Defining Custom Eloquent Accessors and Mutators

// In your User model (e.g., app/Models/User.php)
namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class User extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['first_name', 'last_name', 'email', 'password'];

    // Accessor for 'full_name' attribute
    protected function fullName(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            get: fn ($value, $attributes) => ucfirst($attributes['first_name']) . ' ' . ucfirst($attributes['last_name']),
        );
    }

    // Mutator for 'password' attribute (and accessor for it as well)
    protected function password(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            get: fn ($value) => "Encrypted Password", // This will be displayed when accessing $user->password
            set: fn ($value) => bcrypt($value),      // This will hash the password before saving
        );
    }

    // Old way (pre-Laravel 9) for context, though new way is preferred
    // public function getFirstNameAttribute($value) {
    //     return ucfirst($value);
    // }
    // public function setPasswordAttribute($value) {
    //     $this->attributes['password'] = bcrypt($value);
    // }
}

// Example Usage (e.g., in a controller or route)
use App\Models\User;

$user = new User();
$user->first_name = 'john';
$user->last_name = 'doe';
$user->email = '[email protected]';
$user->password = 'secret'; // This will be automatically hashed
$user->save();

// Retrieve and use accessor
$retrievedUser = User::find($user->id);
echo "Full Name: " . $retrievedUser->full_name . "
"; // Accesses the 'fullName' accessor
echo "Stored Email: " . $retrievedUser->email . "
";
echo "Password (via accessor): " . $retrievedUser->password . "
"; // Accesses the 'password' accessor