# Faker
Faker is a PHP library that generates fake data for you. Whether you need to bootstrap your database, create good-looking XML documents, fill-in your persistence to stress test it, or anonymize data taken from a production service, Faker is for you.
Faker is heavily inspired by Perl's [Data::Faker](http://search.cpan.org/~jasonk/Data-Faker-0.07/), and by ruby's [Faker](https://rubygems.org/gems/faker).
Faker requires PHP >= 5.3.3.
[![Monthly Downloads](https://poser.pugx.org/fzaninotto/faker/d/monthly.png)](https://packagist.org/packages/fzaninotto/faker) [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/fzaninotto/Faker.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/fzaninotto/Faker) [![SensioLabsInsight](https://insight.sensiolabs.com/projects/eceb78a9-38d4-4ad5-8b6b-b52f323e3549/mini.png)](https://insight.sensiolabs.com/projects/eceb78a9-38d4-4ad5-8b6b-b52f323e3549)
# Table of Contents
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Basic Usage](#basic-usage)
- [Formatters](#formatters)
- [Base](#fakerproviderbase)
- [Lorem Ipsum Text](#fakerproviderlorem)
- [Person](#fakerprovideren_usperson)
- [Address](#fakerprovideren_usaddress)
- [Phone Number](#fakerprovideren_usphonenumber)
- [Company](#fakerprovideren_uscompany)
- [Real Text](#fakerprovideren_ustext)
- [Date and Time](#fakerproviderdatetime)
- [Internet](#fakerproviderinternet)
- [User Agent](#fakerprovideruseragent)
- [Payment](#fakerproviderpayment)
- [Color](#fakerprovidercolor)
- [File](#fakerproviderfile)
- [Image](#fakerproviderimage)
- [Uuid](#fakerprovideruuid)
- [Barcode](#fakerproviderbarcode)
- [Miscellaneous](#fakerprovidermiscellaneous)
- [Biased](#fakerproviderbiased)
- [Html Lorem](#fakerproviderhtmllorem)
- [Modifiers](#modifiers)
- [Localization](#localization)
- [Populating Entities Using an ORM or an ODM](#populating-entities-using-an-orm-or-an-odm)
- [Seeding the Generator](#seeding-the-generator)
- [Faker Internals: Understanding Providers](#faker-internals-understanding-providers)
- [Real Life Usage](#real-life-usage)
- [Language specific formatters](#language-specific-formatters)
- [Third-Party Libraries Extending/Based On Faker](#third-party-libraries-extendingbased-on-faker)
- [License](#license)
## Installation
```sh
composer require fzaninotto/faker
```
## Basic Usage
Use `Faker\Factory::create()` to create and initialize a faker generator, which can generate data by accessing properties named after the type of data you want.
```php
name;
// 'Lucy Cechtelar';
echo $faker->address;
// "426 Jordy Lodge
// Cartwrightshire, SC 88120-6700"
echo $faker->text;
// Dolores sit sint laboriosam dolorem culpa et autem. Beatae nam sunt fugit
// et sit et mollitia sed.
// Fuga deserunt tempora facere magni omnis. Omnis quia temporibus laudantium
// sit minima sint.
```
Even if this example shows a property access, each call to `$faker->name` yields a different (random) result. This is because Faker uses `__get()` magic, and forwards `Faker\Generator->$property` calls to `Faker\Generator->format($property)`.
```php
name, "\n";
}
// Adaline Reichel
// Dr. Santa Prosacco DVM
// Noemy Vandervort V
// Lexi O'Conner
// Gracie Weber
// Roscoe Johns
// Emmett Lebsack
// Keegan Thiel
// Wellington Koelpin II
// Ms. Karley Kiehn V
```
**Tip**: For a quick generation of fake data, you can also use Faker as a command line tool thanks to [faker-cli](https://github.com/bit3/faker-cli).
## Formatters
Each of the generator properties (like `name`, `address`, and `lorem`) are called "formatters". A faker generator has many of them, packaged in "providers". Here is a list of the bundled formatters in the default locale.
### `Faker\Provider\Base`
randomDigit // 7
randomDigitNotNull // 5
randomNumber($nbDigits = NULL, $strict = false) // 79907610
randomFloat($nbMaxDecimals = NULL, $min = 0, $max = NULL) // 48.8932
numberBetween($min = 1000, $max = 9000) // 8567
randomLetter // 'b'
// returns randomly ordered subsequence of a provided array
randomElements($array = array ('a','b','c'), $count = 1) // array('c')
randomElement($array = array ('a','b','c')) // 'b'
shuffle('hello, world') // 'rlo,h eoldlw'
shuffle(array(1, 2, 3)) // array(2, 1, 3)
numerify('Hello ###') // 'Hello 609'
lexify('Hello ???') // 'Hello wgt'
bothify('Hello ##??') // 'Hello 42jz'
asciify('Hello ***') // 'Hello R6+'
regexify('[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}'); // sm0@y8k96a.ej
### `Faker\Provider\Lorem`
word // 'aut'
words($nb = 3, $asText = false) // array('porro', 'sed', 'magni')
sentence($nbWords = 6, $variableNbWords = true) // 'Sit vitae voluptas sint non voluptates.'
