Spatie Laravel Permissions - How To Get Users that have one Role or another Role
Stefan Bogdanescu
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
# Spatie Laravel Permissions: How To Get Users with One or More Specific Roles
Dealing with complex relational data in an application often leads developers down confusing paths when trying to query for users based on multiple related attributes. When working with packages like Spatie Laravel Permissions, understanding how Eloquent interacts with many-to-many relationships is crucial. Many developers run into the exact scenario you described: wanting all users who possess *any* role from a specific list (e.g., "Individual" OR "Venue").
This post will walk you through the most efficient and correct ways to query your user base based on multiple roles, moving beyond the methods that return unexpected results.
## Why Simple Methods Fail
You have attempted two common approaches: using `User::role(...)` directly and complex `whereHas` clauses. The reason these often fail or return unintended results lies in how Eloquent handles nested conditions across many-to-many pivot tables.
When you try methods like `User::role(['Individual', 'Venue'])->get()`, the underlying database query structure might not correctly interpret the desired "OR" logic when dealing with the intermediate pivot table, often resulting in users who possess *some* roles but not necessarily the combination you expect, orâas you notedâfetching all users if the relationship setup isn't strictly constrained.
The key to solving this efficiently is to leverage proper SQL `IN` clauses within a `whereHas` constraint.
## The Correct Approach: Using `whereHas` with `whereIn`
The most robust and performant way to find users who have *at least one* role from a specified set is by using the `whereHas` method combined with a nested `whereIn` clause targeting the relationship. This approach translates directly into an efficient SQL `JOIN` operation, which databases are highly optimized for.
Let's assume your `User` model has a `roles` relationship defined (which Spatie sets up automatically):
```php
// In your User Model
public function roles()
{
return $this->belongsToMany(Role::class);
}
```
To find all users who have either the 'Individual' role, the 'Organisation' role, or the 'Venue' role, you structure the query like this:
```php
use App\Models\User;
$rolesToFind = ['Individual', 'Organisation', 'Venue'];
$usersWithMultipleRoles = User::whereHas('roles', function ($query) use ($rolesToFind) {
// This ensures that the user has at least one role matching ANY value in the array.
$query->whereIn('roles.name', $rolesToFind);
})->get();
// Example usage:
// dd($usersWithMultipleRoles);
```
### Explanation of the Code
1. **`User::whereHas('roles', ...)`**: This tells Eloquent to filter the `User` model based on whether the related `roles` relationship satisfies the conditions inside the closure.
2. **`function ($query) use ($rolesToFind) { ... }`**: This is the constraint applied to the relationship. The `$query` here refers to the query builder for the `roles` table.
3. **`$query->whereIn('roles.name', $rolesToFind)`**: This is the critical part. It instructs the database to only select rows where the `name` column in the pivot table (or the related role table, depending on Spatie's internal setup) matches any value within the provided `$rolesToFind` array.
This method correctly implements the logical **OR** condition you were seeking, ensuring that a user is included if they are linked to *any* of those specified roles. This pattern adheres to good Eloquent practices, similar to how you structure complex data retrieval when dealing with relationships in Laravel, which is fundamental to building scalable applications like those found on [laravelcompany.com](https://laravelcompany.com).
## Performance Considerations
When querying large datasets, performance matters. Because we are using `whereHas`, the database performs an efficient join operation. For optimal performance, ensure that the `roles` table and the pivot table linking users to roles have appropriate indexes on their respective columns (`name` in the roles table) to prevent slow lookups.
## Conclusion
Stop trying to force complex relational logic into simple methods. By understanding how Eloquent translates relationships into SQL constraints, you can write clean, readable, and highly performant queries. For finding users with one or more specific roles, using `whereHas` with a nested `whereIn` is the definitive, developer-approved solution. Embrace these powerful tools to manage your data effectively!