Text Column

TextColumn is the most versatile and commonly used column type in Kinetics. It is used to display strings, numbers, dates, or even transform text into visual badges.

Basic Usage

Use the static make() method with the attribute name from your database.

use Kinetics\Columns\TextColumn;

TextColumn::make('title')

Relationships

You can access properties from Eloquent relationships using dot notation. For example, if your Post model has an author() relationship, and you want to display the author’s name:

TextColumn::make('author.name')->label('Author')

Searching and Sorting

TextColumn is a prime candidate for the search (searchable()) and sort (sortable()) features.

TextColumn::make('title')
    ->sortable()
    ->searchable()

Formatting Dates & Times

Kinetics provides built-in methods to easily format your created_at, updated_at, or any date columns without needing a custom format closure. It automatically uses Carbon behind the scenes.

`date()`

Formats the column as a date. Default format is Y-m-d.

TextColumn::make('created_at')->date('d M Y') // Output: 17 Jun 2026

`time()`

Formats the column as a time. Default format is H:i:s.

TextColumn::make('created_at')->time('H:i') // Output: 13:00

`dateTime()`

Formats the column as both date and time. Default format is Y-m-d H:i:s.

TextColumn::make('created_at')->dateTime('d M Y H:i')

Badges and Colors

Instead of creating a separate column type for statuses, you can transform any TextColumn into a Badge component natively.

Enabling Badge Mode

Use the badge() method. You can also pass a boolean condition to dynamically decide if it should be rendered as a badge.

TextColumn::make('status')
    ->label('Order Status')
    ->badge()

Dynamic Colors

The true power of badges lies in the color() method. It allows you to assign specific shadcn/ui color variants based on the row’s exact value.

Supported color variants: 'default', 'secondary', 'destructive', 'outline', 'ghost', 'link'.

1. Static Color

Apply a single color to all badges in this column.

TextColumn::make('role')
    ->badge()
    ->color('secondary')

2. Value-based Color Mapping

Pass an array to map specific column values to specific color variants. This is perfect for status columns!

TextColumn::make('status')
    ->badge()
    ->color([
        'published' => 'default',
        'draft'     => 'secondary',
        'deleted'   => 'destructive',
    ])

API Reference

Method	Description
`make(string $key)`	Creates a new column instance.
`label(string $label)`	Sets the column header label.
`as(string $outputKey)`	Sets an alias for the output key.
`sortable(bool $value = true)`	Enables sorting for this column.
`searchable(bool $value = true)`	Enables searching for this column.
`hidden(bool $value = true)`	Hides the column from the table.
`formatUsing(\Closure $cb)`	Customizes the output formatting via closure.
`badge(bool $condition = true)`	Renders the column data as a badge.
`color(string\|array $color)`	Sets the badge color.
`date(string $format)`	Formats the data as a date.
`time(string $format)`	Formats the data as time.
`dateTime(string $format)`	Formats the data as datetime.