attac-t Skill: Eager Loading
"One query is better than N+1."
The Decision
Use with() when:
- You know upfront which relationships you need
- Building a query before execution
- Relationships will be accessed for most/all records
Use load() when:
- Model already retrieved
- Conditional loading based on runtime logic
- Adding relationships after initial query
Use withCount() when:
- Only need the count, not the related models
- Displaying "5 comments" without loading comments
The Heuristic
Ask: "Will I access this relationship in a loop?"
- Yes → Eager load with
with() - Maybe → Consider
load()conditionally - Just counting →
withCount()
The Quick Test
| Scenario | Method |
|---|---|
| Query time, known relations | with() |
| Post-query, conditional | load() |
| Only need counts | withCount() |
| Nested relationships | with('a.b.c') |
| Constrained eager load | with(['a' => fn]) |
Real-World Examples
For concrete examples from this codebase, see examples.md.