HasManyArrayColumn

hasManyArrayColumn() defines a hasMany relationship where a local column stores an array of foreign keys, rather than a single value.

Signature

public function hasManyArrayColumn(
    string $related,
    ?string $foreignKey,
    ?string $localKey,
): HasManyArrayColumn
Argument Description
$related The related model class (e.g. Company::class)
$foreignKey The primary key of the related table (id)
$localKey The local array column containing related keys (companies)

Example

A User whose companies column stores an array of company IDs like [7, 71]:

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use MrPunyapal\LaravelExtendedRelationships\HasExtendedRelationships;

class User extends Model
{
    use HasExtendedRelationships;

    protected $casts = [
        'companies' => 'array',
    ];

    public function myCompanies()
    {
        return $this->hasManyArrayColumn(
            related: Company::class,
            foreignKey: 'id',
            localKey: 'companies',
        );
    }
}

$user = User::with('myCompanies')->first();

// companies with ids 7 and 71
$user->myCompanies;

No pivot table and no extra query per company — the relation resolves all stored IDs with a single query.