Chainable methods

A method is a transformation applied to a value with .name(args):

$engine->evaluate('trigger.user.name.trim().upper()', [
    'trigger' => ['user' => ['name' => '  ada  ']],
]);
// → "ADA"

Each method takes the value on its left, does something with it, and returns a new value that the next method in the chain operates on. There is no mutation of the context.

Methods are matched by the value's type

The same method name can behave differently depending on what it's called on. count() on a string returns its length; count() on an array returns its number of elements. reverse() reverses a string's characters or an array's order. The engine picks the implementation registered for the runtime type of the value:

Value	Type used for lookup
"hello"	string
42	int
3.14	double
true / false	bool
['a', 'b']	array
a date (see below)	Carbon\CarbonImmutable

If no method is registered for that specific type, the engine falls back to methods registered for any — default() and in(), which work on every value. (Type casts and guards like string(), isset(), and if() are functions, not methods.)

Calling a method that exists but not for this type raises TypeMismatchException; calling a name that isn't registered at all raises UnknownMethodException.

The full catalogue

See the methods reference for every built-in method grouped by type:

• String methods — case, trimming, slicing, casing conventions, split()
• Array methods — first(), last(), sum(), pluck(), join(), groupBy(), plus the list operations
• Number methods — rounding, clamping, formatting, arithmetic
• Date methods — add/subtract units, comparisons, diffs, formatting, component accessors
• Any-value methods — default() and in(), valid on any value

Working with dates

Dates are the one type you don't pass in directly — you produce one from a string or "now", then chain date methods onto it.

Produce a date with the date(), now(), or today() functions — date() parses a value, the other two give you the current moment:

// From a value in context
$engine->evaluate('date(trigger.order.dueDate).addDays(3).format("Y-m-d")', [
    'trigger' => ['order' => ['dueDate' => '2026-01-01']],
]);
// → "2026-01-04"

// From now
$engine->evaluate('now().addDays(5).format("Y-m-d")', []);

// A common workflow check: "is the due date within the next 3 days?"
$engine->evaluate('date(trigger.order.dueDate).isBefore(now().addDays(3))', $context);
// → true / false

When called without a format argument, date(), now(), and today() return a chainable date object. When called with a format string, they return a plain formatted string for simple, non-chained use:

$engine->evaluate('now("Y-m-d")', []);
// → "2026-08-31"  (a string, chain ends here)

Date methods that compare or diff against another date (isBefore(), diffInDays(), isSame()) accept either another date object or a plain date string, which they parse automatically.

An unparseable date string raises EvaluatorException.