# Faker [](https://packagist.org/packages/fakerphp/faker) [](https://github.com/FakerPHP/Faker/actions) [](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 >= 7.1. ```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 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 name() . "\n"; } // 'Cyrus Boyle' // 'Alena Cummerata' // 'Orlo Bergstrom' ``` ## 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.