Multiple Panels - WireChat

Overview

WireChat supports multiple independent chat panels in the same application. Each panel can have its own configuration, authentication guards, middleware, routes, and styling.

Use Cases

Multi-tenant applications - Separate chat panels per tenant
User & Admin chats - Different panels for customers and staff
Department isolation - Sales, support, and internal communications
Testing environments - Separate staging and production panels

Panel Registry

The PanelRegistry manages all registered panels and tracks the current active panel:

src/PanelRegistry.php

class PanelRegistry
{
    protected array $panels = [];
    protected ?Panel $defaultPanel = null;
    protected ?Panel $currentPanel = null;

    public function register(Panel $panel): void
    {
        $id = $panel->getId();
        
        // Skip if already registered
        if (isset($this->panels[$id])) {
            return;
        }
        
        $this->panels[$id] = $panel;
        
        if ($panel->isDefault()) {
            $this->defaultPanel = $panel;
        }
        
        $panel->register();
    }
}

Each panel must have a unique ID. Attempting to register a duplicate panel ID will be silently skipped.

Creating Multiple Panels

Step 1: Create Panel Providers

Create separate panel providers for each panel:

php artisan make:provider CustomerChatPanelProvider
php artisan make:provider AdminChatPanelProvider

Step 2: Configure Each Panel

app/Providers/CustomerChatPanelProvider.php

namespace App\Providers;

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Panel;
use Wirechat\Wirechat\PanelProvider;

class CustomerChatPanelProvider extends PanelProvider
{
    public function panel(Panel $panel): Panel
    {
        return $panel
            ->id('customer')
            ->default()  // This is the default panel
            ->path('chat')
            ->authGuards(['web'])
            ->middleware(['auth', 'verified'])
            ->colors([
                'primary' => '#3b82f6',
            ]);
    }
}

app/Providers/AdminChatPanelProvider.php

namespace App\Providers;

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Panel;
use Wirechat\Wirechat\PanelProvider;

class AdminChatPanelProvider extends PanelProvider
{
    public function panel(Panel $panel): Panel
    {
        return $panel
            ->id('admin')
            ->path('admin/chat')
            ->authGuards(['admin'])
            ->middleware(['auth:admin', 'can:access-admin-chat'])
            ->colors([
                'primary' => '#dc2626',
            ])
            ->messagesQueue('admin-messages')
            ->eventsQueue('admin-events');
    }
}

Step 3: Register Providers

config/app.php

'providers' => [
    // ...
    App\Providers\CustomerChatPanelProvider::class,
    App\Providers\AdminChatPanelProvider::class,
],

Default Panel

One panel must be marked as default:

return $panel
    ->id('customer')
    ->default();  // Mark as default

Only one panel can be marked as default. If multiple panels call ->default(), an exception will be thrown.

Accessing the Default Panel

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Facades\Wirechat;

$defaultPanel = Wirechat::getDefaultPanel();

Accessing Panels

Get Panel by ID

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Facades\Wirechat;

$customerPanel = Wirechat::getPanel('customer');
$adminPanel = Wirechat::getPanel('admin');

Get Current Panel

$currentPanel = Wirechat::getCurrentPanel();

Get All Panels

$panels = app(PanelRegistry::class)->all();

foreach ($panels as $panel) {
    echo $panel->getId();
}

Panel-Specific Configuration

Different Routes

Each panel can have its own route prefix:

// Customer panel: /chat
$customerPanel->path('chat');

// Admin panel: /admin/chat
$adminPanel->path('admin/chat');

Different Guards

Use separate authentication guards:

// Customer panel uses web guard
$customerPanel->authGuards(['web']);

// Admin panel uses admin guard
$adminPanel->authGuards(['admin']);

Different Middleware

Apply panel-specific middleware:

$customerPanel->middleware(['auth', 'verified']);

$adminPanel->middleware(['auth:admin', 'can:access-admin-chat']);

