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DB Models and Eloquent

⬆️ Go to main menu ➡️ Next (Models Relations)

Reuse or clone query()

Typically, we need to query multiple time from a filtered query. So, most of the time we use query() method,

let's write a query for getting today created active and inactive products

$query = Product::query();


$today = request()->q_date ?? today();
if($today){
    $query->where('created_at', $today);
}

// lets get active and inactive products
$active_products = $query->where('status', 1)->get(); // this line modified the $query object variable
$inactive_products = $query->where('status', 0)->get(); // so here we will not find any inactive products

But, after getting $active products the $query will be modified. So, $inactive_products will not find any inactive products from $query and that will return blank collection every time. Cause, that will try to find inactive products from $active_products ($query will return active products only).

For solve this issue, we can query multiple time by reusing this $query object. So, We need to clone this $query before doing any $query modification action.

$active_products = $query->clone()->where('status', 1)->get(); // it will not modify the $query
$inactive_products = $query->clone()->where('status', 0)->get(); // so we will get inactive products from $query

Remember to use bindings in your raw queries

You can pass an array of bindings to most raw query methods to avoid SQL injection.

// This is vulnerable to SQL injection
$fullname = request('full_name');
User::whereRaw("CONCAT(first_name, last_name) = $fullName")->get();

// Use bindings
User::whereRaw("CONCAT(first_name, last_name) = ?", [request('full_name')])->get();

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Small cheat-sheet for using Full-Text Search with Laravel on MySQL

Migration

Schema::create('comments', function (Blueprint $table) {
     $table->id();
     $table->string('title');
     $table->text('description');

     $table->fullText(['title', 'description']);
});

Natural language

Search for something

Comment::whereFulltext(['title', 'description'], 'something')->get();

Natural language with Query Expansion

Search for something and use the results to perform a larger query

Comment::whereFulltext(['title', 'description'], 'something', ['expanded' => true])->get();

Boolean mode

Search for something and exclude else

Comment::whereFulltext(['title', 'description'], '+something -else', ['mode' => 'boolean'])->get();

Tip given by @w3Nicolas

Merging eloquent collections

The Eloquent collection's merge method uses the id to avoid duplicated models.

But if you are merging collections of different Models, it can cause get you unexpected results.

Use the base collection method instead.

$videos = Video::all();
$images = Image::all();

// If there are videos with the same id as images they will get replaced
// You'll end up with missing videos
$allMedia = $videos->merge($images);

// call `toBase()` in your eloquent collection to use the base merge method instead
$allMedia = $videos->toBase()->merge($images);

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Perform operation without modifying updated_at field

If you would like to perform model operations without the model having its updated_at timestamp modified, you may operate on the model within a closure given to the withoutTimestamps method.

Available from Laravel 9.31.

$user = User::first();

// `updated_at` is not changed...

User::withoutTimestamps(
     fn () => $user->update(['reserved_at' => now()])
);

Tip given by @LaravelEloquent

You can write transaction-aware code

Using DB::afterCommit method you can write code that will only be executed if the transaction gets committed and discarded if the transaction is rolled back.

If there is no transaction, the code will be executed right away.

DB::transaction(function () {
     $user = User::create([...]);

     $user->teams()->create([...]);
});
class User extends Model
{
     protected static function booted()
     {
          static::created(function ($user) {
               // Will send the email only if the
               // transaction is committed
               DB::afterCommit(function () use ($user) {
                    Mail::send(new WelcomeEmail($user));
               });
          });
     }
}

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Eloquent scopes inside of other relationships

Did you know that you can use Eloquent scopes inside of defining other relationships?

app/Models/Lesson.php:

public function scopePublished($query)
{
     return $query->where('is_published', true);
}

app/Models/Course.php:

public function lessons(): HasMany
{
     return $this->hasMany(Lesson::class);
}

public function publishedLessons(): HasMany
{
     return $this->lessons()->published();
}

New rawValue() method since Laravel 9.37

Laravel 9.37 has a new rawValue() method to get a value from a SQL expression. Here are some examples from the pull request:

$first = TripModel::orderBy('date_at', 'ASC')
     ->rawValue('YEAR(`date_at`)');
$last = TripModel::orderBy('date_at', 'DESC')
     ->rawValue('YEAR(`date_at`)');

$fullname = UserModel::where('id', $id)
     ->rawValue('CONCAT(`first_name`, " ", `last_name`)');

Tip given by @LoydRG

Load data faster when the targeted value is an integer

Instead of using the 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗜𝗻() method to load a large range of data when the targeted value is an integer, use 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗜𝗻𝗥𝗮𝘄() which is faster than 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗜𝗻().

// instead of using whereIn
Product::whereIn('id', range(1, 50))->get();

// use WhereIntegerInRaw method for faster loading
Product::whereIntegerInRaw('id', range(1, 50))->get();

Tip given by @LaraShout

Load data completed between two timestamps

Use 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 to load records between two timestamps, you can pass the fallback value using the null coalescing operator (??).

// Load tasks completed between two timestamps
Task::whereBetween('completed_at', [
    $request->from ?? '2023-01-01',
    $request->to ??  today()->toDateTimeString(),
]);

Tip given by @LaraShout

Pass a raw query to order your results

You can pass a raw query to order your results.

For example, sorting tasks by how long before the due date they were completed.

// Sort tasks by the task was completed before the due date
$tasks = Task::query()
    ->whereNotNull('completed_at')
    ->orderByRaw('due_at - completed_at DESC')
    ->get();

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Eloquent where date methods

In Eloquent, check the date with functions whereDay(), whereMonth(), whereYear(), whereDate() and whereTime().