sentences($nb = 3, $asText = false) // array('Optio quos qui illo error.', 'Laborum vero a officia id corporis.', 'Saepe provident esse hic eligendi.')
paragraph($nbSentences = 3, $variableNbSentences = true) // 'Ut ab voluptas sed a nam. Sint autem inventore aut officia aut aut blanditiis. Ducimus eos odit amet et est ut eum.'
paragraphs($nb = 3, $asText = false) // array('Quidem ut sunt et quidem est accusamus aut. Fuga est placeat rerum ut. Enim ex eveniet facere sunt.', 'Aut nam et eum architecto fugit repellendus illo. Qui ex esse veritatis.', 'Possimus omnis aut incidunt sunt. Asperiores incidunt iure sequi cum culpa rem. Rerum exercitationem est rem.')
text($maxNbChars = 200) // 'Fuga totam reiciendis qui architecto fugiat nemo. Consequatur recusandae qui cupiditate eos quod.'
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Person`
title($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Ms.'
titleMale // 'Mr.'
titleFemale // 'Ms.'
suffix // 'Jr.'
name($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Dr. Zane Stroman'
firstName($gender = null|'male'|'female') // 'Maynard'
firstNameMale // 'Maynard'
firstNameFemale // 'Rachel'
lastName // 'Zulauf'
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Address`
cityPrefix // 'Lake'
secondaryAddress // 'Suite 961'
state // 'NewMexico'
stateAbbr // 'OH'
citySuffix // 'borough'
streetSuffix // 'Keys'
buildingNumber // '484'
city // 'West Judge'
streetName // 'Keegan Trail'
streetAddress // '439 Karley Loaf Suite 897'
postcode // '17916'
address // '8888 Cummings Vista Apt. 101, Susanbury, NY 95473'
country // 'Falkland Islands (Malvinas)'
latitude($min = -90, $max = 90) // 77.147489
longitude($min = -180, $max = 180) // 86.211205
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\PhoneNumber`
phoneNumber // '201-886-0269 x3767'
tollFreePhoneNumber // '(888) 937-7238'
e164PhoneNumber // '+27113456789'
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Company`
catchPhrase // 'Monitored regional contingency'
bs // 'e-enable robust architectures'
company // 'Bogan-Treutel'
companySuffix // 'and Sons'
jobTitle // 'Cashier'
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Text`
realText($maxNbChars = 200, $indexSize = 2) // "And yet I wish you could manage it?) 'And what are they made of?' Alice asked in a shrill, passionate voice. 'Would YOU like cats if you were never even spoke to Time!' 'Perhaps not,' Alice replied."
### `Faker\Provider\DateTime`
unixTime($max = 'now') // 58781813
dateTime($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2008-04-25 08:37:17', 'UTC')
dateTimeAD($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('1800-04-29 20:38:49', 'Europe/Paris')
iso8601($max = 'now') // '1978-12-09T10:10:29+0000'
date($format = 'Y-m-d', $max = 'now') // '1979-06-09'
time($format = 'H:i:s', $max = 'now') // '20:49:42'
dateTimeBetween($startDate = '-30 years', $endDate = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2003-03-15 02:00:49', 'Africa/Lagos')
dateTimeInInterval($startDate = '-30 years', $interval = '+ 5 days', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2003-03-15 02:00:49', 'Antartica/Vostok')
dateTimeThisCentury($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('1915-05-30 19:28:21', 'UTC')
dateTimeThisDecade($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2007-05-29 22:30:48', 'Europe/Paris')
dateTimeThisYear($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2011-02-27 20:52:14', 'Africa/Lagos')
dateTimeThisMonth($max = 'now', $timezone = date_default_timezone_get()) // DateTime('2011-10-23 13:46:23', 'Antarctica/Vostok')
amPm($max = 'now') // 'pm'
dayOfMonth($max = 'now') // '04'
dayOfWeek($max = 'now') // 'Friday'
month($max = 'now') // '06'
monthName($max = 'now') // 'January'
year($max = 'now') // '1993'
century // 'VI'
timezone // 'Europe/Paris'
### `Faker\Provider\Internet`
email // 'tkshlerin@collins.com'
safeEmail // 'king.alford@example.org'
freeEmail // 'bradley72@gmail.com'
companyEmail // 'russel.durward@mcdermott.org'
freeEmailDomain // 'yahoo.com'
safeEmailDomain // 'example.org'
userName // 'wade55'
password // 'k&|X+a45*2['
domainName // 'wolffdeckow.net'
domainWord // 'feeney'
tld // 'biz'
url // 'http://www.skilesdonnelly.biz/aut-accusantium-ut-architecto-sit-et.html'