Different Colors

Customize colors per panel:

$customerPanel->colors([
    'primary' => '#3b82f6',  // Blue for customers
]);

$adminPanel->colors([
    'primary' => '#dc2626',  // Red for admins
]);

Broadcasting with Multiple Panels

Each panel creates its own broadcast channels:

routes/channels.php

// Customer panel channels:
// - customer.conversation.{id}
// - customer.participant.{type}.{id}

// Admin panel channels:
// - admin.conversation.{id}
// - admin.participant.{type}.{id}

Panel-Specific Events

When dispatching events, specify the panel:

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Events\MessageCreated;

// Dispatch to customer panel
event(new MessageCreated($message, panel: 'customer'));

// Dispatch to admin panel
event(new MessageCreated($message, panel: 'admin'));

InteractsWithPanel Trait

WireChat uses the InteractsWithPanel trait to resolve panels:

src/Traits/InteractsWithPanel.php

trait InteractsWithPanel
{
    public ?string $panel;

    public function resolvePanel(?string $panel = null): void
    {
        if (is_string($panel) && filled($panel)) {
            $this->panel = Wirechat::getPanel($panel)->getId();
        } else {
            $this->panel = Wirechat::getDefaultPanel()->getId();
        }

        if (!$this->panel) {
            throw NoPanelProvidedException::make();
        }
    }

    public function getPanel(): ?Panel
    {
        return Wirechat::getPanel($this->panel);
    }
}

Setting Current Panel

The current panel is set automatically based on the route, but you can set it manually:

use Wirechat\Wirechat\Facades\Wirechat;

Wirechat::setCurrentPanel('admin');

$current = Wirechat::getCurrentPanel();
echo $current->getId(); // 'admin'

Queue Configuration

Use separate queues for each panel to isolate workloads:

$customerPanel
    ->messagesQueue('customer-messages')
    ->eventsQueue('customer-events');

$adminPanel
    ->messagesQueue('admin-messages')
    ->eventsQueue('admin-events');

Run dedicated workers:

# Customer messages worker
php artisan queue:work --queue=customer-messages,customer-events

# Admin messages worker
php artisan queue:work --queue=admin-messages,admin-events

Separate queues prevent one panel’s heavy traffic from affecting other panels’ performance.

Middleware Patterns

Tenant Isolation

// Middleware to ensure users only access their tenant's chat
namespace App\Http\Middleware;

class EnsureTenantAccess
{
    public function handle($request, Closure $next)
    {
        $tenantId = $request->user()->tenant_id;
        $panel = Wirechat::getCurrentPanel();
        
        // Verify panel belongs to tenant
        if ($panel->getId() !== "tenant-{$tenantId}") {
            abort(403, 'Unauthorized panel access');
        }
        
        return $next($request);
    }
}

Feature Flags

// Conditionally enable panels based on feature flags
public function panel(Panel $panel): Panel
{
    return $panel
        ->id('beta-chat')
        ->middleware([
            'auth',
            function ($request, $next) {
                if (!$request->user()->hasFeature('beta-chat')) {
                    abort(404);
                }
                return $next($request);
            },
        ]);
}

Role-Based Panels

// Different panels for different roles
public function panel(Panel $panel): Panel
{
    return $panel
        ->id('manager-chat')
        ->authGuards(['web'])
        ->middleware([
            'auth',
            'role:manager',  // Using spatie/laravel-permission
        ]);
}

Dynamic Panel Registration

app/Providers/DynamicPanelProvider.php

namespace App\Providers;

use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
use Wirechat\Wirechat\Panel;
use Wirechat\Wirechat\PanelRegistry;
use App\Models\Tenant;

class DynamicPanelProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot(): void
    {
        $registry = app(PanelRegistry::class);
        
        // Register a panel for each tenant
        Tenant::all()->each(function ($tenant) use ($registry) {
            $panel = Panel::make()
                ->id("tenant-{$tenant->id}")
                ->path("tenants/{$tenant->slug}/chat")
                ->authGuards(['web'])
                ->colors($tenant->brand_colors);
            
            $registry->register($panel);
        });
    }
}

Dynamic registration can impact performance with many panels. Consider caching panel configurations.