$products = Product::whereDate('created_at', '2018-01-31')->get();
$products = Product::whereMonth('created_at', '12')->get();
$products = Product::whereDay('created_at', '31')->get();
$products = Product::whereYear('created_at', date('Y'))->get();
$products = Product::whereTime('created_at', '=', '14:13:58')->get();

Increments and decrements

If you want to increment some DB column in some table, just use increment() function. Oh, and you can increment not only by 1, but also by some number, like 50.

Post::find($post_id)->increment('view_count');
User::find($user_id)->increment('points', 50);

No timestamp columns

If your DB table doesn't contain timestamp fields created_at and updated_at, you can specify that Eloquent model wouldn't use them, with $timestamps = false property.

class Company extends Model
{
    public $timestamps = false;
}

Soft-deletes: multiple restore

When using soft-deletes, you can restore multiple rows in one sentence.

Post::onlyTrashed()->where('author_id', 1)->restore();

Model all: columns

When calling Eloquent's Model::all(), you can specify which columns to return.

$users = User::all(['id', 'name', 'email']);

To Fail or not to Fail

In addition to findOrFail(), there's also Eloquent method firstOrFail() which will return 404 page if no records for query are found.

$user = User::where('email', 'povilas@laraveldaily.com')->firstOrFail();

Column name change

In Eloquent Query Builder, you can specify "as" to return any column with a different name, just like in plain SQL query.

$users = DB::table('users')->select('name', 'email as user_email')->get();

Map query results

After Eloquent query you can modify rows by using map() function in Collections.

$users = User::where('role_id', 1)->get()->map(function (User $user) {
    $user->some_column = some_function($user);
    return $user;
});

Change Default Timestamp Fields

What if you’re working with non-Laravel database and your timestamp columns are named differently? Maybe, you have create_time and update_time. Luckily, you can specify them in the model, too:

class Role extends Model
{
    const CREATED_AT = 'create_time';
    const UPDATED_AT = 'update_time';
}

Quick Order by created_at

Instead of:

User::orderBy('created_at', 'desc')->get();

You can do it quicker:

User::latest()->get();

By default, latest() will order by created_at.

There is an opposite method oldest() which would order by created_at ascending:

User::oldest()->get();

Also, you can specify another column to order by. For example, if you want to use updated_at, you can do this:

$lastUpdatedUser = User::latest('updated_at')->first();

Automatic Column Value When Creating Records

If you want to generate some DB column value when creating record, add it to model's boot() method. For example, if you have a field "position" and want to assign the next available position to the new record (like Country::max('position') + 1), do this:

class Country extends Model {
    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();

        Country::creating(function($model) {
            $model->position = Country::max('position') + 1;
        });
    }
}

DB Raw Query Calculations Run Faster

Use SQL raw queries like whereRaw() method, to make some DB-specific calculations directly in query, and not in Laravel, usually the result will be faster. Like, if you want to get users that were active 30+ days after their registration, here's the code:

User::where('active', 1)
    ->whereRaw('TIMESTAMPDIFF(DAY, created_at, updated_at) > ?', 30)
    ->get();

More than One Scope

You can combine and chain Query Scopes in Eloquent, using more than one scope in a query.

Model:

public function scopeActive($query) {
    return $query->where('active', 1);
}

public function scopeRegisteredWithinDays($query, $days) {
    return $query->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subDays($days));
}

Some Controller:

$users = User::registeredWithinDays(30)->active()->get();

No Need to Convert Carbon

If you're performing whereDate() and check today's records, you can use Carbon's now() and it will automatically be transformed to date. No need to do ->toDateString().

// Instead of
$todayUsers = User::whereDate('created_at', now()->toDateString())->get();
// No need to convert, just use now()
$todayUsers = User::whereDate('created_at', now())->get();

Grouping by First Letter

You can group Eloquent results by any custom condition, here's how to group by first letter of user's name:

$users = User::all()->groupBy(function($item) {
    return $item->name[0];
});

Never Update the Column

If you have DB column which you want to be set only once and never updated again, you can set that restriction on Eloquent Model, with a mutator:

  • In version 9 and above:
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute;

class User extends Model
{
    protected function email(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            set: fn ($value, $attributes) => $attributes['email'] ?? $value,
        );
    }
}
  • In version 9 and below:
class User extends Model
{
    public function setEmailAttribute($value)
    {
        if (isset($this->attributes['email']) && ! is_null($this->attributes['email'])) {
            return;
        }
        $this->attributes['email'] = $value;
    }
}

Find Many

Eloquent method find() may accept multiple parameters, and then it returns a Collection of all records found, not just one Model:

// Will return Eloquent Model
$user = User::find(1);
// Will return Eloquent Collection
$users = User::find([1,2,3]);
return Product::whereIn('id', $this->productIDs)->get();
// You can do this
return Product::find($this->productIDs)

Tip given by @tahiriqbalnajam

Incase of integer, use whereIn with limited data range only instead use whereIntegerInRaw which is faster then whereIn.

Product::whereIn('id', range(1, 50))->get();
// You can do this
Product::whereIntegerInRaw('id', range(1, 50))->get();

Tip given by @sachinkiranti

Find Many and return specific columns

Eloquent method find() may accept multiple parameters, and then it returns a Collection of all records found with specified columns, not all columns of model:

// Will return Eloquent Model with first_name and email only
$user = User::find(1, ['first_name', 'email']);
// Will return Eloquent Collection with first_name and email only
$users = User::find([1,2,3], ['first_name', 'email']);

Tip given by @tahiriqbalnajam

Find by Key

You can also find multiple records with whereKey() method which takes care of which field is exactly your primary key (id is the default, but you may override it in Eloquent model):

$users = User::whereKey([1,2,3])->get();

Use UUID instead of auto-increment

You don't want to use auto incrementing ID in your model?

