Laravel query model with relations, I just want the related models that meet criteria.

Updated: Feb 03, 2025

Laravel query model with relations, I just want the related models that meet criteria.

To achieve a Laravel query model with relations where you only want the related models that meet certain criteria, you can use eager loading and filtering. Eager loading is a technique to load related models with a single query instead of making multiple queries. This approach is more efficient and faster than making separate queries for each related model.

Here's an example of how to implement it:

Let's assume we have two models, Post and Comment. A Post has many Comments. We want to get all the Posts with their related Comments that have a specific status value.

First, define the relationships in the models:

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

// app/Models/Comment.php
class Comment extends Model
{
    public function post()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Post::class);
    }
}

Next, use eager loading and filtering in the query:

// app/Http/Controllers/PostController.php
class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $posts = Post::with('comments')
                    ->has('comments.status', '=', 'approved')
                    ->get();

        return view('posts.index', ['posts' => $posts]);
    }
}

In the example above, we use the with method to eagerly load the comments relation. Then, we use the has method with a closure to filter the related Comments based on the status criteria. Finally, we call the get method to execute the query and retrieve the results.

Now, when you access the $posts variable in the view, it will contain both the Post instances and their related Comment instances that meet the specified criteria.