Define Type-Safe Foreign Keys with $table->foreignIdFor()

Use $table->foreignIdFor(Model::class) in migrations to create foreign key columns that automatically match the model's primary key type and name.

Hardcoding foreign key column names like $table->unsignedBigInteger('user_id') can lead to type mismatches if the parent model changes primary key types (e.g. from integer to UUID).

foreignIdFor() infers column names and types directly from the target model class.

Basic Usage in Migrations

use App\Models\Company;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration
{
    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::create('projects', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();

            // Automatically generates 'user_id' matching User's primary key type
            $table->foreignIdFor(User::class)->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();

            // Custom column name if needed
            $table->foreignIdFor(Company::class, 'client_company_id')->nullable()->constrained('companies');

            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }
};

Summary

Automatically derives column names (user_id) from model classes.
Chains with constrained(), nullOnDelete(), and cascadeOnDelete().
Refactor-safe when changing model classes or database constraints.

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Tags: Laravel Database Migrations Eloquent

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Basic Usage in Migrations

Summary

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