Migration:

Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    // $table->increments('id');
    $table->uuid('id')->unique();
});

Laravel 9 and above:

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Concerns\HasUuids;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Article extends Model
{
    use HasUuids;

    // ...
}

$article = Article::create(['title' => 'Traveling to Europe']);

$article->id; // "8f8e8478-9035-4d23-b9a7-62f4d2612ce5"

Laravel 8 and below:

Model:

  • In PHP 7.4.0 and above:
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class User extends Model
{
    public $incrementing = false;
    protected $keyType = 'string';

    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();

        self::creating(fn (User $model) => $model->attributes['id'] = Str::uuid());
        self::saving(fn (User $model) => $model->attributes['id'] = Str::uuid());
    }
}
  • In PHP older than 7.4.0:
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class User extends Model
{
    public $incrementing = false;
    protected $keyType = 'string';

    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();

        self::creating(function ($model) {
             $model->attributes['id'] = Str::uuid();
        });
        self::saving(function ($model) {
             $model->attributes['id'] = Str::uuid();
        });
    }
}

Sub-selects in Laravel Way

From Laravel 6, you can use addSelect() in Eloquent statement, and do some calculation to that added column.

return Destination::addSelect(['last_flight' => Flight::select('name')
    ->whereColumn('destination_id', 'destinations.id')
    ->orderBy('arrived_at', 'desc')
    ->limit(1)
])->get();

Hide Some Columns

When doing Eloquent query, if you want to hide specific field from being returned, one of the quickest ways is to add ->makeHidden() on Collection result.

$users = User::all()->makeHidden(['email_verified_at', 'deleted_at']);

Exact DB Error

If you want to catch Eloquent Query exceptions, use specific QueryException instead default Exception class, and you will be able to get the exact SQL code of the error.

try {
    // Some Eloquent/SQL statement
} catch (\Illuminate\Database\QueryException $e) {
    if ($e->getCode() === '23000') { // integrity constraint violation
        return back()->withError('Invalid data');
    }
}

Soft-Deletes with Query Builder

Don't forget that soft-deletes will exclude entries when you use Eloquent, but won't work if you use Query Builder.

// Will exclude soft-deleted entries
$users = User::all();

// Will NOT exclude soft-deleted entries
$users = User::withTrashed()->get();

// Will NOT exclude soft-deleted entries
$users = DB::table('users')->get();

Good Old SQL Query

If you need to execute a simple SQL query, without getting any results - like changing something in DB schema, you can just do DB::statement().

DB::statement('DROP TABLE users');
DB::statement('ALTER TABLE projects AUTO_INCREMENT=123');

Use DB Transactions

If you have two DB operations performed, and second may get an error, then you should rollback the first one, right?

For that, I suggest to use DB Transactions, it's really easy in Laravel:

DB::transaction(function () {
    DB::table('users')->update(['votes' => 1]);

    DB::table('posts')->delete();
});

Update or Create

If you need to check if the record exists, and then update it, or create a new record otherwise, you can do it in one sentence - use Eloquent method updateOrCreate():

// Instead of this
$flight = Flight::where('departure', 'Oakland')
    ->where('destination', 'San Diego')
    ->first();
if ($flight) {
    $flight->update(['price' => 99, 'discounted' => 1]);
} else {
    $flight = Flight::create([
        'departure' => 'Oakland',
        'destination' => 'San Diego',
        'price' => 99,
        'discounted' => 1
    ]);
}
// Do it in ONE sentence
$flight = Flight::updateOrCreate(
    ['departure' => 'Oakland', 'destination' => 'San Diego'],
    ['price' => 99, 'discounted' => 1]
);

Forget Cache on Save

Tip given by @pratiksh404

If you have cache key like posts that gives collection, and you want to forget that cache key on new store or update, you can call static saved function on your model:

class Post extends Model
{
    // Forget cache key on storing or updating
    public static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();
        static::saved(function () {
           Cache::forget('posts');
        });
    }
}

Change Format Of Created_at and Updated_at

Tip given by @syofyanzuhad

To change the format of created_at you can add a method in your model like this:

Since Laravel 9:

protected function createdAtFormatted(): Attribute
{
    return Attribute::make(
        get: fn ($value, $attributes) => $attributes['created_at']->format('H:i d, M Y'),
    );
}

Laravel 8 and below:

public function getCreatedAtFormattedAttribute()
{
   return $this->created_at->format('H:i d, M Y');
}

So you can use it $entry->created_at_formatted when it's needed. It will return the created_at attribute like this: 04:19 23, Aug 2020.

And also for changing format of updated_at attribute, you can add this method :

Since Laravel 9:

protected function updatedAtFormatted(): Attribute
{
    return Attribute::make(
        get: fn ($value, $attributes) => $attributes['updated_at']->format('H:i d, M Y'),
    );
}

Laravel 8 and below:

public function getUpdatedAtFormattedAttribute()
{
   return $this->updated_at->format('H:i d, M Y');
}

So you can use it $entry->updated_at_formatted when it's needed. It will return the updated_at attribute like this: 04:19 23, Aug 2020.

