Use name to find value in table

So I have 3 tables to define a many to many relationship:

preferences with fields id and name -> name field is unique

users - the default laravel users table

preference_user -> pivot table with fields user_id, preference_id, value

Right now, if I want to attach a preference to a user, I need to do it like this:

Case: I catch a request inside the controller that contains the name of the preference

$user = Auth::user();
$preference = Preference::where('name', $request->preference)->first();
$user->preferences()->attach($preference);

Is there any way I can do this easier?

Preference::find('namehere');

Level 3

I think I solved it using

public function scopeFindName($query, $string) {
     return $query->where('name', $string)->first();
}

inside my model. Is it okay to do it like this?

Level 3

this one, but needs more refinement..

Preference::whereName($request->preference)->get();

Level 3

@sergiuwd did you try the output of your code? I would do it this way

public function scopeFindName($query, $string) {
     return $query->where('name', $string);
}

then

Preference::findName($string)->first();

Level 3

@cviv the name is unique, that's why I choose to call first() inside the custom method

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