Level 63
I can do "Meeting::firstOrCreate()" but that is horribly inefficient
Why ?
Yet it's the best choice for what you need.
If you really want to execute INSERT IGNORE, you can execute a raw query.
Apr 28, 2025
10
Level 1
How to do INSERT IGNORE
I have a database table in my database called "meetings" and a corresponding eloquent model called Meeting.
I am trying to do an INSERT IGNORE into the table.
I can do "Meeting::firstOrCreate()" but that is horribly inefficient, given I do not even want the model object itself.
However if I do "Meeting::createQuietly()" I get the following error:
Call to undefined method App\Models\Meeting::createQuietly()
Obviously I cannot do "Meeting::create()" because then I get an "Integrity constraint violation: 1062 Duplicate entry" error.
This is so basic that I cannot believe Laravel doesn't support it, so does anyone how I am supposed to do an INSERT IGNORE?
Just to clarify, I do not want "MyModel::firstOrCreate()" or "MyModel::createOrFirst()", I want to create the record if it doesn't exist and do nothing if it already exists, which translates to a SQL "INSERT IGNORE" statement.
Level 75
I want to create the record if it doesn't exist and do nothing if it already exists
Just do a regular search for the record.
1 like
Level 1
To clarify , I do not want to read the record, I just want to insert it if it doesn't exist.
firstOrCreate() reads it which I do not want to do.
Is everyone saying that Laravel does not have a means to do "INSERT IGNORE" without doing a raw query or wrapping a "create()" inside a try...catch block and checking what type of exception was thrown?
1 like
Level 75
@MartinW12 have you seen https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/queries#insert-statements
Edit:
As @snapey shows below that's why I referred you the the section of the documentation that covers this. From the documentation:
The insertOrIgnore method will ignore errors while inserting records into the database. When using this method, you should be aware that duplicate record errors will be ignored and other types of errors may also be ignored depending on the database engine. For example, insertOrIgnore will bypass MySQL's strict mode:
The example from the documentation:
DB::table('users')->insertOrIgnore([
['id' => 1, 'email' => '[email protected]'],
['id' => 2, 'email' => '[email protected]'],
]);
1 like
Level 1
@jlrdw thanks, I was actually looking for insertOrIgnore at the model level, but I guess it doesn't have it, a suggestion for Laravel 13
1 like
Level 122
@MartinW12 How could it be applied at the model level?
Perhaps you just want to use eloquent instead of DB. Query builder methods can be applied to eloquent, so this should work
User::insertOrIgnore([
['id' => 1, 'email' => '[email protected]'],
['id' => 2, 'email' => '[email protected]'],
]);
2 likes
Level 75
@MartinW12 It's referenced here:
Once you have created a model and its associated database table, you are ready to start retrieving data from your database. You can think of each Eloquent model as a powerful query builder allowing you to fluently query the database table associated with the model. The model's all method will retrieve all of the records from the model's associated database table:
https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/eloquent#retrieving-models
Where there is a direct link to query builder. So yes eloquent has all the query builder methods included.
1 like
Level 1
Derr!
I originally had "createQuietly()" and I thought I had tried "insertOrIgnore()" but obviously I hadn't :-(
Thanks @Snapey
1 like
Level 122
@MartinW12 the quietly methods are for interacting with models without triggering any observers (model events)
Please select best answer if you are solved
1 like
Level 122
There is an insertOrIgnore method
https://github.com/laravel/framework/blob/11.x/src/Illuminate/Database/Query/Builder.php#L3728
2 likes
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