Laravel Attributes

---
name: laravel-attributes
description: Use when migrating Eloquent models, Jobs, Console commands, Controllers, API Resources, Validation, Factories or Seeders to Laravel 13 PHP attributes.
versions:
  laravel: "13.0"
  php: "8.3"
user-invocable: true
references: references/eloquent.md, references/queue.md, references/console.md, references/controllers.md, references/validation.md, references/api-resources.md, references/factories-seeders.md, references/templates/Model-with-attributes.php.md, references/templates/Job-with-attributes.php.md
related-skills: laravel-eloquent, laravel-queues, laravel-api
---

<objective>
Covers all 7 categories of Laravel 13 first-party PHP 8.3 attributes that
replace legacy class properties: Eloquent (#[Table], #[Fillable], #[Hidden],
#[Guarded], #[Appends], #[Touches], #[Connection]), Queue/Job (#[Connection],
#[Queue], #[Tries], #[Timeout], #[Backoff], #[MaxExceptions],
#[FailOnTimeout], #[UniqueFor]), Console (#[Signature], #[Description]),
Controllers (#[Middleware], #[Authorize]), Validation (#[RedirectTo],
#[StopOnFirstFailure]), API Resources (#[Collects], #[PreserveKeys]), and
Factories/Test seeding (#[UseModel], #[Seed], #[Seeder]).
</objective>

# Laravel 13 PHP Attributes

## Agent Workflow (MANDATORY)

Before ANY implementation, spawn 3 agents in parallel, one `Agent` call each with a `name`:

1. **fuse-ai-pilot:explore-codebase** - Scan existing models/jobs/controllers for legacy `protected $fillable / $hidden / $connection` properties to convert
2. **fuse-ai-pilot:research-expert** - Verify Laravel 13 release notes for attribute coverage and edge cases
3. **mcp__context7__query-docs** - Pull authoritative examples from `laravel.com/docs/13.x`

After implementation, run **fuse-ai-pilot:sniper** for validation.

---

## Overview

| Category | Attributes |
|---------|-------------|
| **Eloquent** | `#[Table]` `#[Connection]` `#[Fillable]` `#[Hidden]` `#[Visible]` `#[Guarded]` `#[Unguarded]` `#[Appends]` `#[Touches]` `#[WithoutTimestamps]` `#[WithoutIncrementing]` `#[DateFormat]` `#[Refreshes]` (13.33+) — no `#[Casts]` (use `casts()`) |
| **Queue / Job** | `#[Connection]` `#[Queue]` `#[Tries]` `#[Timeout]` `#[Backoff]` `#[MaxExceptions]` `#[FailOnTimeout]` `#[UniqueFor]` `#[DeleteWhenMissingModels]` `#[Delay]` (13.4+) `#[DebounceFor]` (13.6+) |
| **Console** | `#[Signature]` `#[Description]` |
| **Controllers** | `#[Middleware]` `#[Authorize]` `#[WithoutMiddleware]` (13.20+) — namespace `Illuminate\Routing\Attributes\Controllers` |
| **Validation** | `#[RedirectTo]` `#[RedirectToRoute]` `#[ErrorBag]` `#[StopOnFirstFailure]` `#[FailOnUnknownFields]` — namespace `Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Attributes` |
| **API Resources** | `#[Collects]` `#[PreserveKeys]` |
| **Factories / Testing** | `#[UseModel]` (factories) · `#[Seed]` `#[Seeder]` `#[UnitTest]` (test classes, `Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\Attributes`) |
| **Container** | `#[BindWhen]` (13.22+, PHP 8.5) and the contextual attributes (`#[Config]`, `#[Auth]`, ...) |