slug // 'aut-repellat-commodi-vel-itaque-nihil-id-saepe-nostrum'
ipv4 // '109.133.32.252'
localIpv4 // '10.242.58.8'
ipv6 // '8e65:933d:22ee:a232:f1c1:2741:1f10:117c'
macAddress // '43:85:B7:08:10:CA'
### `Faker\Provider\UserAgent`
userAgent // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows CE) AppleWebKit/5350 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/13.0.888.0 Safari/5350'
chrome // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; PPC Mac OS X 10_6_5) AppleWebKit/5312 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/14.0.894.0 Safari/5312'
firefox // 'Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linuxi686; rv:7.0) Gecko/20101231 Firefox/3.6'
safari // 'Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10_7_1 rv:3.0; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11.3 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.11.3'
opera // 'Opera/8.25 (Windows NT 5.1; en-US) Presto/2.9.188 Version/10.00'
internetExplorer // 'Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows 98; Win 9x 4.90; Trident/3.0)'
### `Faker\Provider\Payment`
creditCardType // 'MasterCard'
creditCardNumber // '4485480221084675'
creditCardExpirationDate // 04/13
creditCardExpirationDateString // '04/13'
creditCardDetails // array('MasterCard', '4485480221084675', 'Aleksander Nowak', '04/13')
// Generates a random IBAN. Set $countryCode to null for a random country
iban($countryCode) // 'IT31A8497112740YZ575DJ28BP4'
swiftBicNumber // 'RZTIAT22263'
### `Faker\Provider\Color`
hexcolor // '#fa3cc2'
rgbcolor // '0,255,122'
rgbColorAsArray // array(0,255,122)
rgbCssColor // 'rgb(0,255,122)'
safeColorName // 'fuchsia'
colorName // 'Gainsbor'
### `Faker\Provider\File`
fileExtension // 'avi'
mimeType // 'video/x-msvideo'
// Copy a random file from the source to the target directory and returns the fullpath or filename
file($sourceDir = '/tmp', $targetDir = '/tmp') // '/path/to/targetDir/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg'
file($sourceDir, $targetDir, false) // '13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg'
### `Faker\Provider\Image`
// Image generation provided by LoremPixel (http://lorempixel.com/)
imageUrl($width = 640, $height = 480) // 'http://lorempixel.com/640/480/'
imageUrl($width, $height, 'cats') // 'http://lorempixel.com/800/600/cats/'
imageUrl($width, $height, 'cats', true, 'Faker') // 'http://lorempixel.com/800/400/cats/Faker'
imageUrl($width, $height, 'cats', true, 'Faker', true) // 'http://lorempixel.com/grey/800/400/cats/Faker/' Monochrome image
image($dir = '/tmp', $width = 640, $height = 480) // '/tmp/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg'
image($dir, $width, $height, 'cats') // 'tmp/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' it's a cat!
image($dir, $width, $height, 'cats', false) // '13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' it's a filename without path
image($dir, $width, $height, 'cats', true, false) // it's a no randomize images (default: `true`)
image($dir, $width, $height, 'cats', true, true, 'Faker') // 'tmp/13b73edae8443990be1aa8f1a483bc27.jpg' it's a cat with 'Faker' text. Default, `null`.
### `Faker\Provider\Uuid`
uuid // '7e57d004-2b97-0e7a-b45f-5387367791cd'
### `Faker\Provider\Barcode`
ean13 // '4006381333931'
ean8 // '73513537'
isbn13 // '9790404436093'
isbn10 // '4881416324'
### `Faker\Provider\Miscellaneous`
boolean // false
boolean($chanceOfGettingTrue = 50) // true
md5 // 'de99a620c50f2990e87144735cd357e7'
sha1 // 'f08e7f04ca1a413807ebc47551a40a20a0b4de5c'
sha256 // '0061e4c60dac5c1d82db0135a42e00c89ae3a333e7c26485321f24348c7e98a5'
locale // en_UK
countryCode // UK
languageCode // en
currencyCode // EUR
emoji // 😁
### `Faker\Provider\Biased`
// get a random number between 10 and 20,
// with more chances to be close to 20
biasedNumberBetween($min = 10, $max = 20, $function = 'sqrt')
### `Faker\Provider\HtmlLorem`
//Generate HTML document which is no more than 2 levels deep, and no more than 3 elements wide at any level.
randomHtml(2,3) //
Aut illo dolorem et accusantium eum.Id aut saepe non mollitia voluptas voluptas.|
Non consequatur.
Incidunt est.
Aut voluptatem.
Officia voluptas rerum quo.
Asperiores similique.
