Auto-Eager Load Common Relationships with Protected $with in Laravel Models

When certain relationships are always needed with a model, you can eager load them by default using the protected $with property instead of adding with() to every query.

The Pattern

Add the $with property to your model:

class User extends Model
{
    protected $with = ['profile'];

    public function profile(): BelongsTo
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Profile::class);
    }
}

Now every query automatically eager loads the profile:

// These all include profile automatically:
User::find(1);
User::all();
User::where('active', true)->get();

// No N+1 queries! Profile is always loaded.

When to Use This

Perfect for:

• API resources that always serialize certain relations
• Computed attributes that depend on relationships
• Models with logical “parent” relationships

Example use case: A Comment model where you always need the author:

class Comment extends Model
{
    protected $with = ['author'];

    public function author(): BelongsTo
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class, 'user_id');
    }
}

Disable When Needed

You can still opt out of auto-eager loading in specific queries:

// Skip the default eager load:
User::without('profile')->get();

Trade-offs

Pros: Cleaner code, prevents forgotten eager loads, consistent behavior

Cons: Always eager loads, even when not needed—can add overhead if overused

Best practice: Combine protected $with for “always needed” relations with whenLoaded() in resources for “sometimes needed” ones.