Bug: Updater crashes when used in compiled PHAR due to missing Helper classes

[clablancherie-exo]

Environment

• Laravel Zero Version: 12.x
• PHP Version: 8.4 but also tried in 8.2

Description

The Updater component crashes when executed from a compiled PHAR file due to zlib compression errors that prevent proper class autoloading.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a Laravel Zero application with the updater component
2. Compile the application into a PHAR file
3. Run the update command from the compiled PHAR
4. The application crashes during the update process

Error Output

Checking for a new version...
=============================

PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught ErrorException: include(): zlib: data error in phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php:571
Stack trace:
#0 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(266): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->handleError(8, 'include(): zlib...', 'phar:///path/to/...', 571)
#1 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(571): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\{closure}(8, 'include(): zlib...', 'phar:///path/to/...', 571)
#2 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(571): include('phar:///path/to/...')
#3 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(428): Composer\Autoload\includeFile('phar:///path/to/...')
#4 [internal function]: Composer\Autoload\ClassLoader->loadClass('App\\Exceptions\\...')
#5 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(889): ReflectionClass->__construct('App\\Exceptions\\...')
#6 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(770): Illuminate\Container\Container->build('App\\Exceptions\\...')
#7 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php(862): Illuminate\Container\Container->resolve('App\\Exceptions\\...', Array, false)
#8 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(295): Illuminate\Foundation\Application->resolve('App\\Exceptions\\...', Array, false)
#9 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(885): Illuminate\Container\Container->Illuminate\Container\{closure}(Object(LaravelZero\Framework\Application), Array)
#10 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(770): Illuminate\Container\Container->build(Object(Closure))
#11 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php(862): Illuminate\Container\Container->resolve('Illuminate\\Cont...', Array, true)
#12 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/illuminate/container/Container.php(706): Illuminate\Foundation\Application->resolve('Illuminate\\Cont...', Array)
#13 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php(847): Illuminate\Container\Container->make('Illuminate\\Cont...', Array)
#14 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(299): Illuminate\Foundation\Application->make('Illuminate\\Cont...')
#15 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(218): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->getExceptionHandler()
#16 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(204): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->renderForConsole(Object(ErrorException))
#17 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(266): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->handleException(Object(ErrorException))
#18 [internal function]: Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\{closure}(Object(ErrorException))
#19 {main}
  thrown in phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php on line 571

PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught ErrorException: include(): zlib: data error in phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php:571
Stack trace:
#0 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(266): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->handleError(8, 'include(): zlib...', 'phar:///path/to/...', 571)
#1 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(571): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\{closure}(8, 'include(): zlib...', 'phar:///path/to/...', 571)
#2 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(571): include('phar:///path/to/...')
#3 phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php(428): Composer\Autoload\includeFile('phar:///path/to/...')
#4 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(255): Composer\Autoload\ClassLoader->loadClass('Symfony\\Compone...')
#5 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(242): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->fatalErrorFromPhpError(Array, 0)
#6 phar:///path/to/app.phar/vendor/laravel-zero/foundation/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Bootstrap/HandleExceptions.php(266): Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->handleShutdown()
#7 [internal function]: Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\HandleExceptions->Illuminate\Foundation\Bootstrap\{closure}()
#8 {main}
  thrown in phar:///path/to/app.phar/.box/vendor/composer/ClassLoader.php on line 571

Expected Behavior

The updater should work seamlessly in compiled PHAR files without throwing zlib compression errors.

Actual Behavior

The application crashes with a zlib: data error during class autoloading when running the updater from a compiled PHAR file. The error occurs when trying to load various classes including exception handlers and Symfony components, indicating a deeper issue with how classes are compressed and loaded in the PHAR context.

Root Cause

The error trace reveals a zlib: data error occurring in the Composer ClassLoader when trying to include files from the compiled PHAR. This suggests that the issue is related to:

1. PHAR Compression Issues: The zlib compression used during PHAR compilation may be corrupting certain files
2. Class Autoloading Problems: The error cascade starts when trying to autoload classes and triggers the exception handling system
3. OutputStyle Dependencies: The original issue is located in vendor/laravel-zero/framework/src/Components/Updater/Updater.php in the update() method when calling $output->success(), but the underlying problem appears to be broader class loading issues in the PHAR context

The specific problematic line:

$output->success(sprintf('Updated from version %s to %s.', $this->updater->getOldVersion(),
    $this->updater->getNewVersion()));

The success() method uses createBlock() which internally calls:

$indentLength = 0;
$prefixLength = Helper::width(Helper::removeDecoration($this->getFormatter(), $prefix));
$lines = [];

This Helper class from Laravel is not accessible when running from a compiled PHAR due to compression/autoloading issues.

Affected Code

File: vendor/laravel-zero/framework/src/Components/Updater/Updater.php

public function update(OutputStyle $output): void
{
    $result = $this->updater->update();

    if ($result) {
        $output->success(sprintf('Updated from version %s to %s.', $this->updater->getOldVersion(),
            $this->updater->getNewVersion()));
        exit(0);
    } elseif (! $this->updater->getNewVersion()) {
        $output->success('There are no stable versions available.');
    } else {
        $output->success('You have the latest version installed.');
    }
}

Proposed Solutions

Solution 1: Preload Dependencies

Add a preliminary message to ensure Helper classes are loaded before the critical success message:

public function update(OutputStyle $output): void
{
    // Preload dependencies by calling a method that uses Helper classes
    $output->comment('Update started...');
    
    $result = $this->updater->update();

    if ($result) {
        $output->success(sprintf('Updated from version %s to %s.', $this->updater->getOldVersion(),
            $this->updater->getNewVersion()));
        exit(0);
    } elseif (! $this->updater->getNewVersion()) {
        $output->success('There are no stable versions available.');
    } else {
        $output->success('You have the latest version installed.');
    }
}

Solution 2: Use Simple Output Methods (Recommended)

Replace success() calls with writeln() to avoid dependency on Helper classes:

public function update(OutputStyle $output): void
{
    $result = $this->updater->update();

    if ($result) {
        $output->writeln(sprintf('<info>Updated from version %s to %s.</info>', $this->updater->getOldVersion(),
            $this->updater->getNewVersion()));
        exit(0);
    } elseif (! $this->updater->getNewVersion()) {
        $output->writeln('<info>There are no stable versions available.</info>');
    } else {
        $output->writeln('<info>You have the latest version installed.</info>');
    }
}

Additional Information

This bug specifically affects Laravel Zero applications when:

• Compiled into PHAR files
• Using the updater component
• The error manifests as a zlib: data error during class autoloading
• Multiple classes fail to load including App\Exceptions and Symfony components

The issue appears to be a combination of:

1. PHAR compression problems affecting class loading
2. The updater's reliance on OutputStyle methods that trigger extensive class autoloading
3. Cascading failures in the exception handling system

Priority

Medium - This affects the core functionality of self-updating applications built with Laravel Zero when distributed as PHAR files.

Labels

• bug
• phar-compression
• autoloading
• laravel-zero-12