Sapiente dolorum dolorem sint laboriosam commodi qui. | Commodi nihil nesciunt eveniet quo repudiandae. | Voluptates explicabo numquam distinctio necessitatibus repellat. | Provident ut doloremque nam eum modi aspernatur. | Iusto inventore. |
Animi nihil ratione id mollitia libero ipsa quia tempore. | Velit est officia et aut tenetur dolorem sed mollitia expedita. | Modi modi repudiandae pariatur voluptas rerum ea incidunt non molestiae eligendi eos deleniti. | Exercitationem voluptatibus dolor est iste quod molestiae. | Quia reiciendis. |
Inventore impedit exercitationem voluptatibus rerum cupiditate. | Qui. | Aliquam. | Autem nihil aut et. | Dolor ut quia error. |
Enim facilis iusto earum et minus rerum assumenda quis quia. | Reprehenderit ut sapiente occaecati voluptatum dolor voluptatem vitae qui velit. | Quod fugiat non. | Sunt nobis totam mollitia sed nesciunt est deleniti cumque. | Repudiandae quo. |
Modi dicta libero quisquam doloremque qui autem. | Voluptatem aliquid saepe laudantium facere eos sunt dolor. | Est eos quis laboriosam officia expedita repellendus quia natus. | Et neque delectus quod fugit enim repudiandae qui. | Fugit soluta sit facilis facere repellat culpa magni voluptatem maiores tempora. |
Enim dolores doloremque. | Assumenda voluptatem eum perferendis exercitationem. | Quasi in fugit deserunt ea perferendis sunt nemo consequatur dolorum soluta. | Maxime repellat qui numquam voluptatem est modi. | Alias rerum rerum hic hic eveniet. |
Tempore voluptatem. | Eaque. | Et sit quas fugit iusto. | Nemo nihil rerum dignissimos et esse. | Repudiandae ipsum numquam. |
Nemo sunt quia. | Sint tempore est neque ducimus harum sed. | Dicta placeat atque libero nihil. | Et qui aperiam temporibus facilis eum. | Ut dolores qui enim et maiores nesciunt. |
Dolorum totam sint debitis saepe laborum. | Quidem corrupti ea. | Cum voluptas quod. | Possimus consequatur quasi dolorem ut et. | Et velit non hic labore repudiandae quis. |
## Modifiers
Faker provides three special providers, `unique()`, `optional()`, and `valid()`, to be called before any provider.
```php
// unique() forces providers to return unique values
$values = array();
for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) {
// get a random digit, but always a new one, to avoid duplicates
$values []= $faker->unique()->randomDigit;
}
print_r($values); // [4, 1, 8, 5, 0, 2, 6, 9, 7, 3]
// providers with a limited range will throw an exception when no new unique value can be generated
$values = array();
try {
for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) {
$values []= $faker->unique()->randomDigitNotNull;
}
} catch (\OverflowException $e) {
echo "There are only 9 unique digits not null, Faker can't generate 10 of them!";
}
// you can reset the unique modifier for all providers by passing true as first argument
$faker->unique($reset = true)->randomDigitNotNull; // will not throw OverflowException since unique() was reset
// tip: unique() keeps one array of values per provider
// optional() sometimes bypasses the provider to return a default value instead (which defaults to NULL)
$values = array();
for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) {
// get a random digit, but also null sometimes
$values []= $faker->optional()->randomDigit;
}
print_r($values); // [1, 4, null, 9, 5, null, null, 4, 6, null]
// optional() accepts a weight argument to specify the probability of receiving the default value.
// 0 will always return the default value; 1 will always return the provider. Default weight is 0.5 (50% chance).
$faker->optional($weight = 0.1)->randomDigit; // 90% chance of NULL
$faker->optional($weight = 0.9)->randomDigit; // 10% chance of NULL
// optional() accepts a default argument to specify the default value to return.
// Defaults to NULL.
$faker->optional($weight = 0.5, $default = false)->randomDigit; // 50% chance of FALSE
$faker->optional($weight = 0.9, $default = 'abc')->word; // 10% chance of 'abc'
// valid() only accepts valid values according to the passed validator functions
$values = array();
$evenValidator = function($digit) {
return $digit % 2 === 0;
};
for ($i=0; $i < 10; $i++) {
$values []= $faker->valid($evenValidator)->randomDigit;
}
print_r($values); // [0, 4, 8, 4, 2, 6, 0, 8, 8, 6]
// just like unique(), valid() throws an overflow exception when it can't generate a valid value
$values = array();
try {
$faker->valid($evenValidator)->randomElement(1, 3, 5, 7, 9);
} catch (\OverflowException $e) {
echo "Can't pick an even number in that set!";
}
```
## Localization
`Faker\Factory` can take a locale as an argument, to return localized data. If no localized provider is found, the factory fallbacks to the default locale (en_US).
```php
name, "\n";
}
// Luce du Coulon
// Auguste Dupont
// Roger Le Voisin
// Alexandre Lacroix
// Jacques Humbert-Roy
// Thérèse Guillet-Andre
// Gilles Gros-Bodin
// Amélie Pires
// Marcel Laporte
// Geneviève Marchal
```
You can check available Faker locales in the source code, [under the `Provider` directory](https://github.com/fzaninotto/Faker/tree/master/src/Faker/Provider). The localization of Faker is an ongoing process, for which we need your help. Don't hesitate to create localized providers to your own locale and submit a PR!
## Populating Entities Using an ORM or an ODM
Faker provides adapters for Object-Relational and Object-Document Mappers (currently, [Propel](http://www.propelorm.org), [Doctrine2](http://docs.doctrine-project.org/projects/doctrine-orm/en/latest/), [CakePHP](http://cakephp.org), [Spot2](https://github.com/vlucas/spot2), [Mandango](https://github.com/mandango/mandango) and [Eloquent](https://laravel.com/docs/master/eloquent) are supported). These adapters ease the population of databases through the Entity classes provided by an ORM library (or the population of document stores using Document classes provided by an ODM library).
To populate entities, create a new populator class (using a generator instance as parameter), then list the class and number of all the entities that must be generated. To launch the actual data population, call the `execute()` method.
