Laravel Mass Update Laravel Package

Getting Started

Install the package via Composer (no service provider or config needed):

composer require iksaku/laravel-mass-update

The package registers a massUpdate macro on Eloquent’s query builder. The first use case is batch-updating many rows with different values in a single SQL statement (e.g. reordering items, syncing statuses from an external system):

use App\Models\User;

$affected = User::massUpdate(
    values: [
        ['id' => 1, 'status' => 'active'],
        ['id' => 2, 'status' => 'inactive'],
        ['id' => 3, 'status' => 'pending'],
    ],
    uniqueBy: 'id',
);

Start by reading Iksaku\Laravel\MassUpdate\MassUpdate and the Mode class in the source. For “quiet” updates (no timestamp changes), use Laravel’s native Model::withoutTimestamps() instead of the removed Mode::massUpdateQuietly().

Implementation Patterns

• Service-layer batch updates – keep massUpdate calls in dedicated services or actions, not controllers. Chunk large arrays (e.g. 500–1000 rows) to stay under database placeholder limits.

• Combine with query constraints – the macro respects the existing builder:

  User::where('role', 'admin')->massUpdate($values, 'id');
  

• Atomicity – wrap in DB::transaction() when the mass update is part of a larger operation.

• Timestamp control – in 2.0.0 use Laravel’s helper:

  use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
  
  Model::withoutTimestamps(fn () => User::massUpdate($values, 'id'));
  

• Composite keys – uniqueBy accepts an array when rows are identified by more than one column:

  OrderItem::massUpdate($values, ['order_id', 'product_id']);
  

• Queued jobs – for very large datasets, dispatch a job that chunks the input and calls massUpdate per chunk, logging the returned affected-row count.

• Integration with upsert – use massUpdate for pure updates and Laravel’s upsert when you need insert-or-update semantics.

• Mode usage – Mode still exists for other behaviours (e.g. forcing updates). Inspect the class for available modes after upgrading; the quiet mode is gone.

Gotchas and Tips

• Breaking change (2.0.0) – Mode::massUpdateQuietly() has been removed. Replace any call with Model::withoutTimestamps(fn () => ...). This is the only documented breaking change from 1.x.
• No Eloquent events – massUpdate bypasses model events (updating, updated, saving, etc.). If you rely on observers, fire events manually or use a different strategy.
• No casts or mutators – values are written directly through the query builder, so accessors/mutators and casts are not applied. Pass raw database values.
• SQL parameter limits – each row adds placeholders. SQLite has a 999-variable default limit; MySQL is bounded by max_allowed_packet. Chunk aggressively.
• Index uniqueBy columns – the generated CASE/WHERE IN query benefits from an index on the unique key(s).
• Debugging – enable the query log or use DB::listen() to inspect the generated SQL. The statement contains large CASE expressions, so log truncation can hide issues.
• Timestamps by default – if you don’t wrap with withoutTimestamps, the package may touch updated_at. Verify behaviour for your version and always be explicit when timestamp preservation matters.
• Return value – the method returns the number of affected rows; use it for logging or conditional logic, but remember that MySQL may report “changed” rows differently depending on client flags.
• Laravel 13.x compatibility – 2.0.0 adds support for Laravel 13.x, so the package is safe for new projects on that version.