Helper Functions

Global Namespace

Function	Signature	Description
app()	app(): App	Get global app singleton, creating if needed

// Get the app anywhere
$app = app();

// Chain calls
app()->get('/users', fn() => User::all());

// Access container
$db = app()->make(DB::class);

Verge Namespace

Import these functions from the Verge namespace:

use function Verge\make;
use function Verge\response;
use function Verge\json;
use function Verge\html;
use function Verge\redirect;
use function Verge\download;
use function Verge\file;
use function Verge\route;
use function Verge\signed_route;
use function Verge\http;
use function Verge\config;
use function Verge\base_path;

Container

make()

Resolve a class from the container.

make(string $abstract, array $parameters = []): mixed

$users = make(UserService::class);
$report = make(ReportGenerator::class, ['format' => 'pdf']);

Response Helpers

response()

Create a basic Response.

response(string $body = '', int $status = 200, array $headers = []): Response

response('Hello');                           // 200, text/plain
response('Created', 201);                    // Custom status
response('', 200, ['X-Custom' => 'value']);  // Custom headers

json()

Create a JSON Response.

json(mixed $data, int $status = 200, array $headers = []): JsonResponse

json(['ok' => true]);                  // 200, application/json
json(['error' => 'fail'], 400);        // 400 Bad Request
json(['users' => $users], 200, [
    'X-Total-Count' => count($users)
]);

html()

Create an HTML Response.

html(string $content, int $status = 200, array $headers = []): HtmlResponse

html('<h1>Hello World</h1>');          // 200, text/html
html('<h1>Not Found</h1>', 404);       // 404 page
html($template, 200, [
    'Cache-Control' => 'public, max-age=3600'
]);

redirect()

Create a redirect Response.

redirect(string $url, int $status = 302, array $headers = []): RedirectResponse

redirect('/dashboard');                // 302 temporary redirect
redirect('/new-home', 301);            // 301 permanent redirect
redirect('/login', 302, [
    'X-Redirect-Reason' => 'session-expired'
]);

download()

Create a file download Response (Content-Disposition: attachment).

download(string $path, ?string $filename = null, ?string $contentType = null): DownloadResponse

// Download with original filename
download('/path/to/report.pdf');

// Download with custom filename
download('/path/to/file.pdf', 'monthly-report.pdf');

// Download with explicit content type
download('/path/to/data.bin', 'export.csv', 'text/csv');

file()

Create a file Response for inline display (Content-Disposition: inline).

file(string $path, ?string $contentType = null): FileResponse

// Display PDF in browser
file('/path/to/document.pdf');

// Display image
file('/path/to/image.png');

// Explicit content type
file('/path/to/data', 'image/svg+xml');

Routing Helpers

route()

Generate URL for a named route.

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

// Given: $app->get('/users/{id}', ...)->name('users.show');
route('users.show', ['id' => 123]);     // /users/123

// Given: $app->get('/posts', ...)->name('posts.index');
route('posts.index');                    // /posts

// With query parameters (extra params become query string)
route('users.show', ['id' => 123, 'tab' => 'posts']);  // /users/123?tab=posts

signed_route()

Generate a signed URL for a named route with optional expiration.

signed_route(string $name, array $params = [], ?int $expiration = null): string

// Signed URL (no expiration)
signed_route('unsubscribe', ['user' => 123]);
// /unsubscribe/123?signature=abc123...

// Signed URL with expiration (1 hour from now)
signed_route('download', ['file' => 'report.pdf'], time() + 3600);
// /download/report.pdf?expires=1699999999&signature=xyz789...

// Use for password reset, email verification, etc.
$resetUrl = signed_route('password.reset', [
    'token' => $token
], time() + 3600);

HTTP Client

http()

Get the HTTP client instance for making external requests.

http(): Client

// GET request
$response = http()->get('https://api.example.com/users');

// POST with JSON body
$response = http()->post('https://api.example.com/users', [
    'name' => 'John',
    'email' => 'john@example.com'
]);

// With headers
$response = http()
    ->withHeader('Authorization', 'Bearer ' . $token)
    ->get('https://api.example.com/me');

// Access response
$data = json_decode($response->getBody()->getContents(), true);
$status = $response->getStatusCode();

Configuration Helpers

config()

Get or set configuration values.

config(string|array|null $key = null, mixed $default = null): mixed

// Get single value
$debug = config('app.debug', false);
$dbHost = config('database.host', 'localhost');

// Get all config
$all = config();

// Set values (pass array)
config(['app.debug' => true]);

base_path()

Get the application base path, optionally appending a sub-path.

base_path(string $path = ''): string

// Get root path
$root = base_path();                    // /var/www/myapp

// Get sub-path
$storage = base_path('storage');        // /var/www/myapp/storage
$views = base_path('resources/views');  // /var/www/myapp/resources/views

Verge Facade

For static access to the app instance:

use Verge\Verge;

// Create app with optional setup
Verge::create(function (App $app) {
    $app->get('/', fn() => 'Hello');
});

// Get current app instance
$app = Verge::app();

// Resolve from container
$service = Verge::make(UserService::class);
$report = Verge::make(ReportGenerator::class, ['format' => 'pdf']);

// Check if bound
if (Verge::has(CacheInterface::class)) {
    // ...
}

// Get environment variable
$debug = Verge::env('APP_DEBUG', false);

// Generate route URL
$url = Verge::route('users.show', ['id' => 123]);

// HTTP client
$response = Verge::http()->get('https://api.example.com');

// Cache instance
$cache = Verge::cache();
$value = $cache->get('key');

// Reset app instance (for testing)
Verge::reset();

Quick Reference

Function	Purpose	Example
app()	Get app singleton	app()->make(Service::class)
make()	Resolve from container	make(UserService::class)
response()	Basic response	response('OK', 200)
json()	JSON response	json(['ok' => true])
html()	HTML response	html('<h1>Hi</h1>')
redirect()	Redirect response	redirect('/login')
download()	File download	download('/path/to/file.pdf')
file()	Inline file display	file('/path/to/image.png')
route()	Generate route URL	route('users.show', ['id' => 1])
signed_route()	Signed URL	signed_route('reset', [], time() + 3600)
http()	HTTP client	http()->get('https://api.example.com')
config()	Get/set config	config('app.debug', false)
base_path()	Get base path	base_path('storage')