generated_content

Drupal module to programmatically generate content.

Development takes place in GitHub repository https://github.com/AlexSkrypnyk/generated_contentt

User stories

As a site owner
I want to see generated content before I have content
So that I can see how my site looks

As a Drupal developer
I want to control what is put into generated content
So that I have control over what is being generated

As a Drupal developer
I want to have a list of pre-generated pages with URLs
So that I can use them for Visual Regression testing during site releases

Installation

composer require drupal/generated_content

How it works

1. The module provides callbacks system to generate content entities within a code of a custom module sitting in generated_content/{entity_type}/{entity_bundle}.inc.

2. The module provides a helper (singleton) class to generate random and static content. It also supports extending this class in your custom module to enhance with your site-specific generation helpers.

3. Generated content entities are tracked in the Repository so that they could be referenced from other generated entities (e.g., generated Articles using generated Tags).

4. Content can be generated from UI /admin/config/development/generated-contentor through a Drush command drush generated-content:create-content {entity_type} {bundle}.

5. Content can also be generated on module install if GENERATED_CONTENT_CREATE environment variable is set to 1. Generation can be further filtered by specified types in GENERATED_CONTENT_ITEMS environment variable as a comma-separated list of {entity_type}-{bundle} values:

   # Generate all items in my_module module when it is enabled.
   GENERATED_CONTENT_CREATE=1 drush pm-enable my_module
   
   # Generate only selected items in my_module module when it is enabled.
   GENERATED_CONTENT_CREATE=1 GENERATED_CONTENT_ITEMS=media-image,taxonomy_term-tags,node-page drush pm-enable my_module
   

See test example module 1 and test example module 2 for extensive examples.

See generated_content.api.php for API of callbacks system.

Difference with Devel Generate

Devel Generate and Generated Content are two different tools for creating
content in Drupal. Devel Generate is mainly used for generating random dummy
content, users, and taxonomy terms for testing and development. It allows you to
specify how many and what types of entities to create, but the content is
random.

On the other hand, Generated Content is for creating specific sets of content
based on predefined settings. It is useful for ensuring the same content is
produced each time, which is helpful for tasks like Visual Regression testing
where consistency is key. Unlike Devel Generate, which is more about quick,
random content, Generated Content is about having control and reproducibility
for structured content setups.

Generated Content does not provide any generators itself, but it allows you to
create your own generators and provides a harness to run them.

See implementation example ➜

Example to generate Tags

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace Drupal\my_module\Plugin\GeneratedContent;

use Drupal\Core\Link;
use Drupal\generated_content\Attribute\GeneratedContent;
use Drupal\generated_content\Plugin\GeneratedContent\GeneratedContentPluginBase;
use Drupal\taxonomy\Entity\Term;

#[GeneratedContent(id: 'my_module_taxonomy_term_tags', entity_type: 'taxonomy_term', bundle: 'tags', weight: 12)]
class TaxonomyTermTags extends GeneratedContentPluginBase {

  public function generate(): array {
    $total_terms_count = 10;

    $terms = [];

    for ($i = 0; $i < $total_terms_count; $i++) {
      $term = Term::create([
        'vid' => 'tags',
        'name' => 'Generated term ' . ($i + 1),
      ]);

      $term->save();

      $terms[] = $term;

      $this->helper::log(
        'Created "%s" term "%s" [ID: %s] %s',
        $term->bundle(),
        $term->toLink()->toString(),
        $term->id(),
        Link::createFromRoute('Edit', 'entity.taxonomy_term.edit_form', ['taxonomy_term' => $term->id()])->toString()
      );
    }

    return $terms;
  }

}

Generation helper

Generation helper class GeneratedContentHelper is a Singleton class which provides:

1. Random non-Drupal scalar values generation.
2. Static non-Drupal scalar values generation.
3. Random asset generator (files of different types).
4. Static asset generator (files from pre-defined assets).
5. Random Drupal entity values generation.
6. Static Drupal entity values generation.

Extending generation helper

See example of class extension:
modules/generated_content_example2/src/GeneratedContentExample2Helper.php

See example of class usage:
modules/generated_content_example2/generated_content/node/article.inc

Random vs Static content

Sometimes, it is sufficient to simply populate entities with random content to make the site look "not empty". Depending on your deployment strategy (if you are enabling content generation modules on every deployment on top of the fresh database), this may change the content on every deployment.

However, there are times when all generated content can still be a "placeholder" content, but it should be "static" between deployments, so that all content and it's aliases would not change. This is specifically important for Visual Regression testing during a release: the tool can compare generated pages with known aliases in 2 environments and report differences, if any.

Roadmap

1. Several custom assets directories.
2. Suggest yours.