Get Specific Columns Using “With()” Function in Laravel Eloquent

Question

I have two tables, User and Post. One User can have many posts and one post belongs to only one user.

In my User model I have a hasMany relation...

public function post(){
    return $this->hasmany('post');
}

And in my post model I have a belongsTo relation...

public function user(){
    return $this->belongsTo('user');
}

Now I want to join these two tables using Eloquent with() but want specific columns from the second table. I know I can use the Query Builder but I don't want to.

When in the Post model I write...

public function getAllPosts() {
    return Post::with('user')->get();
}

It runs the following queries...

select * from `posts`
select * from `users` where `users`.`id` in (<1>, <2>)

But what I want is...

select * from `posts`
select id,username from `users` where `users`.`id` in (<1>, <2>)

When I use...

Post::with('user')->get(array('columns'....));

It only returns the column from the first table. I want specific columns using with() from the second table. How can I do that?

Solution 1

Well I found the solution. It can be done one by passing a closure function in with() as second index of array like

Post::query()
    ->with(['user' => function ($query) {
        $query->select('id', 'username');
    }])
    ->get()

It will only select id and username from other table. I hope this will help others.

---

Remember that the primary key (id in this case) needs to be the first param in the $query->select() to actually retrieve the necessary results.*

Solution 2

You can do it like this since Laravel 5.5:

Post::with('user:id,username')->get();

Care for the id field and foreign keys as stated in the docs:

When using this feature, you should always include the id column and any relevant foreign key columns in the list of columns you wish to retrieve.

For example, if the user belongs to a team and has a team_id as a foreign key column, then $post->user->team is empty if you don't specifiy team_id

Post::with('user:id,username,team_id')->get();

Also, if the user belongs to the post (i.e. there is a column post_id in the users table), then you need to specify it like this:

Post::with('user:id,username,post_id')->get();

Otherwise $post->user will be empty.

Solution 3

For loading models with specific column, though not eager loading, you could:

In your Post model

public function user()
{
    return $this->belongsTo('User')->select(['id', 'username']);
}

Original credit goes to Laravel Eager Loading - Load only specific columns

Solution 4

When going the other way (hasMany):

User::with(array('post'=>function($query){
    $query->select('id','user_id');
}))->get();

Don't forget to include the foreign key (assuming it is user_id in this example) to resolve the relationship, otherwise you'll get zero results for your relation.

Solution 5

In Laravel 5.7 you can call specific field like this

$users = App\Book::with('author:id,name')->get();

It is important to add foreign_key field in the selection.

View more solutions

Comments

[Awais Qarni]

But this relation will make it just like hardcoded. In all condition it will always return me these two fields. It may happen that I need more fields in some other situations

[user1669496]

Then you must use the query builder.

[user1669496]

That's odd, I couldn't get this to work. As soon as I added in $query->select('id','username');, I was getting Trying to get property of non-object

[Awais Qarni]

@user1669496 Do you have defined relations hasmany and belongsto in your model??

[justin]

Weird! still returns all the fields of the user. @AwaisQarni

[Awais Qarni]

@justin share your query

[justin]

@AwaisQarni i will give you the laravel forum click here

[Symen Timmermans]

Thank you for sharing this. Where did you discover this possibility? I didn't find this in the Laravel docs.

[Awais Qarni]

@SymenTimmermans Just trying different possibilities of Eloquent. :-)

[Azirius]

For those who see this, remember that the primary key (id in this case) is necessary in the $query->select() to actually retrieve the necessary results. I omitted this in my code and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't find any results. Silly me! Hope this helps anyone else with the same problem

[Jorge]

This is a very basic question, but how do I refer to a column from the second table if: $result = Post::with('user')->find(1), then how do I retrieve the user id? ---- $result->user.id ?

[Amr]

@jasa You can refer to a column from the second table ('users' in this example) like this: $result->user->id;

[scipilot]

@SymenTimmermans it's under laravel.com/docs/4.2/eloquent#eager-loading constraints. the API docs are pretty poor describing these parameters, and the examples are sometimes hard to find amongst the tutorial style documentation. (I much prefer reference style...)

[Giovanni Far]

it return a collection!

[Giovanni Far]

if you want an array then call toArray() !!! $user->favourites->lists('id')->toArray();

[ErvTheDev]

The query will still get the other columns because the list() method just changes the results array ,so if you just need the 'id' from that table you may want to specify it in the query. It is always a good habit to keep performance in mind when doing queries. Enjoy coding!

[aqingsao]

Yes, exactly, "Don't forget to include the foreign key (assuming it is user_id in this example)"

[Sjwdavies]

Really? For me this just returns nothing, i.e. it breaks it?

[BugHunterUK]

This should be the accepted answer. This is the correct way to do it.

[Wallace Vizerra]

-1 $user->favourites will be return Collection with all fields selecteds. The correct use is: $user->favourites()->lists('id').

