Remove unnecessary $table, $primaryKey, and $timestamps properties from Eloquent models by adhering to standard Laravel conventions.
Declaring explicit overrides for standard default behaviors adds noise to Eloquent model definitions.
Laravel relies on convention over configuration: if your database table follows standard naming rules, zero configuration properties are required.
Over-Configured Model (Anti-Pattern)
namespace AppModels;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Article extends Model
{
// ❌ Redundant: Laravel already assumes table is 'articles'
protected $table = 'articles';
// ❌ Redundant: Laravel already assumes primary key is 'id'
protected $primaryKey = 'id';
// ❌ Redundant: Laravel already assumes auto-incrementing integer key
public $incrementing = true;
protected $keyType = 'int';
// ❌ Redundant: Laravel already expects timestamps by default
public $timestamps = true;
}Clean Eloquent Model (Recommended)
namespace AppModels;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Article extends Model
{
use HasFactory;
protected $guarded = ['id'];
}When to Explicitly Override
Declare properties only when deviating from standard conventions (such as legacy database tables or UUID primary keys):
class LegacyCustomer extends Model
{
protected $table = 'tbl_customers_legacy';
protected $primaryKey = 'customer_uuid';
public $incrementing = false;
protected $keyType = 'string';
}Summary
- Eliminates boilerplate properties from model definitions.
- Keeps model files focused on relationships, scopes, and casts.
- Declare properties only when integrating with non-standard legacy database schemas.
Tags:
Laravel Eloquent Architecture Clean Code