time — sending emails, processing files, generating reports — should be dispatched to Laravel’s queue workers. That way, the scheduler just schedules, and the queue workers execute the work.

City Search with Relevance Ranking (with Laravel example)

Ankit Verma — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:06:37 +0000

If you’re building a city search (like an autocomplete), you can easily rank results so the most relevant matches (like exact or prefix ones) appear first.

This guide shows how to do it using a raw SQL query with PHP variables, and then the Laravel Eloquent equivalent.

🧾 Raw SQL Query (with PHP variable)

<?php
$query = request('query'); // Example: "del"

$sql = "
    SELECT id, name 
    FROM cities 
    WHERE name LIKE :likePattern
    ORDER BY 
        CASE
            WHEN name = :exact THEN 1
            WHEN name LIKE :prefix THEN 2
            WHEN name LIKE :contains THEN 3
            ELSE 4
        END, 
        name ASC
    LIMIT 50
";

$cities = DB::select($sql, [
    'likePattern' => '%' . $query . '%',
    'exact' => $query,
    'prefix' => $query . '%',
    'contains' => '%' . $query . '%',
]);

🔍 Explanation

:exact → exact match (e.g., Delhi)
:prefix → starts with query (e.g., Delmont)
:contains → contains query (e.g., New Delhi)
Uses bound parameters for safety (prevents SQL injection).

⚙️ Laravel Eloquent Version

$cities = City::select('id', 'name')
    ->where('name', 'like', '%' . request('query') . '%')
    ->orderByRaw(
        "CASE
            WHEN name = ? THEN 1
            WHEN name LIKE ? THEN 2
            WHEN name LIKE ? THEN 3
            ELSE 4
        END, name ASC",
        [
            request('query'),
            request('query') . '%',
            '%' . request('query') . '%',
        ]
    )
    ->limit(50)
    ->get();

This method returns cities ordered by relevance — exact matches first, prefix matches next, and substring matches last — perfect for a smooth, user-friendly autocomplete.

How to Send New Google Sheet Rows to a URL Automatically

Ankit Verma — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 05:54:32 +0000

Google Sheets is a powerful tool for collecting and managing data. But in many cases, you don’t want the data to just stay inside the sheet—you want it to automatically sync with your backend system, CRM, or API.

In this post, I’ll show you how to send new row data from Google Sheets to a URL endpoint in real-time.

Step 1: Open the Apps Script Editor

Open your Google Sheet.
From the menu, click Extensions > Apps Script.
This opens the script editor where we’ll add our automation code.

Step 2: Add the Script

Paste the following script into the editor:

// Replace with the URL where you want to send the row data
const POST_URL = "https://your-endpoint-url.com/api/data"; 

// --- Use this function for MANUAL edits in the sheet ---
function pushData(e) {
  try {
    const range = e.range;
    const sheet = range.getSheet();
    const editedRow = range.getRow();

    // Stop the script if the edit is in the header row (row 1)
    if (editedRow === 1) {
      Logger.log('Edit was in the header row. Aborting.');
      return; 
    }

    // Use first row as keys (headers)
    const headers = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0];

    // Get the full data from the edited row
    const rowData = sheet.getRange(editedRow, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0];

    // Build JSON payload
    const payload = {};
    headers.forEach((header, index) => {
      payload[header] = rowData[index];
    });

    // Add sheet name for context
    payload['sourceSheet'] = sheet.getName();

    // Send request
    const options = {
      method: 'post',
      contentType: 'application/json',
      payload: JSON.stringify(payload),
    };

    UrlFetchApp.fetch(POST_URL, options);
    Logger.log(`Row ${editedRow} sent successfully.`);

  } catch (error) {
    SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().toast('Error: ' + error.message);
    Logger.log('Error sending data: ' + error.toString());
  }
}

Step 3: Set Up the Trigger

In the script editor, click the Triggers icon (clock symbol).
Click + Add Trigger.
Configure it like this:
- Function: pushData
- Event source: From spreadsheet
- Event type: On form submit
Save the trigger.

Step 4: Test It Out

Add a new row in your sheet. The script will push the full row as JSON to your URL.

Example JSON payload:

{
  "Name": "John Doe",
  "Email": "john@example.com",
  "Message": "Interested in your service",
  "sourceSheet": "Leads"
}

Conclusion

With this setup, your Google Sheet becomes a live data pipeline 🚀

Every new row is pushed instantly to your backend, CRM, or API without any manual effort.

if pushdata() not working properly use this

function pushData(e) {
  try {
    let sheet;
    let editedRow;

    // Check if the event object has a 'range' property (indicates an onEdit event).
    Logger.log('changeType pushData_new():');
    Logger.log(e.changeType);
    if (e.range) {
      sheet = e.range.getSheet();
      editedRow = e.range.getRow();
      // Stop the script if the edit is in the header row (row 1)
      if (editedRow === 1) {
        Logger.log('Edit was in the header row. Aborting.');
        return;
      }
    } 
    // If no 'range' property, check the changeType for a new row insertion.
    else if (e.changeType === 'INSERT_ROW') {
      sheet = e.source.getActiveSheet();
      editedRow = sheet.getLastRow();
      // Do not proceed if it's an empty sheet
      if (editedRow <= 1) { 
        Logger.log('No new data found on the sheet. Aborting.');
        return;
      }
    } else {
      // For any other change type, we exit the function.
      Logger.log('Change type not supported. Aborting.');
      return;
    }

    // Get the header row to use as JSON keys.
    const headers = sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0];
    // Get all the data from the identified row.
    const rowData = sheet.getRange(editedRow, 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues()[0];

    // Build the payload dynamically.
    const payload = {};
    headers.forEach((header, index) => {
      payload[header] = rowData[index];
    });

    // Add the sheet's name to the payload.
    payload['sourceSheet'] = sheet.getName();

    // Define the request options.
    const options = {
      'method': 'post',
      'contentType': 'application/json',
      'payload': JSON.stringify(payload)
    };

    // Send the data.
    UrlFetchApp.fetch(POST_URL, options);
    Logger.log(`Data from row ${editedRow} sent successfully.`);

  } catch (error) {
    SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().toast('Error: ' + error.message);
    Logger.log('Error sending data on edit: ' + error.toString());
  }
}