Many people have asked about this error: Target class [DatabaseSeeder] does not exist. It seems to have many root causes, but I cannot determine my root cause. I am using Laravel 6.20.43. The software does not produce any errors when run in the browser.

The error

The error appears when I use this command: php artisan db:seed

Here is DatabaseSeeder.php:

<?php

namespace Databaseseeds;

use IlluminateDatabaseSeeder;
use IlluminateSupportFacadesDB;
use IlluminateDatabaseEloquentModel;
use AppUser;


class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    /**
     * Seed the application's database.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function run()
    {
        // factory$this->call(UsersTableSeeder::class);
        // factory(AppUser::class, 10)->create();
        // dd('DatabaseSeeder.php TESTING...');
    }
}

What have I tried?

I have tried to add a dd(…) inside DatabaseSeeder::run(). The dd(…) is not executed.
I have tried composer update. The update was performed nicely, but did not resolve the error.
I have tried several use clauses in DatabaseSeeder.php.
I have tried php artisan migrate:fresh
I have tried several combinations of solutions, for example to run migrations before dump-autoload and vice versa.
I have tried composer dump-autoload and this is the output:

Generating optimized autoload files
> IlluminateFoundationComposerScripts::postAutoloadDump
> @php artisan package:discover --ansi
Discovered Package: facade/ignition
Discovered Package: fideloper/proxy
Discovered Package: laravel/tinker
Discovered Package: nesbot/carbon
Discovered Package: nunomaduro/collision
Package manifest generated successfully.
Generated optimized autoload files containing 4381 classes

I have tried to redirect the output of php artisan db:seed to xdebug so I can analyse step by step what is happening. Good luck is what I needed here, but I ran out of luck.
I have tried to examine the error using php artisan db:seed -vvv. Here is the full output:

   IlluminateContractsContainerBindingResolutionException  : Target class [DatabaseSeeder] does not exist.

  at /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:805
    801| 
    802|         try {
    803|             $reflector = new ReflectionClass($concrete);
    804|         } catch (ReflectionException $e) {
  > 805|             throw new BindingResolutionException("Target class [$concrete] does not exist.", 0, $e);
    806|         }
    807| 
    808|         // If the type is not instantiable, the developer is attempting to resolve
    809|         // an abstract type such as an Interface or Abstract Class and there is

  Exception trace:

  1   ReflectionException::("Class DatabaseSeeder does not exist")
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:803

  2   ReflectionClass::__construct()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:803

  3   IlluminateContainerContainer::build()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:681

  4   IlluminateContainerContainer::resolve()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php:785

  5   IlluminateFoundationApplication::resolve()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:629

  6   IlluminateContainerContainer::make()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Application.php:770

  7   IlluminateFoundationApplication::make()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Database/Console/Seeds/SeedCommand.php:76

  8   IlluminateDatabaseConsoleSeedsSeedCommand::getSeeder()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Database/Console/Seeds/SeedCommand.php:63

  9   IlluminateDatabaseConsoleSeedsSeedCommand::IlluminateDatabaseConsoleSeeds{closure}()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Concerns/GuardsAttributes.php:129

  10  IlluminateDatabaseEloquentModel::unguarded()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Database/Console/Seeds/SeedCommand.php:64

  11  IlluminateDatabaseConsoleSeedsSeedCommand::handle()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36

  12  IlluminateContainerBoundMethod::IlluminateContainer{closure}()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:37

  13  IlluminateContainerUtil::unwrapIfClosure()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:93

  14  IlluminateContainerBoundMethod::callBoundMethod()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:37

  15  IlluminateContainerBoundMethod::call()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Container.php:590

  16  IlluminateContainerContainer::call()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Console/Command.php:134

  17  IlluminateConsoleCommand::execute()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/symfony/console/Command/Command.php:255

  18  SymfonyComponentConsoleCommandCommand::run()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Console/Command.php:121

  19  IlluminateConsoleCommand::run()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/symfony/console/Application.php:1009

  20  SymfonyComponentConsoleApplication::doRunCommand()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/symfony/console/Application.php:273

  21  SymfonyComponentConsoleApplication::doRun()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/symfony/console/Application.php:149

  22  SymfonyComponentConsoleApplication::run()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Console/Application.php:93

  23  IlluminateConsoleApplication::run()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Console/Kernel.php:131

  24  IlluminateFoundationConsoleKernel::handle()
      /home/billybob/laravel-cursus1/artisan:37

I truly cannot understand how to debug the output of php artisan db:seed -vvv. All those files reside in the vendor directory, meaning I cannot examine the program flow easily. Please also explain how I can debug such an error by myself in the future.

Answer

It cannot find your DatabaseSeeder class because your namespace is incorrect.

You need to change the namespace of your DatabaseSeeder class from:

namespace Databaseseeds;

to:

namespace DatabaseSeeders;

Make sure your composer autoload is setup correctly:

"autoload": {
  "psr-4": {
    "Database\Seeders\": "database/seeders/"
  }
}

Alternatively, completely remove all namespaces from your DatabaseSeeder class and revert the above changes to composer.json and then run:

composer dump-autoload

then try running:

php artisan migrate:fresh --seed

Cannot resolve this error: “Target class [DatabaseSeeder] does not exist.”

The error

What have I tried?

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Answer