Customizing Actions in Prezet

Prezet uses action classes to handle all of it's internal tasks—such as parsing markdown, fetching images, or updating the search index. These classes live in the \BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Actions namespace and are resolved from the Laravel service container. If you'd like to modify or replace one of these actions, you can do so by overriding the underlying class. This guide will walk you through the process of customizing Prezet's actions to fit your needs.

#Default Action Classes

By default, Prezet ships with a number of action classes, including:

ParseMarkdown: Handles markdown parsing with CommonMark.
GetMarkdown: Fetches the raw markdown from storage.
UpdateIndex: Updates the SQLite index for searching posts.
GetImage: Returns images from Prezet’s storage disk with optional resizing.
GenerateOgImage: Creates a social media-friendly "Open Graph" image.
… and many others.

Each one is responsible for a single, discrete operation. You can find them in the vendor/benbjurstrom/prezet/src/Actions directory.

#Using a Helper Method or Facade

Prezet provides a facade with static methods for calling these actions. If you override an action in your application service provider, the facade automatically respects your binding. This means that:

Prezet::updateIndex();

now calls your custom logic when it resolves UpdateIndex::class—no code changes required anywhere else.

#Example: Skipping Certain Documents From Indexing

This example demonstrates:

Extending the front matter with a custom property named legacy.
Overriding the UpdateIndex action to skip indexing headings for documents marked as legacy.

#1. Create A Custom `FrontmatterData` Class

In app/Data/CustomFrontmatterData.php:

<?php

namespace App\Data;

use BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Data\FrontmatterData;
use WendellAdriel\ValidatedDTO\Attributes\Rules;

class CustomFrontmatterData extends FrontmatterData
{
    // We'll use "legacy: true" in the front matter to mark older docs
    #[Rules(['nullable', 'bool'])]
    public ?bool $legacy;
}

You might now have front matter like:

---
title: "My Old Docs"
date: 2023-01-01
legacy: true
draft: false
---

#2. Bind Your Custom Front Matter Class

In your AppServiceProvider, swap the default FrontmatterData binding with your own CustomFrontmatterData:

use BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Data\FrontmatterData;
use App\Data\CustomFrontmatterData;

public function register(): void
{
    $this->app->bind(FrontmatterData::class, CustomFrontmatterData::class);
}

This ensures that any time Prezet resolves the front matter DTO, it uses your version instead.

#3. Override The `UpdateIndex` Action

Now, let’s say you only want to skip building headings for “legacy” documents so they aren’t searchable. You can override UpdateIndex and modify how headings are processed:

<?php

namespace App\Actions;

use BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Actions\UpdateIndex;
use BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Models\Document;

class CustomUpdateIndex extends UpdateIndex
{
    protected function updateHeadings(Document $document, ?string $content): void
    {
        // If the document has "legacy" front matter, skip heading creation
        if ($document->frontmatter->legacy) {
            return;
        }

        // Otherwise, run the normal logic
        parent::updateHeadings($document, $content);
    }
}

#4. Register Your Custom Action

Finally, in your AppServiceProvider:

use BenBjurstrom\Prezet\Actions\UpdateIndex;
use App\Actions\CustomUpdateIndex;

public function register(): void
{
    // ...
    $this->app->bind(UpdateIndex::class, CustomUpdateIndex::class);
}

Now, whenever Prezet::updateIndex() is called, your CustomUpdateIndex logic runs. Documents flagged with legacy: true in front matter will not have their headings processed or indexed, effectively removing them from search queries that rely on headings.

For additional customization ideas, check out: