Database seeding

What is seeding

Seeding is the mechanism for populating your database with sample or initial data. When setting up a development environment or running automated tests, you need data to already exist. Manually entering data each time is tedious, so seeders let you bundle it up into a repeatable form. Seeder classes are stored in the database/seeders directory. A DatabaseSeeder class is provided by default.

Creating a seeder

Generate a new seeder class with the make:seeder Artisan command.

php artisan make:seeder UserSeeder

The generated file is placed at database/seeders/UserSeeder.php.

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;

class UserSeeder extends Seeder
{
    /**
     * Run the seeder.
     */
    public function run(): void
    {
        // Write your data insertion logic here
    }
}

Implementing a seeder

Write your data insertion logic in the run() method. You can use the DB facade or Eloquent models to insert data.

Using the DB facade

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;

class UserSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        DB::table('users')->insert([
            [
                'name' => 'Taro Yamada',
                'email' => '[email protected]',
                'password' => Hash::make('password'),
                'created_at' => now(),
                'updated_at' => now(),
            ],
            [
                'name' => 'Hanako Suzuki',
                'email' => '[email protected]',
                'password' => Hash::make('password'),
                'created_at' => now(),
                'updated_at' => now(),
            ],
        ]);
    }
}

Using Eloquent models

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;

public function run(): void
{
    User::create([
        'name' => 'Administrator',
        'email' => '[email protected]',
        'password' => Hash::make('password'),
    ]);
}

Mass assignment protection is automatically disabled during seeding. You can insert data without worrying about $fillable or $guarded settings.

Combining with model factories

When you need large amounts of test data, combining with model factories is convenient. Factories let you generate random dummy data in bulk.

use App\Models\User;
use App\Models\Post;

public function run(): void
{
    // Create 10 users
    User::factory(10)->create();

    // Create 3 posts per user
    User::factory(5)
        ->hasPosts(3)
        ->create();
}

For detailed usage of factories, see the Eloquent factories documentation.

Using DatabaseSeeder

DatabaseSeeder is the entry point that manages multiple seeders together. Specify seeders to run with the call() method.

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;

class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        $this->call([
            UserSeeder::class,
            PostSeeder::class,
            CommentSeeder::class,
        ]);
    }
}

Seeders run in the order you pass them to call(). If there are foreign key constraints, order them so the referenced tables are seeded first (for example, users → posts).

Running seeders

Running all seeders

php artisan db:seed

DatabaseSeeder is invoked, and it runs the seeders you specified via call() in order.

Running only a specific seeder

Use the --class option to specify the seeder class to run.

php artisan db:seed --class=UserSeeder

Running together with migrations

Add the --seed option to the migrate:fresh command to recreate all tables and run seeding in one shot.

php artisan migrate:fresh --seed

To run only a specific seeder, use the --seeder option.

php artisan migrate:fresh --seed --seeder=UserSeeder

migrate:fresh drops all tables and recreates them. All existing data is lost, so do not use it in production.

Running in production

When you try to run seeding in production, a confirmation prompt is shown. To run without confirmation, use the --force flag.

php artisan db:seed --force

Seeding in production can lead to data being overwritten or lost. Always take a backup before running.

Suppressing model events

If you want to prevent model events (creating, created, and so on) from firing during seeding, use the WithoutModelEvents trait.

<?php

namespace Database\Seeders;

use Illuminate\Database\Seeder;
use Illuminate\Database\Console\Seeds\WithoutModelEvents;

class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    use WithoutModelEvents;

    public function run(): void
    {
        $this->call([
            UserSeeder::class,
        ]);
    }
}

It also applies to child seeders invoked via call().

Practical example: seeders for a blog app

Here’s an example of setting up initial data for a blog app with users and posts.

// database/seeders/UserSeeder.php
class UserSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        User::factory(10)->create();
    }
}

// database/seeders/PostSeeder.php
class PostSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        // Create 2 to 5 posts per user
        User::all()->each(function ($user) {
            Post::factory(rand(2, 5))->create([
                'user_id' => $user->id,
            ]);
        });
    }
}

// database/seeders/DatabaseSeeder.php
class DatabaseSeeder extends Seeder
{
    public function run(): void
    {
        $this->call([
            UserSeeder::class,
            PostSeeder::class, // Run after users
        ]);
    }
}

Execution steps:

php artisan migrate:fresh --seed

Next steps

Eloquent introduction

Learn how to retrieve and manipulate seeded data with the Eloquent ORM.

Getting Started

Basics

Request Handling

Database

Authentication

Helpers and External Communication

Testing and Deployment

AI Development Support

What is seeding

Creating a seeder

Implementing a seeder

Using the DB facade

Using Eloquent models

Combining with model factories

Using DatabaseSeeder

Running seeders

Running all seeders

Running only a specific seeder

Running together with migrations

Running in production

Suppressing model events

Practical example: seeders for a blog app

Next steps

Eloquent introduction

​What is seeding

​Creating a seeder

​Implementing a seeder

​Using the DB facade

​Using Eloquent models

​Combining with model factories

​Using DatabaseSeeder

​Running seeders

​Running all seeders

​Running only a specific seeder

​Running together with migrations

​Running in production

​Suppressing model events

​Practical example: seeders for a blog app

​Next steps

Eloquent introduction

What is seeding

Creating a seeder

Implementing a seeder

Using the DB facade

Using Eloquent models

Combining with model factories

Using DatabaseSeeder

Running seeders

Running all seeders

Running only a specific seeder

Running together with migrations

Running in production

Suppressing model events

Practical example: seeders for a blog app

Next steps