Commentable models.

Any Eloquent model becomes commentable by adding one trait. This page covers what that trait gives you and what a comment row holds.

use ByRcsc\LaravelComments\Concerns\HasComments;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    use HasComments;
}

There is no registration step and no interface to implement. The trait adds a polymorphic relation and two write methods.

Write a comment

comment() takes a body and the model writing it:

$comment = $post->comment('Great write-up!', by: $user);

$by is any Eloquent model. The package stores commentator_type and commentator_id as a morph and never assumes a user class.

commentAsGuest() takes a name and an email instead:

$comment = $post->commentAsGuest(
    'Where can I download the slides?',
    name: 'Jane',
    email: 'jane@example.com',
);

A comment carries exactly one of the two identities. A guest comment has a null commentator_type, which is how the package tells them apart, and why guest comments have their own default status, cannot react, and are never notified.

Both methods throw a CommentableNotPersistedException when the commentable has not been saved yet. There is nothing for the comment to point at.

Read comments

$post->comments;              // every comment, any status, any depth
$post->comments()->count();

The relation is a plain MorphMany, so everything you know about Eloquent applies. Narrow it with the scopes:

$post->comments()->approved()->topLevel()->with('replies')->get();

Soft-deleted comments are excluded by Eloquent's own global scope; reach them with withTrashed(). See deleting comments.

What a comment holds

status casts to a CommentStatus enum; the four timestamps cast to Carbon.

Relations on a comment

$comment->commentable;      // the record it is on
$comment->commentator;      // the model that wrote it, or null for a guest
$comment->parent;           // the comment it replies to, or null
$comment->replies;          // direct replies only
$comment->reactions;        // every reaction row
$comment->reactionCounts;   // grouped counts, for rendering
$comment->revisions;        // prior bodies, oldest first
$comment->attachments;      // attachment metadata, oldest first

Ask who wrote it

$comment->isBy($user);  // bool

Both halves of the morph have to match: a User and an Admin that happen to share a primary key are not the same author. A guest-authored comment matches nobody, which is what makes ownership checks deny for one.

Optional: keep a count

A commentable can keep a denormalized count of its approved, non-deleted comments on its own table. It is off until you override one method and add the column yourself:

public function commentsCountColumn(): ?string
{
    return 'comments_count';
}

See comment counts for the migration, the maintenance guarantees, and the repair command.

Optional: decide the initial status

A commentable can implement DecidesCommentStatus to say what status its new comments start in, overriding both configured defaults. See initial status.

What to read next

• Threads and replies to read nested discussions.
• Initial status to choose how new comments enter moderation.
• Comment counts to store an approved count on the model.