Storing Array Type into JSON

Tip given by @pratiksh404

If you have input field which takes an array and you have to store it as a JSON, you can use $casts property in your model. Here images is a JSON attribute.

protected $casts = [
    'images' => 'array',
];

So you can store it as a JSON, but when retrieved from DB, it can be used as an array.

Make a Copy of the Model

If you have two very similar Models (like shipping address and billing address) and you need to make a copy of one to another, you can use replicate() method and change some properties after that.

Example from the official docs:

$shipping = Address::create([
    'type' => 'shipping',
    'line_1' => '123 Example Street',
    'city' => 'Victorville',
    'state' => 'CA',
    'postcode' => '90001',
]);

$billing = $shipping->replicate()->fill([
    'type' => 'billing'
]);

$billing->save();

Reduce Memory

Sometimes we need to load a huge amount of data into memory. For example:

$orders = Order::all();

But this can be slow if we have really huge data, because Laravel prepares objects of the Model class. In such cases, Laravel has a handy function toBase()

$orders = Order::toBase()->get();
//$orders will contain `Illuminate\Support\Collection` with objects `StdClass`.

By calling this method, it will fetch the data from the database, but it will not prepare the Model class. Keep in mind it is often a good idea to pass an array of fields to the get method, preventing all fields to be fetched from the database.

Force query without $fillable/$guarded

If you create a Laravel boilerplate as a "starter" for other devs, and you're not in control of what THEY would later fill in Model's $fillable/$guarded, you may use forceFill()

$team->update(['name' => $request->name])

What if "name" is not in Team model's $fillable? Or what if there's no $fillable/$guarded at all?

$team->forceFill(['name' => $request->name])

This will "ignore" the $fillable for that one query and will execute no matter what.

3-level structure of parent-children

If you have a 3-level structure of parent-children, like categories in an e-shop, and you want to show the number of products on the third level, you can use with('yyy.yyy') and then add withCount() as a condition

class HomeController extend Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $categories = Category::query()
            ->whereNull('category_id')
            ->with(['subcategories.subcategories' => function($query) {
                $query->withCount('products');
            }])->get();
    }
}
class Category extends Model
{
    public function subcategories()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(Category::class);
    }

    public function products()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(Product::class);
    }
}
<ul>
    @foreach($categories as $category)
        <li>
            {{ $category->name }}
            @if ($category->subcategories)
                <ul>
                @foreach($category->subcategories as $subcategory)
                    <li>
                        {{ $subcategory->name }}
                        @if ($subcategory->subcategories)
                            <ul>
                                @foreach ($subcategory->subcategories as $subcategory)
                                    <li>{{ $subcategory->name }} ({{ $subcategory->product_count }})</li>
                                @endforeach
                            </ul>
                        @endif
                    </li>
                @endforeach
                </ul>
            @endif
        </li>
    @endforeach
</ul>

Perform any action on failure

When looking for a record, you may want to perform some actions if it's not found. In addition to ->firstOrFail() which just throws 404, you can perform any action on failure, just do ->firstOr(function() { ... })

$model = Flight::where('legs', '>', 3)->firstOr(function () {
    // ...
})

Check if record exists or show 404

Don't use find() and then check if the record exists. Use findOrFail().

$product = Product::find($id);
if (!$product) {
    abort(404);
}
$product->update($productDataArray);

Shorter way

$product = Product::findOrFail($id); // shows 404 if not found
$product->update($productDataArray);

Abort if condition failed

abort_if() can be used as shorter way to check condition and throw an error page.

$product = Product::findOrFail($id);
if($product->user_id != auth()->user()->id){
    abort(403);
}

Shorter way

/* abort_if(CONDITION, ERROR_CODE) */
$product = Product::findOrFail($id);
abort_if ($product->user_id != auth()->user()->id, 403)

Fill a column automatically while you persist data to the database

If you want to fill a column automatically while you persist data to the database (e.g: slug) use Model Observer instead of hard code it every time

use Illuminate\Support\Str;

class Article extends Model
{
    ...
    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent:boot();

        static::saving(function ($model) {
            $model->slug = Str::slug($model->title);
        });
    }
}

Tip given by @sky_0xs

Extra information about the query

You can call the explain() method on queries to know extra information about the query.

Book::where('name', 'Ruskin Bond')->explain()->dd();
Illuminate\Support\Collection {#5344
    all: [
        {#15407
            +"id": 1,
            +"select_type": "SIMPLE",
            +"table": "books",
            +"partitions": null,
            +"type": "ALL",
            +"possible_keys": null,
            +"key": null,
            +"key_len": null,
            +"ref": null,
            +"rows": 9,
            +"filtered": 11.11111164093,
            +"Extra": "Using where",
        },
    ],
}

Tip given by @amit_merchant

Using the doesntExist() method in Laravel

// This works
if ( 0 === $model->where('status', 'pending')->count() ) {
}

// But since I don't care about the count, just that there isn't one
// Laravel's exists() method is cleaner.
if ( ! $model->where('status', 'pending')->exists() ) {
}

// But I find the ! in the statement above easily missed. The
// doesntExist() method makes this statement even clearer.
if ( $model->where('status', 'pending')->doesntExist() ) {
}

Tip given by @ShawnHooper

Trait that you want to add to a few Models to call their boot() method automatically

If you have a Trait that you want to add to a few Models to call their boot() method automatically, you can call Trait's method as boot[TraitName]

class Transaction extends  Model
{
    use MultiTenantModelTrait;
}
class Task extends  Model
{
    use MultiTenantModelTrait;
}
trait MultiTenantModelTrait
{
    // This method's name is boot[TraitName]
    // It will be auto-called as boot() of Transaction/Task
    public static function bootMultiTenantModelTrait()
    {
        static::creating(function ($model) {
            if (!$isAdmin) {
                $isAdmin->created_by_id = auth()->id();
            }
        })
    }
}

There are two common ways of determining if a table is empty in Laravel

There are two common ways of determining if a table is empty in Laravel. Calling exists() or count() directly on the model!

