Posted on March 12, 2025

Eloquent ORM in Laravel

Laravel 11 installation and setup guide on localhost with step-by-step instructions.

Laravel’s Eloquent ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) is one of the most powerful tools for managing databases in PHP. It provides an expressive, fluent interface to work with databases using Active Record patterns. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, mastering Eloquent ORM in Laravel can significantly enhance your database management skills.

In this guide, we will explore everything about Laravel Eloquent ORM, from basic queries to advanced relationships and optimizations.

What is Eloquent ORM?

Eloquent is Laravel’s built-in ORM that allows developers to interact with databases using a simple and intuitive syntax. It eliminates the need for raw SQL queries, making database operations cleaner and more readable.

🔹 Key Features of Eloquent ORM:

  • Fluent syntax for database queries
  • Built-in relationships (One-to-One, One-to-Many, Many-to-Many)
  • Soft deletes and timestamps
  • Query scopes and eager loading
  • Model observers and mutators

👉 For a complete introduction, visit the Laravel Eloquent Documentation.

Step 1: Setting Up Eloquent in Laravel

Eloquent is enabled by default in Laravel. Each database table should have a corresponding model that interacts with it.

To create a model, run:

php artisan make:model Product

This command generates a Product model in app/Models/Product.php:

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Product extends Model
{

     use HasFactory;
     protected $fillable = ['name', 'price', 'description'];

}

The $fillable property defines mass-assignable fields, preventing mass-assignment vulnerabilities.

Step 2: Basic Database Queries with Eloquent

Retrieving Data

Fetching all records from a table:

$products = Product::all();

Finding a specific record by ID:

$product = Product::find(1);

Using where() for filtered queries:

$cheapProducts = Product::where('price', '<', 100)->get();

Inserting Data

Creating a new record using Eloquent:

$product = new Product();
$product->name = "Laptop";

$product->price = 999;
$product->description = "A high-performance laptop";
$product->save();

Alternatively, you can use the create() method:

Product::create(
[
'name' => 'Smartphone',
'price' => 599,
'description' => 'A latest-generation smartphone'

]);

⚠️ Ensure you define $fillable in your model to use create().

Step 3: Updating and Deleting Records

Updating a Record

To update an existing record:

$product = Product::find(1);

$product->price = 899;
$product->save();

Alternatively, using update():

Product::where('id', 1)->update(['price' => 799]);

Deleting a Record

To delete a record using Eloquent:

$product = Product::find(1);
$product->delete();

Or delete using query:

Product::where('price', '<', 50)->delete();

👉 For more details on Eloquent queries, check the Laravel Query Builder Guide.

Step 4: Eloquent Relationships

Eloquent makes managing database relationships easy.

One-to-One Relationship

Example: A user has one profile.

class User extends Model
{
public function profile()
{

return $this->hasOne(Profile::class);
}
}

Retrieve user profile:

$user = User::find(1);
$profile = $user->profile;

One-to-Many Relationship

Example: A blog post has many comments.

class Post extends Model
{
public function comments()
{
return $this->hasMany(Comment::class);
}
}

Retrieve post comments:

$post = Post::find(1);
$comments = $post->comments;

Many-to-Many Relationship

Example: A student belongs to many courses.

class Student extends Model
{

public function courses()
{

return $this->belongsToMany(Course::class);

}
}

Retrieve student courses:

$student = Student::find(1);
$courses = $student->courses;

👉 Learn more about Eloquent relationships in the Laravel Relationships Guide.

Step 5: Eloquent Advanced Features

Soft Deletes

Enable soft deletes in your model:

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes;
class Product extends Model
{

use SoftDeletes;
protected $dates = ['deleted_at'];
}

Now, deleting a record won’t remove it permanently:

$product->delete();

To restore it:

Product::withTrashed()->find(1)->restore();

Query Scopes

Define a scope for commonly used queries:

class Product extends Model
{
public function scopeExpensive($query)
{
return $query->where('price', '>', 500);

}

}

Use it like this:

$expensiveProducts = Product::expensive()->get();

Mastering Eloquent ORM in Laravel allows you to build efficient, scalable applications with clean and readable database interactions. Whether you’re handling basic queries, relationships, or advanced features like soft deletes and query scopes, Eloquent makes database management easy.

If you need further customization or advanced features, check out our Laravel Services!

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