[Wallace Vizerra]

Selecting everything to later use PHP filtering is a bad idea. It is best to use only the needed fields in Query. It's important to know the difference between Query\Builder::lists method and Collection::lists method.

[Andre F.]

Is there a way to do this in the Laravel 5.3 version? I think they changed it... again.... and now it returns null when I try with this approach

[JordyvD]

It's been a while, but you could add a $fields parameter.

[danronmoon]

@g3mini could you help write an answer on how that would work calling like $model->user without invocation?

[JordyvD]

Without invocation? So, $model->relation->get(['field1', 'field2']); That should work

[alimfazeli]

you should include column that defines your relationship in select fields, in this case user_id

[Fenix Lam]

I love this solution! I get trouble when I need to get a device detail by using specific device_id, and device activity in specific start time and end time, it works perfectly as I need!

[Adam]

You can do it with a single command in Laravel 5 see my answer stackoverflow.com/a/47238258/2311074

[hendra1]

don't forget to add the foreign key field

[Shahrukh Anwar]

Nice catch brother.

[Rajesh Vishnani]

Dont forget to notice @hendra1's comment, all foreign key fields are also necessary along with the primary key, otherwise you will get blank collection. Dude saved my time. Thanks

[Hashaam Ahmed]

awesome bro, that use of foreign key is really important, lucky i saw your ans otherwise I would have scratched my head for hours lol. Thanks man!

[Hashaam Ahmed]

Don't forget to include the foreign key (assuming it is post_id here) to resolve the relationship, otherwise you will get empty results for your relation.

[Hashaam Ahmed]

great, just need to add foreign key, over here its post_id otherwise result will be empty. Mentioning Foreign key is important here. Thanks :)

[barbsan]

This is the same syntax as in this answer (just different names for model and column)

[Graham]

This should really be the selected answer. Works like a charm :)

[Clemorphy]

Just like @HashaamAhmed I needed to include the foreign key too. If I don't, nothing is returned.

[Sodium]

@Adam, This will restrict columns in the child table, how can I restrict columns from table Parent table along with child table?

[Adam]

@GauravGenius everything you want to restrict from parant belogns in the get() method Post::with('user:id,username')->get(['age', 'color']);

[pankaj kumar]

It is not Good idea because if any day if you want full column then you can not get form this. every time you have to modify this.

[Adsy2010]

This returns null for me but i didn't know this was possible before! Ok, so I posted prematurley but I did find a result. To use this method (looks much cleaner) you must include the relationship link, for example the ID column when pulling the with data. Without this specifier, you get a null return.

[Haritsinh Gohil]

yeah @Adsy2010, for getting related relationship data you also have to get id column or the primary key or whichever id is responsible for that relationship.

[Lokendra Parihar]

It is good but, this keys also sent in API response in JSON how to avoid

[Adam]

@Kamlesh Post::with(['user:id,username,team_id', 'othertable:id,horse'])

[Haritsinh Gohil]

@Kamlesh Post::with('user:user.id,username')->get(); this code will return all fields of post model or table and only id and username field from the users table but keep in mind before using with() function you should have relationship to relevant table in your model, if you don't have relationship then you can use join from the query builder.

[Kamlesh]

@Adam its weird answer for me because I want to fetch all the records of user table and need 2 fields of other table. I do not want to write all the fields in query as you suggested in your answer. Thanks dear.

[Adam]

@Kamlesh then go with Post::with(['user', 'othertable:id,horse'])

[Shailendra]

can I put specific conditions like this return $this->belongsTo('User')->select(['id', 'username'])->where('id', '=', 1); or something like this

[Diego Favero]

you deserve a hug !

[Waleed Khaled]

oh thanks bro :) , you really really saved my time

[Nipun Tharuksha]

@Azirius YOU ARE A LIFE SAVE.Thanks

[S. Farooq]

@Sjwdavies you need to add the foreign key in the select as well

[Imran_Developer]

can you help with this, it returns me product name but not "user" object: $product = Product::where('id', $p_id)->with('user:id,name')->get(['name']);

[Imran_Developer]

@Adam Post::with('user:id,username')->get(['age', 'color']); returns me post with age and color columns but user object is null

[Imran_Developer]

wow, great @jwarshaw, this is what actually I was looking for, this "user_id" really works for me.

[Neeraj Tangariya]

@Imran_Developer because you returning name only in get(['name']). do this $product = Product::with('user:id,name')->where('id', $p_id)->get();

[Imran_Developer]

yes dear @Neeraj , but it returns me user object with all columns of product instead of 1 or 2. but I have solved this by using: $product = Product::with('user:id,name')->where('id', $p_id)->select('title', 'content', 'user_id')->get(); . Here "user_id" is important for reference.

[Adam]

@Imran_Developer whats the primary key on your users table? Maybe Post::with('user:id,username')->get(['age', 'color', 'id']); works?

[Imran_Developer]

yes, basically "user_id" was missing. It works now: Post::with('user:id,username')->get(['age', 'color', 'user_id']);

[Neeraj Tangariya]

@Imran_Developer ok great.