Here is an example showing how to populate 5 `Author` and 10 `Book` objects:
```php
addEntity('Author', 5);
$populator->addEntity('Book', 10);
$insertedPKs = $populator->execute();
```
The populator uses name and column type guessers to populate each column with relevant data. For instance, Faker populates a column named `first_name` using the `firstName` formatter, and a column with a `TIMESTAMP` type using the `dateTime` formatter. The resulting entities are therefore coherent. If Faker misinterprets a column name, you can still specify a custom closure to be used for populating a particular column, using the third argument to `addEntity()`:
```php
addEntity('Book', 5, array(
'ISBN' => function() use ($generator) { return $generator->ean13(); }
));
```
In this example, Faker will guess a formatter for all columns except `ISBN`, for which the given anonymous function will be used.
**Tip**: To ignore some columns, specify `null` for the column names in the third argument of `addEntity()`. This is usually necessary for columns added by a behavior:
```php
addEntity('Book', 5, array(
'CreatedAt' => null,
'UpdatedAt' => null,
));
```
Of course, Faker does not populate autoincremented primary keys. In addition, `Faker\ORM\Propel\Populator::execute()` returns the list of inserted PKs, indexed by class:
```php
(34, 35, 36, 37, 38),
// 'Book' => (456, 457, 458, 459, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475)
// )
```
In the previous example, the `Book` and `Author` models share a relationship. Since `Author` entities are populated first, Faker is smart enough to relate the populated `Book` entities to one of the populated `Author` entities.
Lastly, if you want to execute an arbitrary function on an entity before insertion, use the fourth argument of the `addEntity()` method:
```php
addEntity('Book', 5, array(), array(
function($book) { $book->publish(); },
));
```
## Seeding the Generator
You may want to get always the same generated data - for instance when using Faker for unit testing purposes. The generator offers a `seed()` method, which seeds the random number generator. Calling the same script twice with the same seed produces the same results.
```php
seed(1234);
echo $faker->name; // 'Jess Mraz I';
```
> **Tip**: DateTime formatters won't reproduce the same fake data if you don't fix the `$max` value:
>
> ```php
> // even when seeded, this line will return different results because $max varies
> $faker->dateTime(); // equivalent to $faker->dateTime($max = 'now')
> // make sure you fix the $max parameter
> $faker->dateTime('2014-02-25 08:37:17'); // will return always the same date when seeded
> ```
>
> **Tip**: Formatters won't reproduce the same fake data if you use the `rand()` php function. Use `$faker` or `mt_rand()` instead:
>
> ```php
> // bad
> $faker->realText(rand(10,20));
> // good
> $faker->realText($faker->numberBetween(10,20));
> ```
## Faker Internals: Understanding Providers
A `Faker\Generator` alone can't do much generation. It needs `Faker\Provider` objects to delegate the data generation to them. `Faker\Factory::create()` actually creates a `Faker\Generator` bundled with the default providers. Here is what happens under the hood:
```php
addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Person($faker));
$faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Address($faker));
$faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\PhoneNumber($faker));
$faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\en_US\Company($faker));
$faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\Lorem($faker));
$faker->addProvider(new Faker\Provider\Internet($faker));
````
Whenever you try to access a property on the `$faker` object, the generator looks for a method with the same name in all the providers attached to it. For instance, calling `$faker->name` triggers a call to `Faker\Provider\Person::name()`. And since Faker starts with the last provider, you can easily override existing formatters: just add a provider containing methods named after the formatters you want to override.
That means that you can easily add your own providers to a `Faker\Generator` instance. A provider is usually a class extending `\Faker\Provider\Base`. This parent class allows you to use methods like `lexify()` or `randomNumber()`; it also gives you access to formatters of other providers, through the protected `$generator` property. The new formatters are the public methods of the provider class.
Here is an example provider for populating Book data:
```php
generator->sentence($nbWords);
return substr($sentence, 0, strlen($sentence) - 1);
}
public function ISBN()
{
return $this->generator->ean13();
}
}
```
To register this provider, just add a new instance of `\Faker\Provider\Book` to an existing generator:
```php
addProvider(new \Faker\Provider\Book($faker));
```
Now you can use the two new formatters like any other Faker formatter:
```php
setTitle($faker->title);
$book->setISBN($faker->ISBN);
$book->setSummary($faker->text);
$book->setPrice($faker->randomNumber(2));
```
**Tip**: A provider can also be a Plain Old PHP Object. In that case, all the public methods of the provider become available to the generator.
