Current state

app/Http/Controllers/BrowseCategoriesController.php

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace App\Http\Controllers;
+
+use Illuminate\Http\Request;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+
+class BrowseCategoriesController extends Controller
+{
+    public function index(Request $request)
+    {
+        // Use Eloquent models for canonical category URLs and grouping
+        $contentTypes = \App\Models\ContentType::with(['rootCategories.children'])->orderBy('id')->get();
+
+        // Prepare categories grouped by content type and a flat list of root categories
+        $categoriesByType = [];
+        $categories = collect();
+        foreach ($contentTypes as $ct) {
+            $rootCats = $ct->rootCategories;
+            foreach ($rootCats as $cat) {
+                // Attach subcategories
+                $cat->subcategories = $cat->children;
+                $categories->push($cat);
+            }
+            $categoriesByType[$ct->slug] = $rootCats;
+        }
+
+        return view('browse-categories', [
+            'contentTypes' => $contentTypes,
+            'categoriesByType' => $categoriesByType,
+            'categories' => $categories,
+        ]);
+    }
+}