---

## Critical Rules

1. **NEVER mix attributes and legacy properties** - `#[Fillable(['name'])]` + `protected $fillable = [...]` causes Laravel to ignore the attribute silently
2. **Class-level for Eloquent / Job** - Eloquent and queue attributes apply to the class; controller `#[Middleware]` / `#[Authorize]` also work on public action methods
3. **Single source of truth** - Choose attributes OR properties per class; refactor in one pass to avoid drift
4. **Inheritance is additive** - Child class attributes merge with parent attributes; redeclare to override
5. **Import the right namespace** - `Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Attributes\*` for Eloquent, `Illuminate\Queue\Attributes\*` for Jobs

---

## Architecture

```
app/
├── Models/
│   └── User.php              # #[Table] #[Fillable] #[Hidden] #[Appends]
├── Jobs/
│   └── ProcessPodcast.php    # #[Connection] #[Queue] #[Tries] #[Backoff]
├── Console/Commands/
│   └── SendEmails.php        # #[Signature] #[Description]
├── Http/
│   ├── Controllers/
│   │   └── PostController.php # #[Middleware] #[Authorize]
│   └── Resources/
│       └── PostCollection.php # #[Collects] #[PreserveKeys]
└── Http/Requests/
    └── StoreUserRequest.php   # #[RedirectTo] #[StopOnFirstFailure]
```

→ See [Model-with-attributes.php.md](references/templates/Model-with-attributes.php.md) for full example

---

## Reference Guide

| Topic | Reference | When to Consult |
|-------|-----------|-----------------|
| **Eloquent models** | [eloquent.md](references/eloquent.md) | Migrating `$fillable / $hidden / $table / $connection` |
| **Queue jobs** | [queue.md](references/queue.md) | Replacing `$tries / $timeout / $backoff` properties |
| **Console commands** | [console.md](references/console.md) | Refactoring `$signature / $description` properties |
| **Controllers** | [controllers.md](references/controllers.md) | Moving middleware/authorize from constructors |
| **Validation** | [validation.md](references/validation.md) | FormRequest redirect + early-stop config |
| **API Resources** | [api-resources.md](references/api-resources.md) | Collection wrapping and key preservation |
| **Factories / Seeders** | [factories-seeders.md](references/factories-seeders.md) | Factory model binding and test seeding |

### Templates

| Template | When to Use |
|----------|-------------|
| [Model-with-attributes.php.md](references/templates/Model-with-attributes.php.md) | Net new Eloquent model |
| [Job-with-attributes.php.md](references/templates/Job-with-attributes.php.md) | Net new queue Job |

---

## Quick Reference

### Eloquent model

```php
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Attributes\{Table, Fillable, Hidden, Appends};

#[Table('flights')]
#[Fillable(['name', 'origin'])]
#[Hidden(['password'])]
#[Appends(['is_admin'])]
class Flight extends Model {}
```

### Queue job

```php
use Illuminate\Queue\Attributes\{Connection, Queue, Tries, Backoff};

#[Connection('redis')]
#[Queue('podcasts')]
#[Tries(5)]
#[Backoff([10, 30, 60])]
class ProcessPodcast implements ShouldQueue {}
```

→ See [Job-with-attributes.php.md](references/templates/Job-with-attributes.php.md) for complete example

---

## Best Practices

### DO
- Convert one class at a time and run tests between commits
- Keep attribute imports grouped at the top via PHP 8.1 grouped `use` syntax
- Use `#[Fillable]` for mass-assigned models and `#[Unguarded]` only on trusted internal models
- Combine `#[Connection]` + `#[Queue]` on Jobs to centralize routing intent

### DON'T
- Don't mix `#[Fillable(['x'])]` with `protected $fillable = ['y']` - the property silently wins on some setups, the attribute on others
- Don't place Eloquent/Job attributes on methods - they target the class only
- Don't put `#[Authorize]` on a controller action without an underlying Policy (auto-discovered, `Gate::policy()` in `AppServiceProvider`, or `#[UsePolicy]` on the model)
- Don't forget to drop the legacy `$tries`, `$backoff`, `$timeout` properties after adding the attributes - duplication is a red flag for code review