## Real Life Usage
The following script generates a valid XML document:
```php
boolean(25)): ?>
streetAddress ?>
city ?>
postcode ?>
state ?>
boolean(33)): ?>
bs ?>
boolean(33)): ?>
boolean(15)): ?>
text(400) ?>
]]>
```
Running this script produces a document looking like:
```xml
182 Harrison Cove
North Lloyd
45577
Alabama
orchestrate compelling web-readiness
90111 Hegmann Inlet
South Geovanymouth
69961-9311
Colorado
9791 Nona Corner
Harberhaven
74062-8191
RhodeIsland
11161 Schultz Via
Feilstad
98019
NewJersey
6106 Nader Village Suite 753
McLaughlinstad
43189-8621
Missouri
expedite viral synergies
7546 Kuvalis Plaza
South Wilfrid
77069
Georgia
478 Daisha Landing Apt. 510
West Lizethhaven
30566-5362
WestVirginia
orchestrate dynamic networks
1251 Koelpin Mission
North Revastad
81620
Maryland
6396 Langworth Hills Apt. 446
New Carlos
89399-0268
Wyoming
2246 Kreiger Station Apt. 291
Kaydenmouth
11397-1072
Wyoming
grow sticky portals
```
## Language specific formatters
### `Faker\Provider\ar_SA\Person`
```php
idNumber; // ID number
echo $faker->nationalIdNumber // Citizen ID number
echo $faker->foreignerIdNumber // Foreigner ID number
echo $faker->companyIdNumber // Company ID number
```
### `Faker\Provider\ar_SA\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber // "SA0218IBYZVZJSEC8536V4XC"
```
### `Faker\Provider\at_AT\Payment`
```php
vat; // "AT U12345678" - Austrian Value Added Tax number
echo $faker->vat(false); // "ATU12345678" - unspaced Austrian Value Added Tax number
```
### `Faker\Provider\bg_BG\Payment`
```php
vat; // "BG 0123456789" - Bulgarian Value Added Tax number
echo $faker->vat(false); // "BG0123456789" - unspaced Bulgarian Value Added Tax number
```
### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\Address`
```php
region; // "Liberecký kraj"
```
### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\Company`
```php
ico; // "69663963"
```
### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\DateTime`
```php
monthNameGenitive; // "prosince"
echo $faker->formattedDate; // "12. listopadu 2015"
```
### `Faker\Provider\cs_CZ\Person`
```php
birthNumber; // "7304243452"
```
### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Person`
```php
cpr; // "051280-2387"
```
### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Address`
```php
kommune; // "Frederiksberg"
// Generates a random region name
echo $faker->region; // "Region Sjælland"
```
### `Faker\Provider\da_DK\Company`
```php
cvr; // "32458723"
// Generates a random P number
echo $faker->p; // "5398237590"
```
### `Faker\Provider\de_DE\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "DE41849025553661169313"
echo $faker->bank; // "Volksbank Stuttgart"
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_HK\Address`
```php
town; // "Yuen Long"
// Generates a fake village name based on the words commonly found in Hong Kong
echo $faker->village; // "O Tau"
// Generates a fake estate name based on the words commonly found in Hong Kong
echo $faker->estate; // "Ching Lai Court"
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_HK\Phone`
```php
mobileNumber; // "92150087"
// Generates a Hong Kong landline number (starting with 2 or 3)
echo $faker->landlineNumber; // "32750132"
// Generates a Hong Kong fax number (starting with 7)
echo $faker->faxNumber; // "71937729"
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_NG\Address`
```php
region; // 'Katsina'
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_NG\Person`
```php
name; // 'Oluwunmi Mayowa'
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_NZ\Phone`
```php
cellNumber; // "021 123 4567"
// Generates a toll free number
echo $faker->tollFreeNumber; // "0800 123 456"
// Area Code
echo $faker->areaCode; // "03"
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // '51915734310'
echo $faker->bankRoutingNumber; // '212240302'
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_US\Person`
```php
ssn; // '123-45-6789'
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_ZA\Company`
```php
companyNumber; // 1999/789634/01
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_ZA\Person`
```php
idNumber; // 6606192211041
```
### `Faker\Provider\en_ZA\PhoneNumber`
```php
tollFreeNumber; // 0800 555 5555
// Generates a mobile phone number
echo $faker->mobileNumber; // 082 123 5555
```
### `Faker\Provider\es_ES\Person`
```php
dni; // '77446565E'
```
### `Faker\Provider\es_ES\Payment`
```php
vat; // "A35864370"
```
### `Faker\Provider\es_PE\Person`
```php
dni; // '83367512'
```
### `Faker\Provider\fa_IR\Address`
```php
building; // "ساختمان آفتاب"
// Returns a random city name
echo $faker->city // "استان زنجان"
```
### `Faker\Provider\fa_IR\Company`
```php
contract; // "رسمی"
```
### `Faker\Provider\fi_FI\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "FI8350799879879616"
```
### `Faker\Provider\fi_FI\Person`
```php
personalIdentityNumber() // '170974-007J'
//Since the numbers are different for male and female persons, optionally you can specify gender.