One returns a strict true/false boolean, the other returns an integer which you can use as a falsy in conditionals.

public function index()
{
    if (\App\Models\User::exists()) {
        // returns boolean true or false if the table has any saved rows
    }

    if (\App\Models\User::count()) {
        // returns the count of rows in the table
    }
}

Tip given by @aschmelyun

How to prevent “property of non-object” error

// BelongsTo Default Models
// Let's say you have Post belonging to Author and then Blade code:
$post->author->name;

// Of course, you can prevent it like this:
$post->author->name ?? ''
// or
@$post->author->name

// But you can do it on Eloquent relationship level:
// this relation will return an empty App\Author model if no author is attached to the post
public function author() {
    return $this->belongsTo(Author::class)->withDefault();
}
// or
public function author() {
    return $this->belongsTo(Author::class)->withDefault([
        'name' => 'Guest Author'
    ]);
}

Tip given by @coderahuljat

Get original attributes after mutating an Eloquent record

Get original attributes after mutating an Eloquent record you can get the original attributes by calling getOriginal()

$user = App\User::first();
$user->name; // John
$user->name = "Peter"; // Peter
$user->getOriginal('name'); // John
$user->getOriginal(); // Original $user record

Tip given by @devThaer

A simple way to seed a database

A simple way to seed a database in Laravel with a .sql dump file

DB::unprepared(
    file_get_contents(__DIR__ . './dump.sql')
);

Tip given by @w3Nicolas

The crossJoinSub method of the query constructor

Using the CROSS JOIN subquery

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

$totalQuery = DB::table('orders')->selectRaw('SUM(price) as total');

DB::table('orders')
    ->select('*')
    ->crossJoinSub($totalQuery, 'overall')
    ->selectRaw('(price / overall.total) * 100 AS percent_of_total')
    ->get();

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Belongs to Many Pivot table naming

To determine the table name of the relationship's intermediate table, Eloquent will join the two related model names in alphabetical order.

This would mean a join between Post and Tag could be added like this:

class Post extends Model
{
    public $table = 'posts';

    public function tags()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Tag::class);
    }
}

However, you are free to override this convention, and you would need to specify the join table in the second argument.

class Post extends Model
{
    public $table = 'posts';

    public function tags()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Tag::class, 'posts_tags');
    }
}

If you wish to be explicit about the primary keys you can also supply these as third and fourth arguments.

class Post extends Model
{
    public $table = 'posts';

    public function tags()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Tag::class, 'post_tag', 'post_id', 'tag_id');
    }
}

Tip given by @iammikek

Order by Pivot Fields

BelongsToMany::orderByPivot() allows you to directly sort the results of a BelongsToMany relationship query.

class Tag extends Model
{
    public $table = 'tags';
}

class Post extends Model
{
    public $table = 'posts';

    public function tags()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Tag::class, 'post_tag', 'post_id', 'tag_id')
            ->using(PostTagPivot::class)
            ->withTimestamps()
            ->withPivot('flag');
    }
}

class PostTagPivot extends Pivot
{
    protected $table = 'post_tag';
}

// Somewhere in the Controller
public function getPostTags($id)
{
    return Post::findOrFail($id)->tags()->orderByPivot('flag', 'desc')->get();
}

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Find a single record from a database

The sole() method will return only one record that matches the criteria. If no such entry is found, then a NoRecordsFoundException will be thrown. If multiple records are found, then a MultipleRecordsFoundException will be thrown.

DB::table('products')->where('ref', '#123')->sole();

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Automatic records chunking

Similar to each() method, but easier to use. Automatically splits the result into parts (chunks).

return User::orderBy('name')->chunkMap(fn ($user) => [
    'id' => $user->id,
    'name' => $user->name,
]), 25);

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Updating the model without dispatching events

Sometimes you need to update the model without sending any events. We can now do this with the updateQuietly() method, which under the hood uses the saveQuietly() method.

$flight->updateQuietly(['departed' => false]);

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Periodic cleaning of models from obsolete records

To periodically clean models of obsolete records. With this trait, Laravel will do this automatically, only you need to adjust the frequency of the model:prune command in the Kernel class.

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Prunable;
class Flight extends Model
{
    use Prunable;
    /**
     * Get the prunable model query.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder
     */
    public function prunable()
    {
        return static::where('created_at', '<=', now()->subMonth());
    }
}

Also, in the pruning method, you can set the actions that must be performed before deleting the model:

protected function pruning()
{
    // Removing additional resources,
    // associated with the model. For example, files.

    Storage::disk('s3')->delete($this->filename);
}

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

Immutable dates and casting to them

Laravel 8.53 introduces the immutable_date and immutable_datetime castes that convert dates to Immutable.

Cast to CarbonImmutable instead of a regular Carbon instance.

class User extends Model
{
    public $casts = [
        'date_field'     => 'immutable_date',
        'datetime_field' => 'immutable_datetime',
    ];
}

Tip given by @PascalBaljet

The findOrFail method also accepts a list of ids

The findOrFail method also accepts a list of ids. If any of these ids are not found, then it "fails".

