How to use multiple database in Laravel

When developing a web application, we may need to use multiple databases due to project requirements or large-scale projects; in these cases, Laravel supports multiple database connections. This blog will teach you how to use multiple databases with Laravel.

Add Database Connection Detail in

 .env

DB_HOST_SECOND="DB HOST HERE"
DB_PORT_SECOND="DB PORT HERE"
DB_DATABASE_SECOND="DATABASE NAME HERE"
DB_USERNAME_SECOND="DB USERNAME HERE"
DB_PASSWORD_SECOND="DB PASSWORD HERE"

Configure database detail in config / database.php

add detail in the  connections array.

<?php

return [
   'connections'=>[
     'mysql'=>[
       'driver' => 'mysql',
       'url' => env('DATABASE_URL'),
       'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
       'port' => env('DB_PORT', '3306'),
       'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'forge'),
       'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'forge'),
       'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', ''),
     ],
     'mysql_second'=>[
       'driver' => 'mysql',
       'url' => env('DATABASE_URL'),
       'host' => env('DB_HOST_SECOND', '127.0.0.1'),
       'port' => env('DB_PORT_SECOND', '3306'),
       'database' => env('DB_DATABASE_SECOND', 'forge'),
       'username' => env('DB_USERNAME_SECOND', 'forge'),
       'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD_SECOND', ''),
     ]
   ]
];

?>

We will now look at how to use this connection with Schema, Query, and Eloquent Model.

Schema Builder

Schema::connection('mysql_second')->create('table_name', function($table){
   // entire code here
});

Query Builder

$posts = \DB::connection('mysql_second')->select('id','title')->get();

Eloquent Model

<?php

namespace App\Models;

class Post extends Eloquent {
   protected $connection = 'mysql_second';
}

?>

The connection can also be used in custom join queries. using the following simple example:

\DB::table('posts')->join('mysql_second.types as secondDbType','posts.code','=','secondDbType.code')->first();

All the best nerd!