echo $faker->personalIdentityNumber(\DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', '2015-12-14'), 'female') // '141215A520B'
```
### `Faker\Provider\fr_BE\Payment`
```php
vat; // "BE 0123456789" - Belgian Value Added Tax number
echo $faker->vat(false); // "BE0123456789" - unspaced Belgian Value Added Tax number
```
### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Address`
```php
departmentName; // "Haut-Rhin"
// Generates a random department number
echo $faker->departmentNumber; // "2B"
// Generates a random department info (department number => department name)
$faker->department; // array('18' => 'Cher');
// Generates a random region
echo $faker->region; // "Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon"
```
### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Company`
```php
siren; // 082 250 104
// Generates a random SIRET number
echo $faker->siret; // 347 355 708 00224
```
### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Payment`
```php
vat; // FR 12 123 456 789
```
### `Faker\Provider\fr_FR\Person`
```php
nir; // 1 88 07 35 127 571 - 19
```
### `Faker\Provider\he_IL\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber // "IL392237392219429527697"
```
### `Faker\Provider\hr_HR\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber // "HR3789114847226078672"
```
### `Faker\Provider\hu_HU\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "HU09904437680048220079300783"
```
### `Faker\Provider\id_ID\Person`
```php
nik(); // "8522246001570940"
```
### `Faker\Provider\it_IT\Company`
```php
vatId(); // "IT98746784967"
```
### `Faker\Provider\it_IT\Person`
```php
taxId(); // "DIXDPZ44E08F367A"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ja_JP\Person`
```php
kanaName($gender = null|'male'|'female') // "アオタ ミノル"
// Generates a 'kana' first name
echo $faker->firstKanaName($gender = null|'male'|'female') // "ヒデキ"
// Generates a 'kana' first name on the male
echo $faker->firstKanaNameMale // "ヒデキ"
// Generates a 'kana' first name on the female
echo $faker->firstKanaNameFemale // "マアヤ"
// Generates a 'kana' last name
echo $faker->lastKanaName; // "ナカジマ"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ka_GE\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "GE33ZV9773853617253389"
```
### `Faker\Provider\kk_KZ\Company`
```php
businessIdentificationNumber; // "150140000019"
```
### `Faker\Provider\kk_KZ\Payment`
```php
bank; // "Қазкоммерцбанк"
// Generates a random bank account number
echo $faker->bankAccountNumber; // "KZ1076321LO4H6X41I37"
```
### `Faker\Provider\kk_KZ\Person`
```php
individualIdentificationNumber; // "780322300455"
// Generates an individual identification number based on his/her birth date
echo $faker->individualIdentificationNumber(new \DateTime('1999-03-01')); // "990301300455"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ko_KR\Address`
```php
metropolitanCity; // "서울특별시"
// Generates a borough
echo $faker->borough; // "강남구"
```
### `Faker\Provider\lt_LT\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber // "LT300848876740317118"
```
### `Faker\Provider\lv_LV\Person`
```php
personalIdentityNumber; // "140190-12301"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ne_NP\Address`
```php
district;
//Generates a Nepali city name
echo $faker->cityName;
```
### `Faker\Provider\nl_BE\Payment`
```php
vat; // "BE 0123456789" - Belgian Value Added Tax number
echo $faker->vat(false); // "BE0123456789" - unspaced Belgian Value Added Tax number
```
### `Faker\Provider\nl_NL\Company`
```php
vat; // "NL123456789B01" - Dutch Value Added Tax number
echo $faker->btw; // "NL123456789B01" - Dutch Value Added Tax number (alias)
```
### `Faker\Provider\no_NO\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "NO3246764709816"
```
### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Person`
```php
pesel; // "40061451555"
// Generates a random personal identity card number
echo $faker->personalIdentityNumber; // "AKX383360"
// Generates a random taxpayer identification number (NIP)
echo $faker->taxpayerIdentificationNumber; // '8211575109'
```
### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Company`
```php
regon; // "714676680"
// Generates a random local REGON number
echo $faker->regonLocal; // "15346111382836"
```
### `Faker\Provider\pl_PL\Payment`
```php
bank; // "Narodowy Bank Polski"
// Generates a random bank account number
echo $faker->bankAccountNumber; // "PL14968907563953822118075816"
```
### `Faker\Provider\pt_PT\Person`
```php
taxpayerIdentificationNumber; // '165249277'
```
### `Faker\Provider\pt_BR\Address`
```php
region; // 'Nordeste'
// Generates a random region abbreviation
echo $faker->regionAbbr; // 'NE'
```
### `Faker\Provider\pt_BR\PhoneNumber`
```php
areaCode; // 21
echo $faker->cellphone; // 9432-5656
echo $faker->landline; // 2654-3445
echo $faker->phone; // random landline, 8-digit or 9-digit cellphone number
// Using the phone functions with a false argument returns unformatted numbers
echo $faker->cellphone(false); // 74336667
// cellphone() has a special second argument to add the 9th digit. Ignored if generated a Radio number
echo $faker->cellphone(true, true); // 98983-3945 or 7343-1290
// Using the "Number" suffix adds area code to the phone
echo $faker->cellphoneNumber; // (11) 98309-2935
echo $faker->landlineNumber(false); // 3522835934
echo $faker->phoneNumber; // formatted, random landline or cellphone (obeying the 9th digit rule)
echo $faker->phoneNumberCleared; // not formatted, random landline or cellphone (obeying the 9th digit rule)
```
### `Faker\Provider\pt_BR\Person`
```php
name; // 'Sr. Luis Adriano Sepúlveda Filho'
// Valid document generators have a boolean argument to remove formatting
echo $faker->cpf; // '145.343.345-76'
echo $faker->cpf(false); // '45623467866'
echo $faker->rg; // '84.405.736-3'
```
### `Faker\Provider\pt_BR\Company`
```php
cnpj; // '23.663.478/0001-24'
echo $faker->cnpj(false); // '23663478000124'
```
### `Faker\Provider\ro_MD\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "MD83BQW1CKMUW34HBESDP3A8"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ro_RO\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "RO55WRJE3OE8X3YQI7J26U1E"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ro_RO\Person`
```php
prefixMale; // "ing."
