How to Set Up Laravel Excel in Your Laravel Project

Published on January 13, 2025 by Aman K Sahu

Laravel Excel is a powerful package that allows you to easily import and export Excel and CSV files in your Laravel application. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to set up Laravel Excel in your Laravel project.

1. Install Laravel Excel

Laravel Excel can be installed via Composer. Ensure that your Laravel project is set up before proceeding with this installation. 

Install Laravel Excel:
1. Run the following command in your terminal:
   composer require maatwebsite/excel
2. After the installation is complete, the package will be ready to use.

2. Publish the Configuration File

Laravel Excel comes with a configuration file that you can publish to modify its settings. This step is optional but can be useful for customization. 

Publish Configuration:
1. Run the following command in your terminal:
   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider"
2. This will create the excel.php configuration file in the config directory.

3. Using Laravel Excel

After installing the package, you can easily use it to import and export Excel files. Here's how to use it for both exporting data to an Excel file and importing data from an Excel file.

Exporting Data

Export Data to Excel:
1. In your controller, use the `Excel` facade:
   use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;
2. To export data:
   public function export()
   {
       return Excel::download(new UsersExport, 'users.xlsx');
   }
3. Make sure to create an `Export` class using the artisan command:
   php artisan make:export UsersExport --model=User
4. In the `UsersExport` class, define the data to export.

Importing Data

Import Data from Excel:
1. In your controller, use the `Excel` facade:
   use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;
2. To import data:
   public function import(Request $request)
   {
       $file = $request->file('file');
       Excel::import(new UsersImport, $file);
   }
3. Create an `Import` class using the artisan command:
   php artisan make:import UsersImport --model=User
4. Define the import logic in the `UsersImport` class.

4. Test Your Setup

After completing the installation and configuration, you can test your setup by attempting to import and export Excel files using the methods mentioned above. Make sure to upload a valid Excel file to test the import functionality and check if the exported file is created correctly.

More Blogs