create-unit-of-work

Installation
SKILL.md

Unit of Work Generator

Creates Unit of Work pattern infrastructure for transactional consistency across multiple aggregates.

When to Use

Scenario Example
Multi-aggregate transactions Order + Payment + Inventory in single transaction
Batch persistence Flush multiple entity changes at once
Change tracking Detect dirty entities for selective updates
Domain event collection Collect and dispatch events after successful commit
Repository coordination Ensure all repositories share the same transaction

Component Characteristics

UnitOfWorkInterface

  • Application layer port
  • begin(), commit(), rollback() transaction methods
  • registerNew(), registerDirty(), registerDeleted() tracking methods
  • flush() to persist all tracked changes
  • collectEvents() from tracked aggregates

UnitOfWork

  • Infrastructure implementation (PDO/Doctrine-based)
  • Identity Map for tracked entities
  • Dirty checking for change detection
  • Ordered persistence (inserts → updates → deletes)
  • Wraps all operations in database transaction

AggregateTracker

  • Tracks entity state (NEW, CLEAN, DIRTY, DELETED)
  • Identity Map prevents duplicate loading
  • Computes changeset on flush

TransactionManagerInterface

  • Abstracts transaction lifecycle
  • Supports nested transactions (savepoints)
  • Domain layer contract

DomainEventCollector

  • Collects events from all tracked aggregates
  • Dispatches events AFTER successful commit
  • Clears events on rollback

Generation Process

Step 1: Analyze Request

Determine:

  • Context name (Order, Payment, Inventory)
  • Which aggregates participate in unit of work
  • Event dispatcher integration (Symfony/custom)

Step 2: Generate Core Components

Create in this order:

  1. Domain Layer (src/Domain/Shared/UnitOfWork/)

    • EntityState.php — State enum (New, Clean, Dirty, Deleted)
    • TransactionManagerInterface.php — Transaction contract
    • DomainEventCollectorInterface.php — Event collection contract
  2. Application Layer (src/Application/Shared/UnitOfWork/)

    • UnitOfWorkInterface.php — Main port
    • AggregateTracker.php — Identity map and change tracking
  3. Infrastructure Layer (src/Infrastructure/Persistence/UnitOfWork/)

    • DoctrineUnitOfWork.php — Doctrine-based implementation
    • DoctrineTransactionManager.php — Doctrine transaction manager
    • DomainEventCollector.php — Event collector with dispatcher
  4. Tests

    • EntityStateTest.php
    • AggregateTrackerTest.php
    • DoctrineUnitOfWorkTest.php

Step 3: Generate Context-Specific Integration

For each context (e.g., Order):

src/Application/{Context}/
└── {Context}UnitOfWorkAware.php (trait or base class)

File Placement

Layer Path
Domain Types src/Domain/Shared/UnitOfWork/
Application Port src/Application/Shared/UnitOfWork/
Infrastructure src/Infrastructure/Persistence/UnitOfWork/
Unit Tests tests/Unit/{Layer}/{Path}/

Key Principles

Transaction Boundaries

  1. Begin transaction at use case entry
  2. Track all aggregate changes within boundary
  3. Flush all changes atomically
  4. Dispatch domain events after successful commit
  5. Rollback clears all tracked changes

Identity Map

  1. One entity instance per identity in memory
  2. Prevent duplicate loads from database
  3. Track original state for dirty checking

Event Ordering

  1. Persist all changes first
  2. Commit transaction
  3. Dispatch collected domain events
  4. If dispatch fails, changes are already committed (eventual consistency)

Naming Conventions

Component Pattern Example
State Enum EntityState EntityState
Main Interface UnitOfWorkInterface UnitOfWorkInterface
Implementation Doctrine{Name} DoctrineUnitOfWork
Tracker AggregateTracker AggregateTracker
Transaction TransactionManagerInterface TransactionManagerInterface
Test {ClassName}Test DoctrineUnitOfWorkTest

Quick Template Reference

UnitOfWorkInterface

interface UnitOfWorkInterface
{
    public function begin(): void;
    public function commit(): void;
    public function rollback(): void;
    public function registerNew(object $entity): void;
    public function registerDirty(object $entity): void;
    public function registerDeleted(object $entity): void;
    public function flush(): void;
}

EntityState

enum EntityState: string
{
    case New = 'new';
    case Clean = 'clean';
    case Dirty = 'dirty';
    case Deleted = 'deleted';

    public function canTransitionTo(self $next): bool;
}

Usage Pattern

$unitOfWork->begin();

try {
    $order = $orderRepository->findById($orderId);
    $order->confirm();
    $unitOfWork->registerDirty($order);

    $payment = Payment::create($order->totalAmount());
    $unitOfWork->registerNew($payment);

    $unitOfWork->flush();
    $unitOfWork->commit();
} catch (\Throwable $e) {
    $unitOfWork->rollback();
    throw $e;
}

DI Configuration

# Symfony services.yaml
Application\Shared\UnitOfWork\UnitOfWorkInterface:
    alias: Infrastructure\Persistence\UnitOfWork\DoctrineUnitOfWork

Domain\Shared\UnitOfWork\TransactionManagerInterface:
    alias: Infrastructure\Persistence\UnitOfWork\DoctrineTransactionManager

Database Notes

No dedicated table needed — Unit of Work operates on existing aggregate tables. Requires database that supports transactions (PostgreSQL, MySQL with InnoDB).


References

For complete PHP templates and test examples, see:

  • references/templates.md — All component templates
  • references/examples.md — Order + Payment transaction example and unit tests
Related skills
Installs
3
GitHub Stars
71
First Seen
Mar 17, 2026