Transform Non-Empty Datasets Fluently with whenNotEmpty()

Use whenNotEmpty() on Laravel Collections to execute transformations or side effects only when collections contain items.

When transforming collections or sending batch notifications, wrapping collection pipelines in external if ($collection->isNotEmpty()) blocks interrupts fluent method chaining.

whenNotEmpty() runs the given closure only if the collection contains one or more items.

Basic Usage

$pendingInvoices = Invoice::where('status', 'pending')->get();

$pendingInvoices
    ->whenNotEmpty(function ($invoices) {
        // Runs only if there is at least 1 invoice
        Notification::send(User::getFinanceTeam(), new BatchInvoiceAlert($invoices));
    })
    ->whenEmpty(function () {
        logger()->info('No pending invoices found for processing.');
    });

Transforming Items Fluently

$users = collect($rawUsers)
    ->whenNotEmpty(function ($collection) {
        return $collection->sortBy('created_at')->values();
    });

Summary

• Executes closure only if $collection->count() > 0.
• Complements whenEmpty() for complete conditional pipeline flows.
• Maintains fluent chaining without external if statements.