To implement soft deletes in Laravel, use the SoftDeletes trait and add the deleted_at column to your table. First, include use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes; in your model and apply the trait inside the class. Second, call $table->softDeletes(); in your migration to create the deleted_at column. Third, run php artisan migrate to apply the changes. With this setup, calling delete() will set the deleted_at timestamp instead of removing the record. To query soft-deleted records, use withTrashed() to include them or onlyTrashed() to retrieve only deleted entries. To restore a record, call restore() on the soft-deleted instance. Keep in mind that relationships aren't automatically cascaded, performance may be impacted without indexing deleted_at, and storage can grow due to accumulated soft-deleted data. Use forceDelete() carefully as it permanently removes records.

When you're working with Laravel and want to avoid permanently deleting records from your database, implementing soft deletes on Eloquent models is the standard approach. Laravel makes this pretty straightforward — as long as you know how to set it up properly.

What Soft Deletes Do in Laravel

In short, soft deletes don’t actually remove a record from the database. Instead, they set a deleted_at timestamp when a model is "deleted." This allows you to keep data intact while treating it as inactive or removed from the user's perspective.

Laravel provides a built-in SoftDeletes trait that handles most of the logic for you. Once enabled, methods like delete() won't remove the record from the database but will update the deleted_at column instead.

Setting Up Soft Deletes in Your Model

To enable soft deletes for a model:

1. Use the SoftDeletes trait
   In your model file, add use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\SoftDeletes; at the top and include use SoftDeletes; inside the model class.

2. Add deleted_at column to your table
   When creating or updating a migration for the corresponding table, make sure to call $table->softDeletes();. It adds a nullable deleted_at column using the timestamp type.

3. Run your migrations
   If you’re modifying an existing table, create a new migration to add the column and run php artisan migrate.

Once done, any call to $model->delete() will mark it as deleted without removing it from the database.

Querying Models With Soft Deletes

By default, Laravel automatically excludes soft-deleted records when querying models that use the SoftDeletes trait. But there are times you may want to include or retrieve them explicitly.

• Use withTrashed() to include soft-deleted records:

  User::withTrashed()->find(1);

• Use onlyTrashed() to get only soft-deleted records:

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

• To restore a soft-deleted record:

  $user = User::onlyTrashed()->find(1);
  $user->restore();

These tools help manage data recovery or implement admin interfaces where viewing deleted entries matters.

Things to Watch Out For

While soft deletes are convenient, they can lead to issues if not handled carefully.

• Relationships: By default, related models aren’t soft-deleted along with the parent. You’ll need to manually handle cascading behavior or use packages like laravel-cascades-soft-deletes if needed.
• Performance: Large tables with many soft-deleted rows might slow down queries unless you index the deleted_at column (which is usually a good idea).
• Data cleanup: Since nothing gets truly deleted, old soft-deleted records can pile up. Consider scheduled cleanups or archival strategies if storage becomes a concern.

You should also be cautious when using forceDelete() — it bypasses soft delete entirely and removes the record permanently.

That’s basically how soft deletes work in Laravel. It’s not complicated once you understand the setup and query handling, but it does require attention to detail, especially when dealing with relationships or performance.

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