What is the use of boot() method in Model in Laravel?

Laravel’s Eloquent ORM provides a powerful way to handle model events and behaviors. One such feature is the boot() method available in every Eloquent model. But what exactly is the purpose of this method?

🔍 What is boot()?

The boot() method is a special static method inside an Eloquent model class that Laravel automatically calls when the model is being initialized. It is typically used to hook into model events or apply global configurations like scopes or observers.

📌 Key Use Cases of boot() Method

• Registering Model Events: Like creating, created, updating, etc.
• Setting Default Attributes: Automatically fill or modify values before saving.
• Applying Global Scopes: Define query constraints globally.
• Custom Logic: Apply conditional logic before or after certain model actions.

🧑‍💻 Example: Auto-set a field during creation

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;

class Post extends Model
{
    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();

        static::creating(function ($post) {
            $post->slug = Str::slug($post->title);
        });
    }
}
  

In this example, whenever a Post model is created, it automatically generates a slug from the title using Laravel’s string helper.

⚠️ Important Note

Always remember to call parent::boot() at the beginning of your custom boot() method to ensure Laravel’s internal booting procedures still run.

✅ Summary

• The boot() method helps you customize model behavior globally.
• You can define model events, global scopes, or any model-wide initialization logic.
• Use it wisely to reduce repetitive code and maintain clean architecture.

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