Eloquent Relationships Cheat Sheet

A cheat sheet for Laravel’s Eloquent ORM version 5.5.

One to One Relationship

Demo details:

In this demo we have 2 models (Owner and Car), and 2 tables (owners and cars).

Business Rules:

The Owner can own one Car.
The Car can be owned by one Owner.

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:

The Cars table should store the Owner ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Owner
{
    public function car()
    {
       return $this->hasOne(Car::class);
    }
}
class Car
{
    public function owner()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Owner::class);
    }
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('owners', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
    $table->integer('owner_id')->unsigned()->index()->nullable();
    $table->foreign('owner_id')->references('id')->on('owners');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Owner and Car.
$owner->car()->save($car);
// Create relation between Car and Owner.
$car->owner()->associate($owner)->save();

Retrieve Records:

// Get Owner Car
$owner->car;
// Get Car Owner
$car->owner;

One to Many Relationship

Demo details:

In this demo we have 2 models (Thief and Car), and 2 tables (thieves and cars).

Business Rules:

The Thief can steal many Cars.
The Car can be stolen by one Thief.

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:

The Cars table should store the Thief ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Thief
{
    public function cars()
    {
       return $this->hasMany(Car::class);
    }
}
class Car
{
    public function thief()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Thief::class);
    }
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('thieves', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
    $table->integer('thief_id')->unsigned()->index()->nullable();
    $table->foreign('thief_id')->references('id')->on('thieves');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Thief and Car.
$thief->cars()->saveMany([
   $car1, 
   $car2,
]);
// Or use the save() function for single model.
$thief->cars()->save($car);
// Create relation between Car and Thief.
$car->thief()->associate($thief)->save();

Retrieve Records:

// Get Thief Car
$thief->cars;
// Get Car Thief
$car->thief;

Polymorphic One to Many Relationship

Demo details:

In this demo we have 3 models (Man, Woman and Car), and 3 tables (men, women and cars).

Business Rules:

The Man (buyer) can buy many Cars.
The Woman (buyer) can buy many Cars.
The Car can be bought by one buyer (Man or Woman).

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:

The Car table should store the Buyer ID and the Buyer Type.
“buyer” is a name given to a group of models (Man and Woman). And it’s not limited to two. The buyer type is the real name of the model.

Eloquent Models:

class Man
{
    public function cars()
    {
        return $this->morphMany(Car::class, 'buyer');
    }
}
class Woman
{
    public function cars()
    {
        return $this->morphMany(Car::class, 'buyer');
    }
}
class Car
{
    public function buyer()
    {
        return $this->morphTo();
    }
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('men', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('women', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
    $table->integer('buyer_id')->unsigned()->index()->nullable();
    $table->string('buyer_type')->nullable();   
    // or use $table->morphs(‘buyer’); instead of "buyer_id" and "buyer_type"
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between buyer (Man/Woman) and Car.
$man->cars()->saveMany([
   $car1, 
   $car2,
]);
$woman->cars()->saveMany([
   $car1, 
   $car2,
]);
// Or use the save() function for single model.
$man->cars()->save($car);
$woman->cars()->save($car);
// Create relation between Car and buyer (Men/Women).
$car1->buyer()->associate($man)->save();
$car2->buyer()->associate($woman)->save();

Retrieve Records:

// Get buyer (Man/Woman) Cars
$men->cars
$women->cars
// Get Car buyer (Man and Woman)
$car->buyer

Many to Many Relationship

Demo details:

In this demo we have 2 models (Driver and Car), and 3 tables (drivers, cars and a pivot table named car_driver).

Business Rules:

The Driver can drive many Cars.
The Car can be driven by many Drivers.

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:

The Pivot table “car_driver” should store the Driver ID and the Car ID.

Eloquent Models:

class Driver
{
    public function cars()
    {
       return $this->belongsToMany(Car::class);
    }
}
class Car
{
    public function drivers()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany(Driver::class);
    }
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('drivers', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('cars', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('car_driver', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('car_id')->unsigned()->index();
    $table->foreign('car_id')->references('id')->on('cars')->onDelete('cascade');
    $table->integer('driver_id')->unsigned()->index();
    $table->foreign('driver_id')->references('id')->on('drivers')->onDelete('cascade');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between Driver and Car.
$driver->cars()->attach([
   $car1->id,
   $car2->id,
]);
// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated relations.
$driver->cars()->sync([
   $car1->id,
   $car2->id,
]);
// Create relation between Car and Driver.
$car->drivers()->attach([
   $driver1->id,
   $driver2->id,
]);
// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated relations.
$car->drivers()->sync([
   $driver1->id,
   $driver2->id,
]);

Retrieve Records:

// Get Driver Car
$driver->cars
// Get Car Drivers
$car->drivers

Polymorphic Many to Many Relationship

Demo details:

In this demo we have 3 models (Valet, Owner and Car), and 4 tables (valets, owners, cars and drivers).

Business Rules:

The Valet (driver) can drive many Cars.
The Owner (driver) can drive many Cars.
The Car can be driven by many drivers (Valet or/and Owner).

Relations Diagram:

Relationship Details:

The Pivot table “drivers” should store the Driver ID, Driver Type and the Car ID.
“driver” is a name given to a group of models (Valet and Owner). And it’s not limited to two. The driver type is the real name of the model.

Eloquent Models:

class Valet
{
    public function cars()
    {
        return $this->morphToMany(Car::class, 'driver');
    }
}
class Owner
{
    public function cars()
    {
        return $this->morphToMany(Car::class, 'driver');
    }
}
class Car
{
    public function valets()
    {
        return $this->morphedByMany(Valet::class, 'driver');
    }

    public function owners()
    {
        return $this->morphedByMany(Owner::class, 'driver');
    }
}

Database Migrations:

Schema::create('valets', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('owners', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('name');
});
Schema::create('drivers', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('driver_id')->unsigned()->index();
    $table->string('driver_type');
    // or use $table->morphs(‘driver’); instead of "driver_id" and "driver_type"
    $table->integer('car_id')->unsigned()->index();
    $table->foreign('car_id')->references('id')->on('cars')->onDelete('cascade');
});

Store Records:

// Create relation between driver (Valet/Owner) and Car.
$valet->cars()->saveMany([$car1, $car2]);
$owner->cars()->saveMany([$car1, $car2]);
// Or use the save() function for single model.
$valet->cars()->save($car1);
$owner->cars()->save($car1);
// Create relation between Car and driver (Valet/Owner).
$car->valets()->attach([
    $valet1->id,
    $valet2->id,
]);
$car->owners()->attach([
    $owner1->id,
    $owner2->id,
]);
// Or use the sync() function to prevent duplicated relations.
$car->valets()->sync([
    $valet1->id,
    $valet2->id,
]);
$car->owners()->sync([
    $owner1->id,
    $owner2->id,
]);

Retrieve Records:

// Get driver (Valet/Owner) Cars
$valet->cars
$owner->cars
// Get Car drivers (Valet and Owner)
$car->owners
$car->valets

Follow me on Twitter Mahmoud Zalt.