Optimizing database performance in Laravel has been part of my daily routine. To level up, I recently took Jonathan Reinink’s course, and it was both enlightening and super helpful.
One of the most underrated features of Eloquent ORM is how well it supports native SQL features like subqueries, unions, dynamic relationships, and even running EXPLAIN—all within your Laravel application.
For example, EXPLAIN is an SQL statement that helps analyze how queries are executed. Laravel allows us to call explain() on the query builder, and when combined with dd(), we can quickly get insights into how our database engine processes queries.
I learned a lot from this course, and to consolidate my knowledge, I decided to create a cheatsheet in the form of a blog post. Instead of rewatching videos whenever I get stuck, I now have a simple reference with explanations, code snippets, and best practices.
Here’s the link: Lessons From Eloquent Performance Patterns (Cheatsheet)
Let me know what you think!
