Update without touching timestamps (Laravel)
Stefan Izdrail
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
Title: Update without Touching Timestamps (Laravel)
Body:
Is it possible to update a user without touching the timestamps?
In Laravel, by default, whenever you update a record in the database using its migration file or model class, all the timestamps will automatically be updated. These time stamps include created_at and updated_at columns. In many cases, this is a desirable behavior as it ensures that we always have an accurate record of when a certain event occurred. However, there are situations where you may wish to update other fields without modifying these timestamps.
To achieve this specific task, you can employ two distinct methods: one using Laravel's built-in feature and the other with custom code. The first option utilizes Laravel's "withoutEvents" method, and the second uses a more direct approach by setting the updated_at timestamp manually when updating the model.
Option 1: Using Laravel's "withoutEvents":
The "withoutEvents" function is part of Laravel's event dispatcher and can be used to prevent certain events from being fired. In this case, we want to prevent the timestamps from being updated during updates. To do so, you can update your model using this method as follows:
```php
User::withoutEvents(function () {
User::find($userId)->update([
'name' => $newName,
]);
});
```
In the above example, we execute the update code within an anonymous function that wraps Laravel's withoutEvents() method. This prevents any events from being triggered during this particular update operation, including those associated with updating timestamps. However, note that this approach may not be suitable if your model has other business logic or callback functions related to the updated_at timestamp.
Option 2: Setting the Timestamp Manually:
If you need more granular control over when and how a timestamp is updated, you can set the updated_at column manually within your update code. However, this approach requires more work and is less convenient than using Laravel's built-in feature. Below is an example of how to implement this method:
```php
$user = User::find($userId);
$currentTimestamp = Carbon::now();
$user->name = $newName;
$user->updated_at = $currentTimestamp;
$user->save();
```
In this example, we first retrieve the user object and assign the current timestamp to a variable. We then update the 'name' field and set the user instance's updated_at attribute to the current time before saving the changes. This approach allows us to control when the updated_at column is updated manually.
In Conclusion:
While it may be possible to update timestamps independently in Laravel, both options above offer different levels of granular control over the updating process. The "withoutEvents" method is a more straightforward and convenient approach that provides a cleaner solution for most cases but might have unintended consequences on other areas of your application's logic. On the other hand, manually setting the updated_at timestamp allows you to precisely control when it is changed, but requires additional code and effort. Always consider your particular use case and requirements when deciding which method to employ in your Laravel project.