Filament v4 Unified Schema API: Forms & Infolists | Mohamed Said [ ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed Said Laravel Backend Engineer ](https://www.msaied.com) [ Home ](https://www.msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://www.msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://www.msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://www.msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://www.msaied.com#contact-section) [ ](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [ Home ](https://www.msaied.com) [ Projects ](https://www.msaied.com/projects) [ Articles ](https://www.msaied.com/articles) [ Certificates ](https://www.msaied.com/certificates) [ Contact ](https://www.msaied.com#contact-section) [ home ](https://www.msaied.com) [ articles ](https://www.msaied.com/articles) Filament v4 Schema-Based Forms, Infolists, and the Unified Schema API On this page 1. [ Why the Old Approach Felt Redundant ](#why-the-old-approach-felt-redundant) 2. [ The Unified Schema API in Practice ](#the-unified-schema-api-in-practice) 3. [ Opting Into Context-Specific Behaviour ](#opting-into-context-specific-behaviour) 4. [ Reusable Schema Fragments ](#reusable-schema-fragments) 5. [ Table Columns Are Still Separate ](#table-columns-are-still-separate) 6. [ Testing the New Schema ](#testing-the-new-schema) 7. [ Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) ![Filament v4 Schema-Based Forms, Infolists, and the Unified Schema API](https://cdn.msaied.com/297/6eb3a7aaf7148fd21116eea870bd004e.png) #filament #laravel #filament-v4 #php Filament v4 Schema-Based Forms, Infolists, and the Unified Schema API ======================================================================= 26 Jun 2026 3 min read ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MJ.jpg) Mohamed Said Table of contents 1. [ 01 Why the Old Approach Felt Redundant ](#why-the-old-approach-felt-redundant) 2. [ 02 The Unified Schema API in Practice ](#the-unified-schema-api-in-practice) 3. [ 03 Opting Into Context-Specific Behaviour ](#opting-into-context-specific-behaviour) 4. [ 04 Reusable Schema Fragments ](#reusable-schema-fragments) 5. [ 05 Table Columns Are Still Separate ](#table-columns-are-still-separate) 6. [ 06 Testing the New Schema ](#testing-the-new-schema) 7. [ 07 Key Takeaways ](#key-takeaways) Why the Old Approach Felt Redundant ----------------------------------- In Filament v3, a typical resource forced you to define `form()` and `infolist()` separately. If your `OrderResource` displayed twelve fields, you wrote those fields twice — once as `TextInput` components, once as `TextEntry` components. The logic was identical; only the component class differed. Senior engineers reached for shared methods or traits to paper over the duplication, but it was always a workaround. Filament v4 addresses this at the framework level with the **unified Schema API**. The Unified Schema API in Practice ---------------------------------- The core idea: a `Schema` is a context-aware tree of components. The same schema definition renders as an editable form inside `CreateRecord` or `EditRecord`, and as a read-only infolist inside `ViewRecord`. Components resolve their own rendering based on the active context. ```php use Filament\Schema\Schema; use Filament\Schema\Components\TextInput; use Filament\Schema\Components\Select; use Filament\Schema\Components\Section; public function schema(Schema $schema): Schema { return $schema->components([ Section::make('Customer') ->schema([ TextInput::make('name') ->required() ->maxLength(255), Select::make('status') ->options(OrderStatus::class) ->required(), ]), ]); } ``` You define `schema()` once on the resource. Filament resolves `TextInput` to an editable input on the form page and to a read-only text entry on the view page — no duplication, no trait gymnastics. ### Opting Into Context-Specific Behaviour Sometimes a field genuinely needs different behaviour per context. The API provides `->visibleOn()` and `->hiddenOn()` helpers, plus the lower-level `->when()` callback that receives the active context string (`'form'`, `'infolist'`): ```php TextInput::make('internal_notes') ->hiddenOn('infolist'), Select::make('assigned_to') ->options(fn () => User::pluck('name', 'id')) ->when( fn (string $context) => $context === 'form', fn (Select $field) => $field->searchable()->preload() ), ``` This keeps the single-schema principle intact while giving you an escape hatch. ### Reusable Schema Fragments Because a schema is just a PHP value, you can extract fragments into dedicated classes and compose them: ```php class AddressSchema { public static function make(): array { return [ TextInput::make('street')->required(), TextInput::make('city')->required(), TextInput::make('postcode')->required(), ]; } } // Inside your resource: Section::make('Shipping Address') ->schema(AddressSchema::make()), ``` This is the pattern that replaces the old `getFormSchema()` / `getInfolistSchema()` split. One fragment, used everywhere. ### Table Columns Are Still Separate It is worth being explicit: the unified Schema API covers **forms and infolists only**. Table column definitions remain in `table()` and have not been merged. This is intentional — table columns carry sorting, searching, and bulk-action concerns that do not map cleanly onto a field/entry duality. ### Testing the New Schema Pest assertions against Filament v4 schemas use the same `livewire()` helper, but the component class changes: ```php use function Pest\Livewire\livewire; it('saves an order', function () { livewire(\App\Filament\Resources\OrderResource\Pages\CreateOrder::class) ->fillForm([ 'name' => 'Acme Corp', 'status' => 'pending', ]) ->call('create') ->assertHasNoFormErrors(); }); ``` The assertion surface is unchanged; only the underlying schema resolution differs. Key Takeaways ------------- - **One `schema()` method** replaces separate `form()` and `infolist()` definitions on a resource. - Components are **context-aware** — they render as inputs or entries depending on the active page. - Use `->when()` or `->hiddenOn()` for the rare cases where context-specific behaviour is genuinely needed. - Extract reusable fragments into plain PHP classes; they compose cleanly into any schema. - Table columns remain separate — the unification is scoped to forms and infolists. - Existing Pest assertions continue to work; no test-layer rewrite is required. Found this useful? [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msaied.com%2Farticles%2Ffilament-v4-schema-based-forms-infolists-and-the-unified-schema-api-1&text=Filament+v4+Schema-Based+Forms%2C+Infolists%2C+and+the+Unified+Schema+API) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msaied.com%2Farticles%2Ffilament-v4-schema-based-forms-infolists-and-the-unified-schema-api-1) Frequently Asked Questions ---------------------------- 3 questions Q01 Do I have to rewrite all my v3 resources to use the unified Schema API when upgrading to v4? Not immediately. Filament v4 provides compatibility shims so existing `form()` and `infolist()` definitions continue to work during migration. You can migrate resources incrementally, replacing both methods with a single `schema()` method at your own pace. Q02 Can a single schema component render completely differently in form vs infolist context? Yes. Each component resolves its own view based on the active context string. You can also use the `->when()` callback to apply arbitrary configuration — different options, validation rules, or visibility — depending on whether the schema is rendering as a form or an infolist. Q03 Does the unified Schema API affect how Filament handles validation? Validation rules are only evaluated in form context. When the same schema renders as an infolist, validation is skipped entirely. You do not need to guard your `->required()` or `->rules()` calls — Filament handles the context check internally. Continue reading More Articles --------------- [ View all ](https://www.msaied.com/articles) [ ![Laravel Pipeline Pattern: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware](https://cdn.msaied.com/296/afbac95c7f4aac1cee83eb2c87541369.png) laravel pipeline clean-architecture ### Laravel Pipeline Pattern: Building Custom Pipelines Beyond Middleware The Pipeline pattern in Laravel is far more powerful than middleware alone. 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