Nice if you need to retrieve a specific set of models and don't want to have to check that the count you got was the count you expected

User::create(['id' => 1]);
User::create(['id' => 2]);
User::create(['id' => 3]);

// Retrieves the user...
$user = User::findOrFail(1);

// Throws a 404 because the user doesn't exist...
User::findOrFail(99);

// Retrieves all 3 users...
$users = User::findOrFail([1, 2, 3]);

// Throws because it is unable to find *all* of the users
User::findOrFail([1, 2, 3, 99]);

Tip given by @timacdonald87

Prunable trait to automatically remove models from your database

New in Laravel 8.50: You can use the Prunable trait to automatically remove models from your database. For example, you can permanently remove soft deleted models after a few days.

class File extends Model
{
    use SoftDeletes;

    // Add Prunable trait
    use Prunable;

    public function prunable()
    {
        // Files matching this query will be pruned
        return static::query()->where('deleted_at', '<=', now()->subDays(14));
    }

    protected function pruning()
    {
        // Remove the file from s3 before deleting the model
        Storage::disk('s3')->delete($this->filename);
    }
}

// Add PruneCommand to your schedule (app/Console/Kernel.php)
$schedule->command(PruneCommand::class)->daily();

Tip by @Philo01

withAggregate method

Under the hood, the withAvg/withCount/withSum and other methods in Eloquent use the 'withAggregate' method. You can use this method to add a subselect based on a relationship

// Eloquent Model
class Post extends Model
{
    public function user()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class);
    }
}

// Instead of eager loading all users...
$posts = Post::with('user')->get();

// You can add a subselect to only retrieve the user's name...
$posts = Post::withAggregate('user', 'name')->get();

// This will add a 'user_name' attribute to the Post instance:
$posts->first()->user_name;

Tip given by @pascalbaljet

Date convention

Using the something_at convention instead of just a boolean in Laravel models gives you visibility into when a flag was changed – like when a product went live.

// Migration
Schema::table('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->datetime('live_at')->nullable();
});

// In your model
public function live()
{
    return !is_null($this->live_at);
}

// Also in your model
protected $dates = [
    'live_at'
];

Tip given by @alexjgarrett

Eloquent multiple upserts

The upsert() method will insert or update multiple records.

  • First array: the values to insert or update
  • Second: unique identifier columns used in the select statement
  • Third: columns that you want to update if the record exists
Flight::upsert([
    ['departure' => 'Oakland', 'destination' => 'San Diego', 'price' => 99],
    ['departure' => 'Chicago', 'destination' => 'New York', 'price' => 150],
], ['departure', 'destination'], ['price']);

Tip given by @mmartin_joo

Retrieve the Query Builder after filtering the results

To retrieve the Query Builder after filtering the results: you can use ->toQuery().

The method internally use the first model of the collection and a whereKey comparison on the Collection models.

// Retrieve all logged_in users
$loggedInUsers = User::where('logged_in', true)->get();

// Filter them using a Collection method or php filtering
$nthUsers = $loggedInUsers->nth(3);

// You can't do this on the collection
$nthUsers->update(/* ... */);

// But you can retrieve the Builder using ->toQuery()
if ($nthUsers->isNotEmpty()) {
    $nthUsers->toQuery()->update(/* ... */);
}

Tip given by @RBilloir

Custom casts

You can create custom casts to have Laravel automatically format your Eloquent model data. Here's an example that capitalises a user's name when it is retrieved or changed.

class CapitalizeWordsCast implements CastsAttributes
{
    public function get($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return ucwords($value);
    }

    public function set($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return ucwords($value);
    }
}

class User extends Model
{
    protected $casts = [
        'name'  => CapitalizeWordsCast::class,
        'email' => 'string',
    ];
}

Tip given by @mattkingshott

Order based on a related model's average or count

Did you ever need to order based on a related model's average or count?

It's easy with Eloquent!

public function bestBooks()
{
    Book::query()
        ->withAvg('ratings as average_rating', 'rating')
        ->orderByDesc('average_rating');
}

Tip given by @mmartin_joo

Return transactions result

If you have a DB transaction and want to return its result, there are at least two ways, see the example

// 1. You can pass the parameter by reference
$invoice = NULL;
DB::transaction(function () use (&$invoice) {
    $invoice = Invoice::create(...);
    $invoice->items()->attach(...);
})

// 2. Or shorter: just return trasaction result
$invoice = DB::transaction(function () {
    $invoice = Invoice::create(...);
    $invoice->items()->attach(...);

    return $invoice;
});

Remove several global scopes from query

When using Eloquent Global Scopes, you not only can use MULTIPLE scopes, but also remove certain scopes when you don't need them, by providing the array to withoutGlobalScopes()

Link to docs

// Remove all of the global scopes...
User::withoutGlobalScopes()->get();

// Remove some of the global scopes...
User::withoutGlobalScopes([
    FirstScope::class, SecondScope::class
])->get();

Order JSON column attribute

With Eloquent you can order results by a JSON column attribute

// JSON column example:
// bikes.settings = {"is_retired": false}
$bikes = Bike::where('athlete_id', $this->athleteId)
        ->orderBy('name')
        ->orderByDesc('settings->is_retired')
        ->get();

Tip given by @brbcoding

Get single column's value from the first result

You can use value() method to get single column's value from the first result of a query

// Instead of
Integration::where('name', 'foo')->first()->active;

// You can use
Integration::where('name', 'foo')->value('active');

// or this to throw an exception if no records found
Integration::where('name', 'foo')->valueOrFail('active')';

Tip given by @justsanjit

Check if altered value changed key

Ever wanted to know if the changes you've made to a model have altered the value for a key? No problem, simply reach for originalIsEquivalent.