Resolving Panels from Providers

The PanelRegistry can resolve panels from provider classes:

src/PanelRegistry.php

protected function resolvePanelFromProvider(string $providerClass): ?Panel
{
    if (!class_exists($providerClass)) {
        return null;
    }

    $reflection = new ReflectionClass($providerClass);
    
    if ($reflection->isSubclassOf(PanelProvider::class) && 
        $reflection->hasMethod('panel')) {
        $provider = $reflection->newInstanceWithoutConstructor();
        return $provider->panel(Panel::make());
    }

    return null;
}

This allows lazy loading of panels:

// Panels are only instantiated when accessed
$panel = Wirechat::getPanel(CustomerChatPanelProvider::class);

Testing Multiple Panels

tests/Feature/MultiplePanelsTest.php

use Tests\TestCase;
use Wirechat\Wirechat\Facades\Wirechat;

class MultiplePanelsTest extends TestCase
{
    public function test_panels_are_isolated()
    {
        $customerPanel = Wirechat::getPanel('customer');
        $adminPanel = Wirechat::getPanel('admin');
        
        $this->assertEquals('customer', $customerPanel->getId());
        $this->assertEquals('admin', $adminPanel->getId());
        $this->assertNotEquals(
            $customerPanel->getPath(),
            $adminPanel->getPath()
        );
    }
    
    public function test_default_panel_is_set()
    {
        $default = Wirechat::getDefaultPanel();
        $this->assertEquals('customer', $default->getId());
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Panel Not Found

// NoPanelProvidedException

Solution: Ensure the panel provider is registered in config/app.php and at least one panel is marked as default.

Duplicate Panel ID

// Exception: Panel already registered with ID 'app'

Solution: Use unique IDs for each panel. Duplicate IDs are silently skipped by PanelRegistry::register().

Multiple Default Panels

// Exception: Only one panel can be marked as default

Solution: Only call ->default() on one panel.

Next Steps

Broadcasting

Configure real-time updates

Extending

Extend WireChat functionality

​Overview

​Use Cases

​Panel Registry

​Creating Multiple Panels

​Step 1: Create Panel Providers

​Step 2: Configure Each Panel

​Step 3: Register Providers

​Default Panel

​Accessing the Default Panel

​Accessing Panels

​Get Panel by ID

​Get Current Panel

​Get All Panels

​Panel-Specific Configuration

​Different Routes

​Different Guards

​Different Middleware

​Different Colors

​Broadcasting with Multiple Panels

​Panel-Specific Events

​InteractsWithPanel Trait

​Setting Current Panel

​Queue Configuration

​Middleware Patterns

​Dynamic Panel Registration

​Resolving Panels from Providers

​Testing Multiple Panels

​Troubleshooting

​Panel Not Found

​Duplicate Panel ID

​Multiple Default Panels

​Next Steps

Broadcasting

Extending

Overview

Use Cases

Panel Registry

Creating Multiple Panels

Step 1: Create Panel Providers

Step 2: Configure Each Panel

Step 3: Register Providers

Default Panel

Accessing the Default Panel

Accessing Panels

Get Panel by ID

Get Current Panel

Get All Panels

Panel-Specific Configuration

Different Routes

Different Guards

Different Middleware

Different Colors

Broadcasting with Multiple Panels

Panel-Specific Events

InteractsWithPanel Trait

Setting Current Panel

Queue Configuration

Middleware Patterns

Dynamic Panel Registration

Resolving Panels from Providers

Testing Multiple Panels

Troubleshooting

Panel Not Found

Duplicate Panel ID

Multiple Default Panels

Next Steps