Fixing Seed Class Not Found Exception in Laravel 5

When working with Laravel 5 and attempting to run a database seed, you may encounter a “Seed Class not found” exception. This error typically occurs when Laravel is unable to locate the specified seed class. However, there is a straightforward solution to this problem. In this blog post, we will explore the steps to resolve the “Seed Class not found” exception in Laravel 5.

Step 1: Run Composer Dump-Autoload

The first step is to run the following command in your project’s root directory:

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composer dump-autoload

The dump-autoload command regenerates the list of all classes that need to be included by the composer’s autoloader. By executing this command, you ensure that Laravel can find the required seed class.

Step 2: Verify Seed Class Namespace and File Location

Ensure that your seed class is in the correct namespace and directory. In Laravel 5, seed classes are typically stored in the database/seeds directory. Make sure the namespace of your seed class matches the directory structure and is properly defined at the top of the class file.

For example, if your seed class is named DatabaseSeeder, it should be defined as follows:

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namespace Database\Seeds;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;

class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    // ...
}

Step 3: Run the Database Seed Command

After verifying the namespace and file location, run the following command to execute the database seed:

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php artisan db:seed

The db:seed command triggers the execution of all the seeders registered within the DatabaseSeeder class. If you have multiple seed classes, make sure they are properly registered in the run method of the DatabaseSeeder class.

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to fix the “Seed Class not found” exception in Laravel 5. Remember to run composer dump-autoload to regenerate the class autoloader, verify the namespace and file location of your seed class, and execute php artisan db:seed to run the seeders. With these actions, you should be able to seed your Laravel 5 database without encountering the class not found exception.