🛠️ Helpers

Helpers are global functions that simplify access to key components of the framework. They are wrappers around core classes and methods commonly used during development.

⚙️ modx()

Returns the global instance of modX.

$modx = modx();

🧾 query(?string $table = null)

Opens a query builder on a table. The name goes without the prefix — the connection adds it. Called with no argument, returns the connection itself.

query('site_content')->where('template', 4)->get();
query();  // Illuminate\Database\MySqlConnection

🧱 model(string $name)

Opens a query on an Eloquent model resolved under PageBlocks\App\Models\. Unlike query(), rows come back as models — with relations, casts and scopes.

model('PbResource')->published()->limit(10)->get();

⚙️ config(string $key, $default = null)

Retrieves a value from the configuration.

$debug = config('app.debug', false);
// or
Config::get('app.debug', false) 
    ?? $modx->getOption('app.debug', null, false);

📁 Configuration files are stored in: core/App/config/

📥 request(string $key = '')

Returns the current HTTP request instance or a specific value.

$request = request();            // $request = Request::getInstance()
$name = request('name');         // $request->get('name');
request()->validate([...]);      // $request->validate([...]);

🌐 uri()

Returns the current URI without extensions and leading/trailing slashes.

$uri = uri();  
// for example: /about.html → "about"
//              /blog/post/ → "blog/post"

🏷️ alias()

Returns the current page alias (the last part of the URI).

$alias = alias();  
// например: /blog/post → "post"
//           /about → "about"

💾 cache(string $key, $value = null, int $ttl = 3600)

Gets or sets a cache value.

$data = cache('menu');           // $data = Cache::get('menu');
cache('menu', $items, 600);      // Cache::set('menu', $items, 600);

📤 response($content = '', int $status = 200, array $headers = [])

Creates and returns an HTTP response.

$response = response();                      // Equivalent to new Response();
return response('OK');                       // $response->text('OK');
return response(['status' => 'ok'], 200);    // $response->json(['status' => 'ok']);

📌 Automatically detects the type: text, json, or object.

✅ validate(array $data, array $rules, array $messages = [])

Runs data validation.

$validator = validate(
    ['email' => 'john@example.com'],
    ['email' => 'required|email']
);

// or
$validator = Validator::make($data, $rules, $messages);

🖼️ view(string $template, array $params = [])

Renders a template with parameters.

view('components.card', ['title' => 'Dashboard']);
// or
View::make('components.card', ['title' => 'Dashboard']);

🔁 redirect(...$args)

Creates a redirect response.

$redirect = redirect();         // $redirect = Redirect::getInstance();
redirect('/login');             // $redirect->to('/login');
redirect()->back();             // $redirect->back();

🧭 route(string $name, array $params = [])

Generates a URL from a named route.

$url = route('post.show', ['id' => 10]); 
// or
Route::route('post.show', ['id' => 10]);

🌍 lang(string $key, array $replace = [], string $locale = '')

Retrieves a translated string.

lang('messages.welcome'); 
// or
Lang::get('messages.welcome');

📁 Language files are stored in: core/App/lang/{locale}/

🔐 auth(string $context = '')

Checks if the user is authenticated in the given or current context.

if (auth()) {
    echo 'You are authenticated';
}

// or

if (auth('en')) {
    echo 'Authenticated in "en" context';
}

🔁 Equivalent to:

$modx->user && $modx->user->isAuthenticated($context ?: $modx->context->key);

❌ abort(int $code = 404, string $text = '')

Aborts execution and returns an error response.

abort(403, 'Access denied'); 
// or
response()->abort(403, 'Access denied')->send();

📄 console($message, $array = [])

Writes to the MODX log. The second argument is printed with print_r — handy for an array.

console('Order failed', $payload);

⚠️ dd($message, $array = [])

Not what you think. This is not Laravel's "dump and die": the page does not stop and nothing is printed to the screen. The function is identical to console() — it logs and carries on.

dd('got here', $data);   // ends up in core/cache/logs/error.log

🌍 Languages

Function	What it returns
language()	The current language, or null
languages()	Every active language
langs()	A ready set for a language switcher
lang_url(string $uri = '')	An address carrying the current language prefix
multilingual()	Whether multilingual is on
context()	The language key, or the default context when there is none

{if multilingual()}
    {foreach langs() as $item}
        <a href="{$item.url}">{$item.name}</a>
    {/foreach}
{/if}

🔀 route_path(string $name, array $parameters = [])

Builds the address of a named route — so you neither type it by hand nor hunt down every occurrence when the route moves.

route_path('cargo.show', ['id' => 42]);

👤 profile()

The current user's profile as an array. A guest gets an empty array, and the result is remembered for the request.

Why not $modx->user

The MODX user row itself holds almost nothing: email, fullname and the extended fields live on the profile. profile() saves you a $user->getOne('Profile') every time.

🛡️ csrf()

A ready hidden field with the token, to drop into a form.

<form method="post">
    {csrf()}
</form>

🧾 lexicon($key, $namespace = '')

A string from the MODX lexicon. Given a namespace, it is loaded for you.

lexicon('pb_blocks', 'pageblocks');

🔢 plural_form($number, array $forms)

Agreement between a number and a word. Three forms for Russian, two for English.

plural_form(5, ['товар', 'товара', 'товаров']);   // товаров
plural_form(2, ['item', 'items']);                 // items

🏳️ Site mode

Function	What it does
site_mode()	dev or prod
is_dev(), is_prod()	The same thing, as a condition

The mode comes from the pageblocks_site_mode setting; anything but dev reads as prod.

📚 Object lists

Function	What it returns
resources($ids = null, array $options = [])	MODX resources from site_content
pbresources($ids = null, array $options = [])	Custom resources from pb_resources
users($ids = null, array $options = [])	Users

The same lists are available in templates as modifiers — see View.

🌐 http_post(string $url, $data = null, array $headers = [], int $timeout = 10)

A POST request outwards without wiring up curl yourself. Returns the response as an array.

http_post('https://api.example.com/hook', ['id' => 42], ['Authorization: Bearer …']);

🕒 now(string $timezone = null)

The current moment as a Carbon instance — with all its date arithmetic.

now()->addDays(7)->toDateTimeString();