Marko Database

Entity-Driven Schema definition with Data Mapper pattern for the Marko framework.

Installation

composer require marko/database

You typically install a driver package (like marko/database-pgsql) which requires this automatically.

Quick Example

use Marko\Database\Attributes\Column;
use Marko\Database\Attributes\Index;
use Marko\Database\Attributes\Table;
use Marko\Database\Entity\Entity;

#[Table('blog_posts')]
#[Index(columns: ['slug'], unique: true)]
class Post extends Entity
{
    #[Column(primaryKey: true, autoIncrement: true)]
    public int $id;

    #[Column(length: 255)]
    public string $title;

    #[Column(length: 255, unique: true)]
    public string $slug;

    #[Column(type: 'text', nullable: true, default: null)]
    public ?string $content = null;

    #[Column(nullable: true, default: 'draft')]
    public ?string $status = 'draft';
}

Entity-Driven Schema

In Marko, the entity class is the single source of truth for both your PHP types and your database schema. You define columns using PHP attributes directly on entity properties — there is no separate migration file to keep in sync.

Marko compares your entity definitions against the live database schema and generates the necessary DDL to bring them into alignment.

Data Mapper

Marko uses the Data Mapper pattern, keeping domain objects free from persistence concerns. Entities extend Entity but contain no query logic — all database interaction goes through a Repository.

Repository

Repositories handle all database reads and writes for an entity type, keeping persistence logic separate from your domain model.

use Marko\Database\Repository\Repository;

class PostRepository extends Repository
{
    protected string $entity = Post::class;
}

Type Inference

Marko infers SQL column types from PHP type declarations where possible. For example, int maps to INT, string maps to VARCHAR, and bool maps to TINYINT(1). You can always override the inferred type with an explicit type parameter on #[Column].

Attributes

Attribute	Purpose
#[Table]	Maps a class to a database table
#[Column]	Maps a property to a table column
#[Index]	Defines an index on one or more columns

CLI Commands

Command	Description
db:diff	Show pending schema changes
db:migrate	Apply pending schema changes
db:rollback	Roll back the last migration
db:status	Show migration status

Framework Comparison

Feature	Laravel	Doctrine	Marko
Schema definition	Migrations	XML/YAML/Annotations	PHP Attributes
Pattern	Active Record	Data Mapper	Data Mapper
Source of truth	Migration files	Mapping files	Entity classes

Available Drivers

• marko/database-mysql --- MySQL/MariaDB driver
• marko/database-pgsql --- PostgreSQL driver

Documentation

Full usage, API reference, and examples: marko/database