Eloquent Best Practices
Query Optimization
Always Eager Load Relationships
// ❌ N+1 Query Problem
$posts = Post::all();
foreach ($posts as $post) {
echo $post->user->name; // N additional queries
}
// ✅ Eager Loading
$posts = Post::with('user')->get();
foreach ($posts as $post) {
echo $post->user->name; // No additional queries
}
Select Only Needed Columns
// ❌ Fetches all columns
$users = User::all();
// ✅ Only needed columns
$users = User::select(['id', 'name', 'email'])->get();
// ✅ With relationships
$posts = Post::with(['user:id,name'])->select(['id', 'title', 'user_id'])->get();
Use Query Scopes
// ✅ Define reusable query logic
class Post extends Model
{
public function scopePublished($query)
{
return $query->where('status', 'published')
->whereNotNull('published_at');
}
public function scopePopular($query, $threshold = 100)
{
return $query->where('views', '>', $threshold);
}
}
// Usage
$posts = Post::published()->popular()->get();
Relationship Best Practices
Define Return Types
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\BelongsTo;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany;
class Post extends Model
{
public function user(): BelongsTo
{
return $this->belongsTo(User::class);
}
public function comments(): HasMany
{
return $this->hasMany(Comment::class);
}
}
Use withCount for Counts
// ❌ Triggers additional queries
foreach ($posts as $post) {
echo $post->comments()->count();
}
// ✅ Load counts efficiently
$posts = Post::withCount('comments')->get();
foreach ($posts as $post) {
echo $post->comments_count;
}
Mass Assignment Protection
class Post extends Model
{
// ✅ Whitelist fillable attributes
protected $fillable = ['title', 'content', 'status'];
// Or blacklist guarded attributes
protected $guarded = ['id', 'user_id'];
// ❌ Never do this
// protected $guarded = [];
}
Use Casts for Type Safety
class Post extends Model
{
protected $casts = [
'published_at' => 'datetime',
'metadata' => 'array',
'is_featured' => 'boolean',
'views' => 'integer',
];
}
Chunking for Large Datasets
// ✅ Process in chunks to save memory
Post::chunk(200, function ($posts) {
foreach ($posts as $post) {
// Process each post
}
});
// ✅ Or use lazy collections
Post::lazy()->each(function ($post) {
// Process one at a time
});
Database-Level Operations
// ❌ Slow - loads into memory first
$posts = Post::where('status', 'draft')->get();
foreach ($posts as $post) {
$post->update(['status' => 'archived']);
}
// ✅ Fast - single query
Post::where('status', 'draft')->update(['status' => 'archived']);
// ✅ Increment/decrement
Post::where('id', $id)->increment('views');
Use Model Events Wisely
class Post extends Model
{
protected static function booted()
{
static::creating(function ($post) {
$post->slug = Str::slug($post->title);
});
static::deleting(function ($post) {
$post->comments()->delete();
});
}
}
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Don't Query in Loops
// ❌ Bad
foreach ($userIds as $id) {
$user = User::find($id);
}
// ✅ Good
$users = User::whereIn('id', $userIds)->get();
Don't Forget Indexes
// Migration
Schema::create('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
$table->id();
$table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->index();
$table->string('slug')->unique();
$table->string('status')->index();
$table->timestamp('published_at')->nullable()->index();
// Composite index for common queries
$table->index(['status', 'published_at']);
});
Prevent Lazy Loading in Development
// In AppServiceProvider boot method
Model::preventLazyLoading(!app()->isProduction());
Checklist
- Relationships eagerly loaded where needed
- Only selecting required columns
- Using query scopes for reusability
- Mass assignment protection configured
- Appropriate casts defined
- Indexes on foreign keys and query columns
- Using database-level operations when possible
- Chunking for large datasets
- Model events used appropriately
- Lazy loading prevented in development
