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# Faker
[](https://packagist.org/packages/fakerphp/faker)
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[](https://shepherd.dev/github/FakerPHP/Faker)
[](https://codecov.io/gh/FakerPHP/Faker)
Faker is a PHP library that generates fake data for you. Whether you need to bootstrap your database, create good-looking XML documents, fill-in your persistence to stress test it, or anonymize data taken from a production service, Faker is for you.
It's heavily inspired by Perl's [Data::Faker](https://metacpan.org/pod/Data::Faker), and by Ruby's [Faker](https://rubygems.org/gems/faker).
## Getting Started
### Installation
Faker requires PHP >= 7.4.
```shell
composer require fakerphp/faker
```
### Documentation
Full documentation can be found over on [fakerphp.github.io](https://fakerphp.github.io).
### Basic Usage
Use `Faker\Factory::create()` to create and initialize a Faker generator, which can generate data by accessing methods named after the type of data you want.
```php
<?php
require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';
// use the factory to create a Faker\Generator instance
$faker = Faker\Factory::create();
// generate data by calling methods
echo $faker->name();
// 'Vince Sporer'
echo $faker->email();
// 'walter.sophia@hotmail.com'
echo $faker->text();
// 'Numquam ut mollitia at consequuntur inventore dolorem.'
```
Each call to `$faker->name()` yields a different (random) result. This is because Faker uses `__call()` magic, and forwards `Faker\Generator->$method()` calls to `Faker\Generator->format($method, $attributes)`.
```php
<?php
for ($i = 0; $i < 3; $i++) {
echo $faker->name() . "\n";
}
// 'Cyrus Boyle'
// 'Alena Cummerata'
// 'Orlo Bergstrom'
```
## Automated refactoring
If you already used this library with its properties, they are now deprecated and needs to be replaced by their equivalent methods.
You can use the provided [Rector](https://github.com/rectorphp/rector) config file to automate the work.
Run
```bash
composer require --dev rector/rector
```
to install `rector/rector`.
Run
```bash
vendor/bin/rector process src/ --config vendor/fakerphp/faker/rector-migrate.php
```
to run `rector/rector`.
*Note:* do not forget to replace `src/` with the path to your source directory.
Another way is to use it in your `rector.php` file:
```php
$rectorConfig->import('vendor/fakerphp/faker/rector-migrate.php');
$faker($rectorConfig);
```
## License
Faker is released under the MIT License. See [`LICENSE`](LICENSE) for details.
## Backward compatibility promise
Faker is using [Semver](https://semver.org/). This means that versions are tagged
with MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH. Only a new major version will be allowed to break backward
compatibility (BC).
Classes marked as `@experimental` or `@internal` are not included in our backward compatibility promise.
You are also not guaranteed that the value returned from a method is always the
same. You are guaranteed that the data type will not change.
PHP 8 introduced [named arguments](https://wiki.php.net/rfc/named_params), which
increased the cost and reduces flexibility for package maintainers. The names of the
arguments for methods in Faker is not included in our BC promise.