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Laravel Searchable Documentation

Introduction

Overview

Laravel Searchable is a powerful and flexible package that simplifies database searching in Laravel applications. It provides an elegant, fluent interface for building complex search queries across model attributes, relationships, and date ranges without writing verbose query builder code.

The package extends Laravel's Eloquent models with a convenient search() method that handles common search patterns like partial matching, relationship searching, concatenated field searches, and date filtering.

Why Use Laravel Searchable?

Clean and Readable Code Transform complex search queries into simple, declarative syntax. Instead of writing multiple where and orWhere clauses, define your searchable fields in a straightforward array.

Relationship Search Support Seamlessly search across related models without manually writing whereHas queries. The package handles nested relationships automatically.

Flexible Search Patterns Support multiple search patterns out of the box:

• Exact matches
• Partial matches (LIKE queries)
• Concatenated field searches (e.g., first name + last name)
• Date and date range filtering
• Multiple search conditions

Chainable and Composable Chain multiple search methods together to build complex queries progressively. Combine text searches, status filters, and date ranges in any order.

Zero Configuration Get started immediately with sensible defaults, or publish the configuration file for advanced customization.

Installation

Install the package via Composer:

Configuration

Publishing the Configuration File

To customize the package behavior, publish the configuration file:

This will create a config/searchable.php file where you can adjust package settings.

Setup

Adding the Trait to Your Model

To make a model searchable, import and use the Searchable trait:

That's it! Your model is now ready to use the searchable features.

Basic Usage

Simple Field Search

Search across one or more fields in your model:

What this does:

• Searches for name with partial matching (LIKE %searchQuery%)
• Searches for email with partial matching (LIKE %searchQuery%)
• Searches for exact phone match

Generated SQL equivalent:

Understanding Search Operators

The package uses prefix operators to define search behavior:

• %field - Partial match (LIKE %value%)
• field - Exact match (WHERE field = value)

Advanced Usage

Searching Across Relationships

Search through related models seamlessly:

Relationship syntax:

• relationship|%field - Search a related model's field
• relationship.nested|%field - Search through nested relationships

Generated SQL equivalent:

Concatenated Field Search

Search across multiple fields combined together (useful for full names, addresses, etc.):

Concatenation syntax:

• %field1+field2 - Combines fields with a space separator

Generated SQL equivalent:

Chaining Multiple Search Conditions

Combine multiple search criteria by chaining search() methods:

Generated SQL equivalent:

Date Searching

Single Date Search

Filter records by a specific date with comparison operators:

Supported operators:

• > - Greater than
• < - Less than
• = - Equal to
• >= - Greater than or equal to
• <= - Less than or equal to

Generated SQL equivalent:

Date Range Search

Filter records within a date range:

Date range format:

• Must be separated by - (space, hyphen, space)
• Format: YYYY-MM-DD - YYYY-MM-DD

Operator for ranges:

• >< - Between dates (inclusive)

Generated SQL equivalent:

Date Search with Relationships

Coming Soon

This feature will allow you to filter by dates in related models.

Date Range Search with Relationships

Coming Soon

This feature will allow you to filter by date ranges in related models.

Complete Example

Here's a real-world example combining multiple search features:

Example URL:

Tips and Best Practices

Performance Considerations

• Add database indexes to frequently searched columns
• Use exact matches when possible to avoid LIKE queries
• Consider using Laravel Scout for full-text search on large datasets
• Limit the number of searchable relationships to avoid N+1 queries

Handling Empty Search Values

The package automatically handles empty or null search values gracefully - they simply won't add any conditions to your query.

Combining with Other Query Methods

Since search() returns a query builder instance, you can chain any standard Eloquent methods:

API Reference

search($value, array $fields)

Adds search conditions to the query.

Parameters:

• $value (mixed) - The search term or value
• $fields (array) - Array of searchable fields with optional operators

Returns: Query builder instance for method chaining

searchDate($value, array $fields, string $operator = '=')

Adds date-based search conditions to the query.

Parameters:

• $value (string) - Date value or date range
• $fields (array) - Array of date fields to search
• $operator (string) - Comparison operator (>, <, =, >=, <=, ><)

Returns: Query builder instance for method chaining

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Search not working across relationships

• Ensure the relationship is properly defined in your model
• Verify the relationship name matches exactly (case-sensitive)

Date search returning unexpected results

• Check date format is YYYY-MM-DD
• For date ranges, ensure format is YYYY-MM-DD - YYYY-MM-DD with spaces

Performance issues with large datasets

• Add database indexes to searched columns
• Limit the number of searchable relationships
• Consider implementing pagination

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.