$user = User::first(); // ['name' => "John']

$user->name = 'John';

$user->originalIsEquivalent('name'); // true

$user->name = 'David'; // Set directly
$user->fill(['name' => 'David']); // Or set via fill

$user->originalIsEquivalent('name'); // false

Tip given by @mattkingshott

New way to define accessor and mutator

New way to define attribute accessors and mutators in Laravel 8.77:

// Before, two-method approach
public function setTitleAttribute($value)
{
    $this->attributes['title'] = strtolower($value);
}
public function getTitleAttribute($value)
{
    return strtoupper($value);
}

// New approach
protected function title(): Attribute
{
    return new Attribute(
        get: fn ($value) => strtoupper($value),
        set: fn ($value) => strtolower($value),
    );
}

Tip given by @Teacoders

Another way to do accessors and mutators

In case you are going to use the same accessors and mutators in many models , You can use custom casts instead.

Just create a class that implements CastsAttributes interface. The class should have two methods, the first is get to specify how models should be retrieved from the database and the second is set to specify how the value will be stored in the database.

<?php

namespace App\Casts;

use Carbon\Carbon;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Database\Eloquent\CastsAttributes;

class TimestampsCast implements CastsAttributes
{
    public function get($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return Carbon::parse($value)->diffForHumans();
    }

    public function set($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return Carbon::parse($value)->format('Y-m-d h:i:s');
    }
}

Then you can implement the cast in the model class.

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
use App\Casts\TimestampsCast;
use Carbon\Carbon;


class User extends Authenticatable
{

    /**
     * The attributes that should be cast.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $casts = [
        'updated_at' => TimestampsCast::class,
        'created_at' => TimestampsCast::class,
    ];
}

Tip given by @AhmedRezk

When searching for the first record, you can perform some actions

When searching for the first record, you want to perform some actions, when you don't find it. firstOrFail() throws a 404 Exception.

You can use firstOr(function() {}) instead. Laravel got your covered

$book = Book::whereCount('authors')
            ->orderBy('authors_count', 'DESC')
            ->having('modules_count', '>', 10)
            ->firstOr(function() {
                // The Sky is the Limit ...

                // You can perform any action here
            });

Tip given by @bhaidar

Directly convert created_at date to human readable format

Did you know you can directly convert created_at date to human readable format like 1 minute ago, 1 month ago using diffForHumans() function. Laravel eloquent by default enables Carbon instance on created_at field.

$post = Post::whereId($id)->first();
$result = $post->created_at->diffForHumans();

/* OUTPUT */
// 1 Minutes ago, 2 Week ago etc..as per created time

Tip given by @vishal__2931

Ordering by an Eloquent Accessor

Ordering by an Eloquent Accessor! Yes, that's doable. Instead of ordering by the accessor on the DB level, we order by the accessor on the returned Collection.

class User extends Model
{
    // ...
    protected $appends = ['full_name'];

    // Since Laravel 9
    protected function full_name(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            get: fn ($value, $attributes) => $attributes['first_name'] . ' ' . $attributes['last_name'];),
        );
    }

    // Laravel 8 and lower
    public function getFullNameAttribute()
    {
        return $this->attribute['first_name'] . ' ' . $this->attributes['last_name'];
    }
    // ..
}
class UserController extends Controller
{
    // ..
    public function index()
    {
        $users = User::all();

        // order by full_name desc
        $users->sortByDesc('full_name');

        // or

        // order by full_name asc
        $users->sortBy('full_name');

        // ..
    }
    // ..
}

sortByDesc and sortBy are methods on the Collection

Tip given by @bhaidar

Check for specific model was created or found

If you want to check for specific model was created or found, use wasRecentlyCreated model attribute.

$user = User::create([
    'name' => 'Oussama',
]);

// return boolean
return $user->wasRecentlyCreated;

// true for recently created
// false for found (already on you db)

Tip given by @sky_0xs

Laravel Scout with database driver

With laravel v9 you can use Laravel Scout (Search) with database driver. No more where likes!

$companies = Company::search(request()->get('search'))->paginate(15);

Tip given by @magarrent

Make use of the value method on the query builder

Make use of the value method on the query builder to execute a more efficient query when you only need to retrieve a single column.

// Before (fetches all columns on the row)
Statistic::where('user_id', 4)->first()->post_count;

// After (fetches only `post_count`)
Statistic::where('user_id', 4)->value('post_count');

Tip given by @mattkingshott

Pass array to where method

Laravel you can pass an array to the where method.

// Instead of this
JobPost::where('company', 'laravel')
        ->where('job_type', 'full time')
        ->get();

// You can pass an array
JobPost::where(['company' => 'laravel',
                'job_type' => 'full time'])
        ->get();

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Return the primary keys from models collection

Did you know modelsKeys() eloquent collection method? It returns the primary keys from models collection.

$users = User::active()->limit(3)->get();

$users->modelsKeys(); // [1, 2, 3]

Tip given by @iamharis010

Force Laravel to use eager loading

If you want to prevent a lazy loading in your app, you only need to add following line to the boot() method in your AppServiceProvider

Model::preventLazyLoading();

But, if you want to enable this feature only on your local development you can change above code on that:

Model::preventLazyLoading(!app()->isProduction());

Tip given by @CatS0up

Make all your models mass assignable

It is not a recommended approach for security reasons, but it is possible.

When you want do this, you don't need to set an empty $guarded array for every model, like this:

protected $guarded = [];

You can do it from a single place, just add following line to the boot() method in your AppServiceProvider:

Model::unguard();

Now, all your models are mass assignable.

