The Action pattern is a relatively new design pattern that's become popular in the PHP community, particularly with Laravel Developers.
The pattern is a simplified version of the Command pattern, with no separate Handler class. The Action class is responsible for the handling and execution logic.
In most cases, an Action class only has a single public method called `execute()` or `handle()`, or uses PHP's `__invoke()` magic method.
This is a different approach from a Service class that has multiple methods to perform different tasks.
Here's a simplified version of the code of an Action from my website:
```php
<?php
readonly final class AddRandomCtaToDailyEmail {
public function __construct(private EntityTypeManagerInterface $entityTypeManager) {
}
public function __invoke(DailyEmail $email):void {
// Checks a call to action isn't already added.
// If not, a random one is selected and added.
}
}
```
Note the `DailyEmail` class is [a bundle class][0] I've created that extends the regular `Node` class.
Different to a service, the class name describes the action being performed - usually starting with a verb followed by a noun to describe the action being taken and the object it's being taken on.
It's a simple pattern that doesn't require additional packages or libraries, and it's easy to implement in different frameworks and other languages.
Whether you call this an Action, Command or something else, I like that it encourages writing more structured code that's easy to read and test.
[0]:/daily/2025/06/17/drupal-bundle-classes
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<p>The Action pattern is a relatively new design pattern that's become popular in the PHP community, particularly with Laravel Developers.</p>
<p>The pattern is a simplified version of the Command pattern, with no separate Handler class. The Action class is responsible for the handling and execution logic.</p>
<p>In most cases, an Action class only has a single public method called <code>execute()</code> or <code>handle()</code>, or uses PHP's <code>__invoke()</code> magic method.</p>
<p>This is a different approach from a Service class that has multiple methods to perform different tasks.</p>
<p>Here's a simplified version of the code of an Action from my website:</p>
<pre><code><?php
readonly final class AddRandomCtaToDailyEmail {
public function __construct(private EntityTypeManagerInterface $entityTypeManager) {
}
public function __invoke(DailyEmail $email):void {
</code></pre><p>Note the <code>DailyEmail</code> class is <a href="/daily/2025/06/17/drupal-bundle-classes">a bundle class</a> I've created that extends the regular <code>Node</code> class.</p>
<p>Different to a service, the class name describes the action being performed - usually starting with a verb followed by a noun to describe the action being taken and the object it's being taken on.</p>
<p>It's a simple pattern that doesn't require additional packages or libraries, and it's easy to implement in different frameworks and other languages.</p>
<p>Whether you call this an Action, Command or something else, I like that it encourages writing more structured code that's easy to read and test.</p>
