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Introduction

When Eloquent returns more than one model, you receive an Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection.
It extends Illuminate\Support\Collection, so you inherit the full base collection API plus model-specific helpers. 
use App\Models\User;

$users = User::where('active', 1)->get();

foreach ($users as $user) {
    echo $user->name;
}
Review Collections and Eloquent ORM first if you want a quick refresher on the base behavior.

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Available methods

Eloquent\Collection inherits all base collection methods and adds model-focused methods.

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append / withoutAppends / setAppends

Control appended attributes for every model in the collection. 
$users->append('team');
$users->append(['team', 'is_admin']);

$users = $users->withoutAppends();
$users = $users->setAppends(['is_admin']);

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contains / diff / except / intersect / only

Check membership and perform set operations using model instances or primary keys. 
use App\Models\User;

$users->contains(1);
$users->contains(User::find(1));

$subset = User::whereIn('id', [1, 2, 3])->get();

$users->diff($subset);
$users->intersect($subset);

$users->except([1, 2, 3]);
$users->only([1, 2, 3]);

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find / findOrFail

Find already-loaded models by primary key. 
$users = User::all();

$user = $users->find(1);
$user = $users->findOrFail(1);

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fresh

Re-fetch each model in the collection from the database, optionally eager loading relations. 
$users = $users->fresh();
$users = $users->fresh('comments');

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load / loadMissing

Eager load relationships on a collection after retrieval. 
$users->load(['comments', 'posts']);
$users->load('comments.author');
$users->load(['comments', 'posts' => fn ($query) => $query->where('active', 1)]);

$users->loadMissing(['comments', 'posts']);
$users->loadMissing('comments.author');
$users->loadMissing(['comments', 'posts' => fn ($query) => $query->where('active', 1)]);

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modelKeys

Get the primary keys for all models in the collection. 
$users->modelKeys();
// [1, 2, 3, ...]

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makeVisible / makeHidden / mergeVisible / mergeHidden / setVisible / setHidden

Adjust attribute visibility for serialization across the entire model collection. 
$users = $users->makeVisible(['address', 'phone_number']);
$users = $users->makeHidden(['address', 'phone_number']);

$users = $users->mergeVisible(['middle_name']);
$users = $users->mergeHidden(['last_login_at']);

$users = $users->setVisible(['id', 'name']);
$users = $users->setHidden(['email', 'password', 'remember_token']);

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partition

Split models into two Eloquent\Collection instances; the outer container is an Illuminate\Support\Collection. 
$partition = $users->partition(fn ($user) => $user->age > 18);

dump($partition::class);    // Illuminate\Support\Collection
dump($partition[0]::class); // Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection
dump($partition[1]::class); // Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection

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toQuery

Build a whereIn query from already-loaded model keys and perform one bulk operation. 
use App\Models\User;

// Retrieve target users first
$vipUsers = User::where('status', 'VIP')->get();

// Run one bulk update for only those model keys
$vipUsers->toQuery()->update([
    'status' => 'Administrator',
]);
toQuery() is a practical bridge between in-memory selection and efficient bulk SQL updates.

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unique

Remove duplicated models that share the same primary key. 
$users = $users->unique();

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Eloquent-to-base collection conversion

collapse, flatten, flip, keys, pluck, and zip return an Illuminate\Support\Collection.
Likewise, map returns a base collection when the mapped result no longer contains Eloquent models.

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Custom collections

If you want model-specific collection behavior, prefer the #[CollectedBy] attribute first.

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#[CollectedBy] attribute (preferred)

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use App\Support\UserCollection;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Attributes\CollectedBy;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

#[CollectedBy(UserCollection::class)]
class User extends Model
{
    // ...
}

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newCollection() method (alternative)

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use App\Support\UserCollection;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class User extends Model
{
    public function newCollection(array $models = []): Collection
    {
        $collection = new UserCollection($models);

        if (Model::isAutomaticallyEagerLoadingRelationships()) {
            $collection->withRelationshipAutoloading();
        }

        return $collection;
    }
}
Once you add newCollection() or #[CollectedBy], Eloquent returns your custom collection wherever it would normally return Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Collection.

Collections

Review Illuminate\\Support\\Collection fundamentals.

Eloquent ORM

Revisit Eloquent model and query basics.
Last modified on May 18, 2026