// Generates a random female name prefix/title
echo $faker->prefixFemale; // "d-na."
// Generates a random male first name
echo $faker->firstNameMale; // "Adrian"
// Generates a random female first name
echo $faker->firstNameFemale; // "Miruna"
// Generates a random Personal Numerical Code (CNP)
echo $faker->cnp; // "2800523081231"
// Valid option values:
// $gender: null (random), male, female
// $dateOfBirth (1800+): null (random), Y-m-d, Y-m (random day), Y (random month and day)
// i.e. '1981-06-16', '2015-03', '1900'
// $county: 2 letter ISO 3166-2:RO county codes and B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6 for Bucharest's 6 sectors
// $isResident true/false flag if the person resides in Romania
echo $faker->cnp($gender = null, $dateOfBirth = null, $county = null, $isResident = true);
```
### `Faker\Provider\ro_RO\PhoneNumber`
```php
tollFreePhoneNumber; // "0800123456"
// Generates a random premium-rate phone number
echo $faker->premiumRatePhoneNumber; // "0900123456"
```
### `Faker\Provider\ru_RU\Payment`
```php
bank; // "ОТП Банк"
//Generate a Russian Tax Payment Number for Company
echo $faker->inn; // 7813540735
//Generate a Russian Tax Code for Company
echo $faker->kpp; // 781301001
```
### `Faker\Provider\sv_SE\Payment`
```php
bankAccountNumber; // "SE5018548608468284909192"
```
### `Faker\Provider\sv_SE\Person`
```php
personalIdentityNumber() // '950910-0799'
//Since the numbers are different for male and female persons, optionally you can specify gender.
echo $faker->personalIdentityNumber('female') // '950910-0781'
```
### `Faker\Provider\zh_CN\Payment`
```php
bank; // '中国建设银行'
```
### `Faker\Provider\uk_UA\Payment`
```php
bank; // "Ощадбанк"
```
### `Faker\Provider\zh_TW\Person`
```php
personalIdentityNumber; // A223456789
```
### `Faker\Provider\zh_TW\Company`
```php
VAT; //23456789
```
## Third-Party Libraries Extending/Based On Faker
* Symfony2 bundles:
* [BazingaFakerBundle](https://github.com/willdurand/BazingaFakerBundle): Put the awesome Faker library into the Symfony2 DIC and populate your database with fake data.
* [AliceBundle](https://github.com/hautelook/AliceBundle), [AliceFixturesBundle](https://github.com/h4cc/AliceFixturesBundle): Bundles for using [Alice](https://packagist.org/packages/nelmio/alice) and Faker with data fixtures. Able to use Doctrine ORM as well as Doctrine MongoDB ODM.
* [FakerServiceProvider](https://github.com/EmanueleMinotto/FakerServiceProvider): Faker Service Provider for Silex
* [faker-cli](https://github.com/bit3/faker-cli): Command Line Tool for the Faker PHP library
* [Factory Muffin](https://github.com/thephpleague/factory-muffin): enable the rapid creation of objects (PHP port of factory-girl)
* [CompanyNameGenerator](https://github.com/fzaninotto/CompanyNameGenerator): Generate names for English tech companies with class
* [PlaceholdItProvider](https://github.com/EmanueleMinotto/PlaceholdItProvider): Generate images using placehold.it
* [datalea](https://github.com/spyrit/datalea) A highly customizable random test data generator web app
* [newage-ipsum](https://github.com/frequenc1/newage-ipsum): A new aged ipsum provider for the faker library inspired by http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/
* [xml-faker](https://github.com/prewk/xml-faker): Create fake XML with Faker
* [faker-context](https://github.com/denheck/faker-context): Behat context using Faker to generate testdata
* [CronExpressionGenerator](https://github.com/swekaj/CronExpressionGenerator): Faker provider for generating random, valid cron expressions.
* [pragmafabrik/Pomm2Faker](https://github.com/pragmafabrik/Pomm2Faker): Faker client for Pomm database framework (PostgreSQL)
* [nelmio/alice](https://packagist.org/packages/nelmio/alice): Fixtures/object generator with a yaml DSL that can use Faker as data generator.
* [CakePHP 2.x Fake Seeder Plugin](https://github.com/ravage84/cakephp-fake-seeder) A CakePHP 2.x shell to seed your database with fake and/or fixed data.
* [images-generator](https://github.com/bruceheller/images-generator): An image generator provider using GD for placeholder type pictures
* [pattern-lab/plugin-php-faker](https://github.com/pattern-lab/plugin-php-faker): Pattern Lab is a Styleguide, Component Library, and Prototyping tool. This creates unique content each time Pattern Lab is generated.
* [guidocella/eloquent-populator](https://github.com/guidocella/eloquent-populator): Adapter for Laravel's Eloquent ORM.
* [tamperdata/exiges](https://github.com/tamperdata/exiges): Faker provider for generating random temperatures
## License
Faker is released under the MIT Licence. See the bundled LICENSE file for details.