If you’ve worked with Eloquent for a while, you’ve probably experienced this:

“I know Laravel can do this… but I don’t remember the exact method.”

This guide is a clean, structured, and practical Eloquent cheat sheet designed not just to list methods—but to help you understand when and why to use them.

🧠 Eloquent Mental Model (Read This First)

Before diving into methods, understand this:

• with() → eager load relationships before query (SQL level)
• load() → eager load relationships after query (PHP level)
• where() → filter rows
• whereHas() → filter based on relationships
• *OrFail() → throw exception if not found
• Query Builder → builds SQL
• Model → represents actual data

👉 If you remember this, Eloquent becomes much easier.

🔹 1. Query Builder (Before Fetching Data)

Select

select('col1', 'col2')
select(['col1', 'col2'])
addSelect('col3')
distinct()

select('col1', 'col2')
select(['col1', 'col2'])
addSelect('col3')
distinct()

select(DB::raw('COUNT(*) as total'))

select(DB::raw('COUNT(*) as total'))

Use raw SQL for complex expressions.

Where Conditions

where('column', 'value')
where('column', 'LIKE', '%value%')
orWhere('column', '!=', 'value')

where('column', 'value')
where('column', 'LIKE', '%value%')
orWhere('column', '!=', 'value')

Grouped conditions

where(function ($query) {
    $query->where('a', 1)
          ->orWhere('b', 1);
})

where(function ($query) {
    $query->where('a', 1)
          ->orWhere('b', 1);
})

Raw conditions

whereRaw('age > ? AND votes = 100', [25])

whereRaw('age > ? AND votes = 100', [25])

Advanced Filters

whereIn('id', [1,2,3])
whereNotIn('id', [...])
whereNull('column')
whereNotNull('column')

whereIn('id', [1,2,3])
whereNotIn('id', [...])
whereNull('column')
whereNotNull('column')

Date filtering

whereDate('created_at', '2024-01-01')
whereMonth('created_at', 1)
whereYear('created_at', 2025)

whereDate('created_at', '2024-01-01')
whereMonth('created_at', 1)
whereYear('created_at', 2025)

Conditional Queries (Very Useful)

when($search, function ($query) use ($search) {
    $query->where('title', 'like', "%$search%");
})

when($search, function ($query) use ($search) {
    $query->where('title', 'like', "%$search%");
})

👉 Keeps your code clean and avoids if clutter.

🔹 2. Joins

join('table', 'a', '=', 'b')
leftJoin('table', 'a', '=', 'b')

join('table', 'a', '=', 'b')
leftJoin('table', 'a', '=', 'b')

Advanced join

join('table', function ($join) {
    $join->on('a', '=', 'b')
         ->where('status', 1);
})

join('table', function ($join) {
    $join->on('a', '=', 'b')
         ->where('status', 1);
})

🔹 3. Relationships & Eager Loading

Basic eager loading

with('reviews')
with(['reviews', 'author'])

with('reviews')
with(['reviews', 'author'])

Conditional eager loading

with(['reviews' => function ($q) {
    $q->where('rating', '>', 4);
}])

with(['reviews' => function ($q) {
    $q->where('rating', '>', 4);
}])

Aggregates

withCount('reviews')
withAvg('reviews', 'rating')

withCount('reviews')
withAvg('reviews', 'rating')

After fetching (Lazy eager loading)

$book->load('reviews');
$book->loadCount('reviews');
$book->loadAvg('reviews', 'rating');

$book->load('reviews');
$book->loadCount('reviews');
$book->loadAvg('reviews', 'rating');

Relationship filtering

whereHas('reviews', function ($q) {
    $q->where('rating', '>', 4);
})

whereHas('reviews', function ($q) {
    $q->where('rating', '>', 4);
})

🔹 4. Grouping & Aggregates

groupBy('category_id')
having('count', '>', 1)
havingRaw('COUNT(*) > 1')

groupBy('category_id')
having('count', '>', 1)
havingRaw('COUNT(*) > 1')

🔹 5. Ordering & Limiting

orderBy('id', 'DESC')
latest()      // by created_at
oldest()

orderBy('id', 'DESC')
latest()      // by created_at
oldest()

limit(10)
offset(10)
forPage($page, $perPage)

limit(10)
offset(10)
forPage($page, $perPage)

🔹 6. Retrieving Data

get()
first()
firstOrFail()
find($id)
findOrFail($id)
all()

get()
first()
firstOrFail()
find($id)
findOrFail($id)
all()

🔹 7. Pagination

paginate(10)
simplePaginate(10)

paginate(10)
simplePaginate(10)

🔹 8. Insert / Create

insert([...])
insertGetId([...])

insert([...])
insertGetId([...])

Model-based

Model::create([...])
firstOrCreate([...])
updateOrCreate([...])

Model::create([...])
firstOrCreate([...])
updateOrCreate([...])

🔹 9. Update

update([...])
increment('views')
decrement('stock')
touch()

update([...])
increment('views')
decrement('stock')
touch()

🔹 10. Delete

delete()
destroy([1,2,3])
forceDelete()

delete()
destroy([1,2,3])
forceDelete()

Relationships

$book->tags()->detach();

$book->tags()->detach();

🔹 11. Collections & Helpers

pluck('name')
value('name')
implode('name', ',')

pluck('name')
value('name')
implode('name', ',')

🔹 12. Chunking (Large Data)

chunk(1000, function ($rows) {
    // process
})

chunk(1000, function ($rows) {
    // process
})

👉 Prevents memory issues.

🔹 13. Aggregates

count()
sum('price')
avg('price')
min('price')
max('price')

count()
sum('price')
avg('price')
min('price')
max('price')

🔹 14. Debugging

toSql()
DB::enableQueryLog();
DB::getQueryLog();

toSql()
DB::enableQueryLog();
DB::getQueryLog();

🔹 15. Model Instance Methods

toArray()
toJson()

toArray()
toJson()

isDirty()
getDirty()

isDirty()
getDirty()

fresh()

fresh()

🔹 16. Existence Checks

exists()
doesntExist()

exists()
doesntExist()

⭐ Most Used Methods (Daily Use)

If you only focus on these, you’ll be productive fast:

• with()
• where()
• findOrFail()
• withCount()
• when()
• whereHas()
• paginate()
• updateOrCreate()
• load()
• pluck()

⚡ Performance Tips

• ✅ Use with() to avoid N+1 queries
• ✅ Use select() instead of *
• ✅ Use chunk() for large datasets
• ❌ Avoid queries inside loops
• ❌ Avoid overusing DB::raw()

❌ Deprecated / Avoid

• lists() → use pluck()
• remember() → no longer in core
• getCached() → not standard Eloquent

🧪 Real-World Example

Book::withCount('reviews')
    ->whereHas('reviews', fn($q) => $q->where('rating', '>', 4))
    ->when($search, fn($q) => $q->where('title', 'like', "%$search%"))
    ->latest()
    ->paginate(10);

Book::withCount('reviews')
    ->whereHas('reviews', fn($q) => $q->where('rating', '>', 4))
    ->when($search, fn($q) => $q->where('title', 'like', "%$search%"))
    ->latest()
    ->paginate(10);

🚀 Final Thoughts

You don’t need to memorize everything.

Focus on:

• Query building (where, with)
• Data retrieval (get, findOrFail)
• Relationships (withCount, whereHas)

Everything else becomes intuitive with practice.

👉 Keep this as your daily reference, and over time, Eloquent will feel second nature.