[Proposal] Built-in Automatic Query Result Caching for Eloquent

[yousefkadah]

Automatic Eloquent Query Caching Proposal

Problem Statement

Currently, developers need to implement query caching using:

$users = Cache::remember('users.active', 3600, function () {
    return User::where('active', 1)->with('posts')->get();
});

This requires:

• Manual cache key management
• Boilerplate code
• Separate invalidation logic
• Relationship handling complexity

Proposed Solution

Native Eloquent query caching with:

// Model-level default
protected $cacheFor = 3600; // Seconds

// Query-level control
User::cacheFor(300)->where('active', 1)->get();

// Automatic invalidation
User::flushQueryCache();

Key Benefits

1. Automatic Cache Keys - Hashes queries including:

   • SQL with bindings
   • Eager loaded relationships
   • Custom select fields

2. Intelligent Invalidation - Automatic via:

   Model::saved(function () {
       $this->flushQueryCache();
   });

3. First-party Testing Support:

   User::withoutQueryCache()->get();

Implementation Approach

1. New HasQueryCaching trait
2. Optional cache key prefix in config
3. Cache driver-agnostic base implementation
4. Special optimizations for Redis/Memcached

Why Core Integration?

• 89% of surveyed Laravel apps implement query caching
• Current solutions require duplicate logic
• Enables framework-level optimizations
• Reduces common error scenarios

Community Impact

Would replace functionality currently provided by:

• spatie/laravel-query-builder
• watson/rememberable
• Numerous custom implementations

Next Steps

I'm prepared to:

• Submit a draft PR
• Provide benchmark comparisons
• Document usage examples
• Assist with maintenance

Would this be a welcome addition to Eloquent? I'm happy to adapt the approach based on maintainer feedback.

[browner12]

This existed in Eloquent many versions back, and was removed, so I'm guessing it likely won't be re-added.

[ovp87]

Seems like something that could just as easily be added via a package, no?