How to Add Custom Attribute in Laravel Model?

Introduction

In this blog article, we will explore the steps to add a custom attribute in the Laravel model and enhance the functionality of your application.

Why Custom Attributes?

Custom attributes allow you to add additional properties to your model that are not directly stored in the database. This can be useful when you want to manipulate data or perform calculations based on existing attributes.

Example 1: Define the Attribute

To add a custom attribute, we first need to define it in our model class. Open your model file and add the following code:

app/Models/User.php

<?php

  

namespace App\Models;

  

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;

use Laravel\Sanctum\HasApiTokens;

  

class User extends Authenticatable

{

    use HasApiTokens, HasFactory, Notifiable;

  

    ....

  

    /**

     * Determine  full name of user

     *

     * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute

     */

    public function getFullNameAttribute()

    {

        return $this->first_name . ' ' . $this->last_name;

    }

}

Access Attribute:

$full_name = User::find(1)->full_name;

Output:

Roshan Jha

Example 2: Laravel Model Define Attribute with Append Property

Using $appends property, you will get always “full_name” with user model object.

app/Models/User.php

<?php

  

namespace App\Models;

   

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;

use Laravel\Sanctum\HasApiTokens;

   

class User extends Authenticatable

{

    use HasApiTokens, HasFactory, Notifiable;

  

    ....

  

    /**

     * The accessors to append to the model's array form.

     *

     * @var array

     */

    protected $appends = ['full_name'];

  

    /**

     * Determine  full name of user

     *

     * @return \Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute

     */

    public function getFullNameAttribute()

    {

        return $this->first_name . ' ' . $this->last_name;

    }

}

Access Attribute:

Output:

Array

(

    [id] => 1

    [first_name] => Roshan

    [last_name] => Jha

    [email] => roshan.cotocus@gmail.com

    [created_at] => 2023-09-21T10:50:11.000000Z

    [updated_at] => 2023-09-21T10:50:11.000000Z

    [full_name] => Roshan Jha

)

I hope it will help you ….!!!!