Adding form fields when a new user registers with application

Question

I'm trying to add a field to the users table created by Laravel 5. I've modified the migration to add that field:

class CreateUsersTable extends Migration
{
    public function up()
    {
        Schema::create('users', function(Blueprint $table)
        {
            $table->increments('id');
            $table->string('name');
            $table->string('email')->unique();
            $table->string('password', 60);
            $table->string('my_new_field'); // Added this field
            $table->rememberToken();
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }
    ...    
}

I'm using the default authentication system provided by Laravel. Whenever a new user registers, I need my_new_field to be set to some value. How (and where) do I do that?

The AuthController handles the authentication process. It uses the trait AuthenticatesAndRegistersUsers where the postRegister() function handles the registration requests. But where are the actual values inserted?

Answer 1

The create() method in App\Services\Registrar is responsible for creating a new User instance. I added the field to this function:

   /**
     * Create a new user instance after a valid registration.
     *
     * @param  array  $data
     * @return User
     */
    public function create(array $data)
    {
        return User::create([
            'name' => $data['name'],
            'email' => $data['email'],
            'password' => bcrypt($data['password']),
            'my_new_field' => 'Init Value'
        ]);
    }

According to the documentation,

To modify the form fields that are required when a new user registers with your application, you may modify the App\Services\Registrar class. This class is responsible for validating and creating new users of your application.

The validator method of the Registrar contains the validation rules for new users of the application, while the create method of the Registrar is responsible for creating new User records in your database. You are free to modify each of these methods as you wish. The Registrar is called by the AuthController via the methods contained in the AuthenticatesAndRegistersUsers trait.

UPDATE Feb 03, 2016 Laravel 5.2 The settings found in the app/Services/Registrar.php file have been moved to app/Http/Controllers/Auth/AuthController.php

I also had to make this field fillable in the User model:

class User extends Model implements AuthenticatableContract, CanResetPasswordContract
{
     ...
    /**
     * The attributes that are mass assignable.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email', 'password', 'my_new_field'];
    ...
}