Laravel check if relation is empty

Question

I have an object with some relationships and I need to check if these relations are empty or not, I'm trying to check with is_null, isset, != undefined, etc but nothing works, here is the relationship I get when it's empty :

object(Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection)#197 (1) {
  ["items":protected]=>
    array(0) {
  }
}

Is there a way to check this easily ? Thanks.

$model->relation()->exists() – Yevgeniy Afanasyev Dec 19 '19 at 00:07 — Yevgeniy Afanasyev, Dec 19 '19 at 00:07

score 80 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 02 '22 at 08:23

There are a variety of ways to do this.

#1 In the query itself, you can filter models that do not have any related items:

Model::has('posts')->get()

#2 Once you have a model, if you already have loaded the collection (which below #4 checks), you can call the count() method of the collection:

$model->posts->count();

#3 If you want to check without loading the relation, you can run a query on the relation:

$model->posts()->exists()

#4 If you want to check if the collection was eager loaded or not:

if ($model->relationLoaded('posts')) {
    // Use the collection, like #2 does...
}

Note: Replace posts with the name of your relationship in the above examples.

Relation is the name of your relationship in this, not a literal relation method. — Devon Bessemer, Jul 17 '18 at 13:33

Calos · Answer 2 · 2019-03-04T19:09:17.867

22

If model already have loaded relationship, you can determine the variable is null or call isEmpty() to check related items:

// For one relation:
if ( $model->relation ) {
    // ...
} else {
    // $model->relation is null
}

// For many relations:
if ( $model->relation->isEmpty() ) {
    // ...
}

edited Mar 04 '19 at 19:09

answered Mar 04 '19 at 15:00

Calos

1,783
19
28

$model->relation->isEmpty() is the defined answer to this question. – PatricNox Apr 18 '20 at 15:04
2

This is the correct answer, `$model->relation()->exists()` runs another query, even with eager loaded results. – panthro May 15 '20 at 13:52
If on one relation has deleted_at filled, the value will be `null` , so exists() and isEmpty() will not work. – francisco Dec 16 '21 at 17:15

score 10 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 19 '19 at 00:34

First, you might want to check if your Relation is loaded

if ($user->relationLoaded('posts'))...

second, when it is loaded, you might want to see if it is an empty Collection or Null,

if ($user->posts()->exists())...

PS

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\Relation;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection;

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 25 '21 at 10:35

3

Model::has('relation')->get();
Model::doesntHave('relation')->get();

answered Aug 25 '21 at 10:35

Imad Ullah

929
9
17

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 17 '18 at 13:29

1

    $model->relation()->exists()
if (count($model->relation))
{
  // check exists
}

also 2nd method

if(!is_null($model->relation)) {
   ....
}

answered Jul 17 '18 at 13:29

pardeep

359
1
5
7

I already try the second method with my relation (is_null($experiment->tm())) but this doesn't work too :/ and the first one returns me nothing :/ – Spialdor Jul 17 '18 at 13:32

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered May 24 '19 at 15:58

1

This doesn't directly answer the question, but you can use Laravel's optional helper to call methods on a relationship you suspect might not have a value:

optional($user->comments)->where('is_popular', true);

If the user doesn't have comments, this will return null. Otherwise it will return the user's popular comments.

answered May 24 '19 at 15:58

Patrick.SE

4,444
5
34
44

I think it will return an empty collection, not Null – Yevgeniy Afanasyev Dec 19 '19 at 00:26

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 07 '22 at 21:21

1

If the relation is not always empty, way more clear way is to use Laravel build-in helper 'optional'

For example, this code will not throw an error if the relation is null

  {{ optional($this->category)->name }}

answered Dec 07 '22 at 21:21

Martin Tonev

747
12
21

Laravel check if relation is empty

7 Answers7

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