Eager Loading Analyzer

Analyzer ID	Category	Severity	Time To Fix
eager-loading	⚡ Performance	Medium	5 minutes

What This Checks

Detects two categories of wasteful eager loading in Eloquent queries. Checks for:

• Unnecessary eager loading (Medium): a relation passed to with(), load(), or loadMissing() is never accessed within the enclosing method and the holding variable does not escape to a view, response, or downstream call
• Over-eager loading (Low): a single eager-load call requests more than five relations and at least one of them goes unused, suggesting that some should be deferred with lazy eager loading

Complementary analyzer

The free-package Eloquent N+1 Query Analyzer covers the opposite failure mode — missing eager loading that causes N+1 queries inside loops. These two analyzers work together to keep your relationship loading strategy balanced.

Why It Matters

• Wasted Queries: Every relation in a with() call fires an extra SQL query upfront, even when the data is never read
• Memory Overhead: Eager-loaded collections are hydrated into PHP objects immediately — loading ten relations when only two are used inflates peak memory consumption
• Slower Responses: Unnecessary joins and subqueries add latency even when their results are discarded
• Hidden Cost: The waste is invisible in small datasets but compounds under load and as data grows

How to Fix

Quick Fix (2 minutes)

If a relation is flagged as never accessed, remove it from the with() call.

Before (❌):

public function index()
{
    // 'tags' is loaded but never accessed in this method
    $posts = Post::with(['author', 'tags'])->paginate(20);

    return Inertia::render('posts/index', ['posts' => $posts]);
}

After (✅):

public function index()
{
    $posts = Post::with('author')->paginate(20);

    return Inertia::render('posts/index', ['posts' => $posts]);
}

Proper Fix (5 minutes)

Apply the right loading strategy per access pattern and defer relations only needed on some code paths.

Defer rarely-used relations with lazy eager loading:

// ❌ Before: 8 subqueries on every request, most unused on any given path
$orders = Order::with([
    'customer', 'items', 'discount', 'tax',
    'shipping', 'invoice', 'notes', 'history',
])->get();

// ✅ After: load common relations upfront, defer the rest
$orders = Order::with(['customer', 'items'])->get();

if ($showInvoice) {
    $orders->load('invoice');
}

$orders->loadMissing(['discount', 'tax']); // safe to call — skips already-loaded relations

Constrain columns on eager-loaded relations to reduce data transfer:

User::with('team:id,name,slug')->paginate();

Nested relationships:

Post::with('comments.user')->get();

Eager loading counts (avoids loading the full relation just for a number):

Post::withCount('comments')->get();
// Access: $post->comments_count

References

• Laravel Eager Loading
• Lazy Eager Loading

Related Analyzers

• Eloquent N+1 Analyzer — detects missing eager loading that causes N+1 queries inside loops (free package)
• Database Query Optimization Analyzer — broader query pattern analysis including SELECT * and count() misuse