Tip given by @CatS0up

Hiding columns in select all statements

If you use Laravel v8.78 and MySQL 8.0.23 and onwards, you can define choosen columns as "invisible". Columns which are define as invisible will be hidden from the select * statements.

However, to do so, we must use a invisible() method in the migration, something like that:

use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

Schema::table('table', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('secret')->nullable()->invisible();
});

That's it! This will make chosen column hidden from select * statement.

Tip given by @CatS0up

JSON Where Clauses

Laravel offers helpers to query JSON columns for databases that support them.

Currently, MySQL 5.7+, PostgreSQL, SQL Server 2016, and SQLite 3.9.0 (using the JSON1 extension)

// To query a json column you can use the -> operator
$users = User::query()
            ->where('preferences->dining->meal', 'salad')
            ->get();
// You can check if a JSON array contains a set of values
$users = User::query()
            ->whereJsonContains('options->languages', [
                'en', 'de'
               ])
            ->get();
// You can also query by the length a JSON array
$users = User::query()
            ->whereJsonLength('options->languages', '>', 1)
            ->get();

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

Get all the column names for a table

DB::getSchemaBuilder()->getColumnListing('users');
/*
returns [
    'id',
    'name',
    'email',
    'email_verified_at',
    'password',
    'remember_token',
    'created_at',
    'updated_at',
];
*/

Tip given by @aaronlumsden

Compare the values of two columns

You can use whereColumn method to compare the values of two columns.

return Task::whereColumn('created_at', 'updated_at')->get();
// pass a comparison operator
return Task::whereColumn('created_at', '>', 'updated_at')->get();

Tip given by @iamgurmandeep

Accessor Caching

As of Laravel 9.6, if you have a computationally intensive accessor, you can use the shouldCache method.

public function hash(): Attribute
{
    return Attribute::make(
        get: fn($value) => bcrypt(gzuncompress($value)),
    )->shouldCache();
}

Tip given by @cosmeescobedo

New scalar() method

In Laravel 9.8.0, the scalar() method was added that allows you to retrieve the first column of the first row from the query result.

// Before
DB::selectOne("SELECT COUNT(CASE WHEN food = 'burger' THEN 1 END) AS burgers FROM menu_items;")->burgers
// Now
DB::scalar("SELECT COUNT(CASE WHEN food = 'burger' THEN 1 END) FROM menu_items;")

Tip given by @justsanjit

Select specific columns

To select specific columns on a model you can use the select method -- or you can pass an array directly to the get method!

// Select specified columns from all employees
$employees = Employee::select(['name', 'title', 'email'])->get();
// Select specified columns from all employees
$employees = Employee::get(['name', 'title', 'email']);

Tip given by @ecrmnn

Chain conditional clauses to the query without writing if-else statements

The "when" helper in the query builder is🔥

You can chain conditional clauses to the query without writing if-else statements.

Makes your query very clear:

class RatingSorter extends Sorter
{
    function execute(Builder $query)
    {
        $query
            ->selectRaw('AVG(product_ratings.rating) AS avg_rating')
            ->join('product_ratings', 'products.id', '=', 'product_ratings.product_id')
            ->groupBy('products.id')
            ->when(
                $this->direction === SortDirections::Desc,
                fn () => $query->orderByDesc('avg_rating')
                fn () => $query->orderBy('avg_rating'),
            );

        return $query;
    }
}

Tip given by @mmartin_joo

Override Connection Attribute in Models

Overriding the database connection attribute for individual models in Laravel can be a powerful technique. Here are a few use cases where you might find it especially handy:

1. Multiple Database Connections

If your application uses multiple database connections (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, or different instances of the same database), you may want to specify which connection should be used for a particular model. By overriding the $connection property, you can easily manage these connections and ensure your models are interacting with the appropriate databases.

2. Data Sharding

In cases where you're using data sharding to distribute your data across multiple databases, you might have different models that map to different shards. Overriding the connection attribute in each model allows you to define which shard should be used without affecting other models or the default connection.

3. Third-Party Integration

When integrating with third-party services that provide their own database, you may need to use a specific connection for a model representing data from that service. Overriding the connection attribute in that model will ensure it connects to the right database while keeping your application's default settings intact.

4. Multi-Tenancy Applications

In a multi-tenant application, you may have separate databases for each tenant. By overriding the $connection property dynamically in your models, you can easily switch between tenant databases based on the current user, ensuring data isolation and proper resource management.

To override the connection attribute in a model, define the $connection property within the class:

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class CustomModel extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'your_custom_connection';
}

Using Column Names in Where Clauses (Dynamic Where Clauses)

You can use column names in where clause to make dynamic where clauses. In the following example, we use whereName('John') instead of where('name', 'John').

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\User;

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function example()
    {
        return User::whereName('John')->get();
    }
}

Tip given by @MNurullahSaglam

Using firstOrCreate()

You can use firstOrCreate() to find the first record matching the attributes or create it if it doesn't exist.

Example Scenario

Assume that you are importing a CSV file and you want to create a category if it doesn't exist.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Category;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class CategoryController extends Controller
{
    public function example(Request $request)
    {
        // instead of
        $category = Category::where('name', $request->name)->first();
        
        if (!$category) {
            $category = Category::create([
                'name' => $request->name,
                'slug' => Str::slug($request->name),
            ]);
        }
        
        // you can use
        $category = Category::firstOrCreate([
            'name' => $request->name,
        ], [
            'slug' => Str::slug($request->name),
        ]);

        return $category;
    }
}

Tip given by @MNurullahSaglam