Menu

On this page you add FAQ to the admin sidebar, linking to the listing. The sidebar is built from configuration: core's entries live in packages/Webkul/Admin/src/Config/menu.php, merged into the menu.admin key, and a package merges a file of its own into the same key.

Create the Menu File

File: packages/Webkul/Faq/src/Config/admin-menu.php

<?php

return [
    [
        'key' => 'faq',
        'name' => 'faq::app.admin.menu.faq',
        'route' => 'admin.faq.index',
        'sort' => 11,
        'icon' => 'icon-information',
    ],
];

Key	Meaning
key	The entry's identifier. Dots nest entries, so faq.categories sits under faq. It is also the ACL key that decides who sees the entry
name	A translation key, translated when the menu is built
route	The name of the route the entry opens
sort	The order among siblings. Core's top-level entries run from 1 (Dashboard) to 10 (Configure)
icon	A class from the admin icon font, such as icon-cms, icon-settings or icon-information, or '' for none

Every entry needs all five keys. Webkul\Core\Menu reads them without defaults, so a missing key fails with Undefined array key on every admin page, and the typed constructor of Webkul\Core\Menu\MenuItem rejects a sort or icon that is null.

Merge It into the Admin Menu

Configuration is merged in register(), as AdminServiceProvider merges core's menu:

File: packages/Webkul/Faq/src/Providers/FaqServiceProvider.php

<?php

namespace Webkul\Faq\Providers;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;

class FaqServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    /**
     * Register services.
     */
    public function register(): void
    {
        $this->mergeConfigFrom(
            dirname(__DIR__).'/Config/admin-menu.php',
            'menu.admin'
        );
    }

    /**
     * Bootstrap services.
     */
    public function boot(): void
    {
        $this->loadMigrationsFrom(__DIR__.'/../Database/Migrations');

        $this->loadRoutesFrom(__DIR__.'/../Routes/admin-routes.php');

        $this->loadRoutesFrom(__DIR__.'/../Routes/shop-routes.php');

        $this->loadViewsFrom(__DIR__.'/../Resources/views', 'faq');

        $this->loadTranslationsFrom(__DIR__.'/../Resources/lang', 'faq');
    }
}

Add the Label

Add a menu group under admin in the language file, and the same key in every other locale:

File: packages/Webkul/Faq/src/Resources/lang/en/app.php

<?php

return [
    'admin' => [
        // ...

        'menu' => [
            'faq' => 'FAQ',
        ],
    ],

    // ...
];

Test It

Clear the cached configuration, then reload the admin:

php artisan optimize:clear

1. FAQ appears at the end of the sidebar and opens /admin/faq.
2. Open /admin/faq/create. FAQ stays highlighted, because the page's URL starts with the entry's URL.

How the Sidebar Uses the Entries

• Visibility follows the ACL. Webkul\Core\Menu drops every entry for which bouncer()->hasPermission($key) is false. The default administrator holds every key; an admin with a custom role sees FAQ once Access Control List defines the faq permission and the role is given it.
• A parent opens its first visible child. After that filter, an entry with children takes the route of its first remaining child, so a parent always leads somewhere the admin may go.
• The current entry is found by URL. The entry whose URL is the longest prefix of the current URL becomes current, and every entry whose key is a prefix of its key is highlighted with it. Keep a section's pages under its entry's URL, as /admin/faq/create is under /admin/faq.

Nested Entries

A second level is another entry whose key starts with its parent's. Suppose the package later gains categories with their own admin.faq.categories.index route, which this guide doesn't build:

<?php

return [
    [
        'key' => 'faq',
        'name' => 'faq::app.admin.menu.faq',
        'route' => 'admin.faq.index',
        'sort' => 11,
        'icon' => 'icon-information',
    ], [
        'key' => 'faq.questions',
        'name' => 'faq::app.admin.menu.questions',
        'route' => 'admin.faq.index',
        'sort' => 1,
        'icon' => '',
    ], [
        'key' => 'faq.categories',
        'name' => 'faq::app.admin.menu.categories',
        'route' => 'admin.faq.categories.index',
        'sort' => 2,
        'icon' => '',
    ],
];

Each nested key needs its parent entry, and an ACL key of the same name. Core nests three levels in places, such as sales.rma.requests.

Other Menus

• The customer account menu on the storefront is built the same way, from the menu.customer key that the Shop package fills from packages/Webkul/Shop/src/Config/menu.php, with entries under account (account.orders, account.address). A package that adds a page there merges an entry into menu.customer and protects the page's route with the customer middleware. No ACL applies to that menu.
• The admin command palette, opened with Ctrl+K or ⌘K, indexes the admin menu and the configuration tree, so FAQ is searchable as soon as its entry exists. To add actions and search aliases of your own, see Command Palette.

Things to Watch

• A menu key with no ACL key of the same name is invisible to custom roles, while the default administrator still sees it.
• Reusing a core key doesn't replace the core entry predictably. All entries are merged into one list and indexed by key, so which of two entries with the same key survives depends on provider order. Use keys of your own.
• Every route named in the menu must exist. The sidebar calls route() for every entry, so an unknown route name breaks every admin page.
• A cached configuration hides the entry. Run php artisan optimize:clear after changing the file.

Next Step

The sidebar shows FAQ to the default administrator. Next, define the permissions that decide who else may see and use it.

Continue to: Access Control List