Transform Model Data with Laravel Eloquent Accessors and Mutators

// In your App\Models\User model:
namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\Attribute; // For Laravel 9+
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;

class User extends Model
{
    // Laravel 9+ way (recommended)
    protected function name(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            get: fn (string $value) => ucfirst($value), // Accessor: capitalize name on retrieve
            set: fn (string $value) => strtolower($value), // Mutator: store name as lowercase
        );
    }

    // Example of a virtual attribute (not backed by a database column)
    protected function fullName(): Attribute
    {
        return Attribute::make(
            get: fn () => "{$this->first_name} {$this->last_name}",
        );
    }

    // Older Laravel versions (pre-9) using separate methods
    // public function getNameAttribute(string $value): string
    // {
    //     return ucfirst($value);
    // }

    // public function setNameAttribute(string $value): void
    // {
    //     $this->attributes['name'] = strtolower($value);
    // }
}

// Usage example:
use App\Models\User;

$user = User::create([
    'first_name' => 'John',
    'last_name' => 'Doe',
    'name' => 'alice smith', // Will be stored as 'alice smith' (lowercase by mutator)
    'email' => '[email protected]',
    'password' => bcrypt('password')
]);

// Accessing the 'name' attribute triggers the accessor
echo "User Name: " . $user->name . "
"; // Output: Alice smith (capitalized)

// Accessing the 'fullName' virtual attribute
echo "Full Name: " . $user->fullName . "
"; // Output: John Doe

$user->name = 'BOB JOHNSON'; // Triggers the mutator
$user->save();
echo "Updated User Name: " . $user->name . "
"; // Output: Bob johnson