Authentication & User Helpers

`auth('customer')` — Laravel Auth

The standard Laravel auth() helper is available in all templates. The customer guard is named 'customer'.

{{-- Check if a user is logged in --}}
@if(auth('customer')->check())
    <p>Welcome back!</p>
@else
    <a href="{{ customUrl('login') }}">Please log in</a>
@endif

{{-- Get the current user object --}}
@php $customer = auth('customer')->user(); @endphp
@if($customer)
    <p>Email: {{ $customer->email }}</p>
@endif

{{-- Get the current user ID --}}
@php $customerId = auth('customer')->id(); @endphp

`identity(): ?int`

Shortcut helper. Returns the currently logged-in customer's ID, or null for guests.

@php $customerId = identity(); @endphp
@if($customerId)
    <p>Your customer ID is: {{ $customerId }}</p>
@endif

`lmcUserDisplayName(): string`

Returns the full display name (first + last name) of the currently authenticated customer. Returns an empty string for guests.

@if(auth('customer')->check())
    <span>Hello, {{ lmcUserDisplayName() }}!</span>
@endif

`bulkBuyer(): bool`

Returns true if the current customer has the "Bulk Buyer" flag set (is_bulk_buyer = 'Y'). Bulk buyers typically get special pricing (e.g., free shipping).

@if(bulkBuyer())
    <div class="alert alert-info">
        🎉 You are a bulk buyer! Enjoy free shipping on all orders.
    </div>
@endif

{{-- Commonly used in order invoice to zero out shipping cost --}}
@php $shippingCost = bulkBuyer() ? 0 : $order->shippingAmount; @endphp
<td>Shipping: ${{ tagPrice($shippingCost) }}</td>

`isAdminLogin(): bool`

Returns true if the current "customer" session is actually an administrator logged in via the guest admin feature. Useful for showing admin-only badges or edit links while previewing the store as a customer.

@if(isAdminLogin())
    <div class="admin-badge">Admin Preview Mode</div>
    <a href="{{ url('/admin/product/edit/' . $product['productId']) }}" target="_blank">
        Edit This Product (Admin)
    </a>
@endif

`flashMessenger(): object`

Returns an object for reading flash messages stored in the session. This is the bridge between backend operations (like form submissions) and the UI.

Methods:

Method	Returns	Description
`getSuccessMessages()`	`array<string>`	Success flash messages
`getErrorMessages()`	`array<string>`	Error flash messages
`getMessages()`	`array<string>`	General flash messages

@php $flash = flashMessenger(); @endphp

{{-- Display success messages --}}
@foreach($flash->getSuccessMessages() as $msg)
    <div class="alert alert-success">
        <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="alert"></button>
        {{ $msg }}
    </div>
@endforeach

{{-- Display error messages --}}
@foreach($flash->getErrorMessages() as $msg)
    <div class="alert alert-danger">
        <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="alert"></button>
        {{ $msg }}
    </div>
@endforeach

`getCart(?string $filter = null)`

Retrieves shopping cart data for the current session. Can return the full cart details or a simple count.

Signature:

function getCart(?string $filter = null): mixed

`$filter` value	Return type	Description
`null`	`array`	Full cart details (items, totals, tax, etc.)
`'cartProductCount'`	`int`	Number of unique products in the cart
`'cartProductQuantity'`	`int`	Total item quantity (sum of all item quantities)

{{-- Header cart badge --}}
<a href="{{ customUrl('cart_list') }}" class="btn btn-warning">
    Cart <span class="badge bg-danger">{{ getCart('cartProductQuantity') }}</span>
</a>

{{-- Access full cart on the cart page --}}
@php $cart = getCart(); @endphp
<p>Subtotal: ${{ tagPrice($cart['subTotal'] ?? 0) }}</p>
<p>Tax: ${{ tagPrice($cart['taxAmount'] ?? 0) }}</p>
<p>Total: ${{ tagPrice($cart['grandTotal'] ?? 0) }}</p>

`getcookie(string $name): ?string`

Reads a cookie value from the current request.

@php $cookieValue = getcookie('my_preference'); @endphp

`getquery(string $key, mixed $default = null): mixed`

Reads a query string parameter from the current URL.

{{-- Check if we're on the Q&A tab of a product page --}}
@php $isQaTab = getquery('qaTab'); @endphp

Authentication & User Helpers

auth('customer') — Laravel Auth

identity(): ?int

lmcUserDisplayName(): string

bulkBuyer(): bool

isAdminLogin(): bool

flashMessenger(): object

getCart(?string $filter = null)

getcookie(string $name): ?string

getquery(string $key, mixed $default = null): mixed