Laravel Eloquent Tips — Using Accessors Effectively

showkat ali
Apr 29, 2025
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When working with Laravel Eloquent models, accessors are a powerful way to create custom attributes dynamically. Whether you're formatting user names, generating file paths, or combining multiple fields, accessors let you add flexibility without changing your database structure.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to define, use, and optimize accessors in Laravel — including when to use (and not use) the $appends property.

📘 What is an Accessor in Laravel?

An accessor is a custom attribute you define on your model using a naming convention: get{StudlyCaseAttributeName}Attribute.

public function getFullNameAttribute()
{
    return $this->first_name . ' ' . $this->last_name;
}

You can now access this like a real attribute:

$user = User::first();
echo $user->full_name; // John Doe

🧰 Why Use Accessors?

Accessors are useful for:

Combining multiple fields (e.g., full name)
Formatting values (e.g., dates, slugs, prices)
Returning fallback/default values (e.g., image paths)
Generating virtual fields for APIs

🔍 Example: Logo Path with Fallback

Let’s say each company has a logo. If the logo is missing, you want to return a default image.

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;

class Company extends Model
{
    public function getFullLogoPathAttribute()
    {
        return $this->logo
            ? Storage::disk('public')->url($this->logo)
            : asset('assets/images/no-image.png');
    }
}

$company = Company::find(1);
echo $company->full_logo_path;

🧠 Tip: Avoid Using `$appends` If Not Needed

If you want the custom attribute to appear in JSON or array responses, you must use the $appends property:

protected $appends = ['full_logo_path'];

But you don’t need $appends if:

You’re using the value internally
You’re building a custom API response or resource

Example without $appends:

return response()->json([
    'name' => $company->name,
    'logo' => $company->full_logo_path,
]);

⚙️ More Real-World Accessor Examples

1. Full Name

public function getFullNameAttribute()
{
    return ucfirst($this->first_name) . ' ' . ucfirst($this->last_name);
}

2. Slug from Name

use Illuminate\Support\Str;

public function getSlugAttribute()
{
    return Str::slug($this->name);
}

3. Product Code Format

public function getProductCodeAttribute()
{
    return 'PROD-' . str_pad($this->id, 5, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT);
}

4. Human-Readable Date

public function getCreatedAtFormattedAttribute()
{
    return $this->created_at->format('F d, Y');
}

🎯 Bonus: Use Laravel API Resources Instead

When building APIs, consider API Resources for even more control:

// app/Http/Resources/ProductResource.php
public function toArray($request)
{
    return [
        'id' => $this->id,
        'title' => $this->title,
        'product_code' => $this->product_code,
    ];
}

return new ProductResource($product);

✅ Final Tips for Accessors

Scenario	Use Accessor	Use `$appends`
Internal usage in controllers/views	✅	❌
JSON API responses using `toArray()`	✅	✅
Using Laravel API Resources	✅	❌
Custom array responses	✅	❌

📌 Summary

Laravel accessors let you create dynamic, custom attributes on your models.
You don’t need $appends unless you're serializing the model to JSON or an array.
Accessors help keep your controllers and views clean.
Combine accessors with resources for clean, maintainable API responses.