Laravel is a framework that prides itself on elegance and clarity—but when it comes to model booting, many developers get confused between boot(), booted(), and even trait boots. If you’ve ever stared at an Eloquent model thinking, “Wait, when exactly is my event running?”, you’re in the right place.
This is your one-stop, no-fluff guide to understand, master, and use boot(), booted(), and trait boot methods like a pro.
1. What is Model Booting in Laravel?
Every Eloquent model in Laravel has a lifecycle—from creation, update, deletion, and query-building.
Booting is the static process Laravel runs before the model class is fully ready to be used. It gives you crucial hooks to:
- Add static events (like creating,updating,deleting)
- Apply global scopes
- Initialize default attributes
Laravel’s boot process is flexible, but understanding the order is crucial to avoid “my event didn’t fire” moments.
  
  
  2. Enter boot()
What it is:
boot() is a static method on the model itself. Override it when you need to add complex, model-level logic, or anything that requires the older, manual approach.
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Product extends Model
{
    protected static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot(); // 🚨 Always call this
        static::creating(function ($product) {
            $product->uuid = (string) \Str::uuid();
        });
    }
}
Key Points
- Runs before booted().
- 
Must call parent::boot()to preserve trait and framework booting.
- Ideal for global scopes and complex boot logic.
- Runs once per model class (static context).
- Historical Note: In early Laravel versions, this was the only way to register static model events.
  
  
  3. Meet booted()
What it is:
booted() is a cleaner, safer alternative introduced in Laravel 7. It's a static method that runs after the model has been fully booted.
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
class Product extends Model
{
    protected static function booted()
    {
        static::creating(function ($product) {
            $product->uuid = (string) \Str::uuid();
        });
    }
}
Why use booted()?
- 
Automatically chains logic—No need to call parent::booted(), simplifying development.
- Cleaner than overriding boot()for simple event registration.
- Runs after all trait boot()methods and the main modelboot().
- Safer when multiple developers add boot logic, as it avoids accidental overwrites.
4. Trait Boot Methods
Laravel doesn’t just call boot()—it also calls trait boot methods automatically.
If a trait defines a method like boot[TraitName], Laravel will automatically call it before the model’s boot().
trait HasUuid
{
    // Note: Method name must be 'boot' + 'TraitName' (camel-cased)
    protected static function bootHasUuid() 
    {
        static::creating(fn($model) => $model->uuid = (string) \Str::uuid());
    }
}
class Product extends Model
{
    use HasUuid;
}
Order of execution matters:
-  All trait boots (bootHasUuid,bootSoftDeletes, etc.)
-  Model boot()
-  Model booted()
5. Visualization: The Boot Sequence
Here’s how Laravel actually runs things. This sequence is absolute:
[Traits boot* methods] -> [Model::boot()] -> [Model::booted()]
The Takeaway:
- Did you forget parent::boot()? The sequence may break.
- Did you rely on booted()but needed a global scope? Scopes needboot()because they need to be applied earlier in the chain.
6. When to Use Which
| Method | Use Case | 
|---|---|
| boot() | Global scopes, complex boot logic, anything that needs parent::boot(). | 
| booted() | Simple events, cleaner alternative to overriding boot(). The safer default for events. | 
| Trait boot | Shared logic across multiple models (e.g., UUID generation, Soft Deletes). | 
7. Real-Life Example: Combining All
trait HasUuid
{
    protected static function bootHasUuid() // Trait Boot
    {
        static::creating(fn($model) => $model->uuid = (string) \Str::uuid());
    }
}
class Product extends Model
{
    use HasUuid;
    protected static function boot() // Model boot()
    {
        parent::boot(); // REQUIRED
        // Logic here runs BEFORE booted()
        static::creating(fn($product) => $product->slug = \Str::slug($product->name));
    }
    protected static function booted() // Model booted()
    {
        // Logic here runs LAST
        static::created(fn($product) => logger("Product {$product->id} created!"));
    }
}
Execution order:
-  HasUuid::bootHasUuid()→ setsuuid
-  Product::boot()→ setsslug
-  Product::booted()→ logs creation
✅ All events happen in the right order, and nothing breaks.
8. Common Pitfalls
- 
Forgetting parent::boot()inboot()→ Trait boots won’t run, breaking features like Soft Deletes.
- 
Using booted()for global scopes → It might run too late and the scope may not be applied to the initial query.
- 
Multiple developers overriding boot()→ Can overwrite each other's logic;booted()avoids this problem.
9. TL;DR – The Million-Dollar Takeaway
- 
Trait boots→ Run first.
- 
Model boot()→ Run second, required to callparent::boot().
- 
Model booted()→ Run last, perfect for event registration.
- Use the right tool for the job: boot()for global logic/scopes,booted()for cleaner event hooks.
Mastering this will make you the Laravel developer everyone asks for when something “doesn’t fire”.
10. Closing Thoughts
Understanding boot(), booted(), and trait boots is not just theory—it’s the difference between fragile code and rock-solid models.
By respecting the boot sequence and using booted() where possible, you’ll write cleaner, safer, and easier-to-maintain Eloquent models.
 
 
              
 
    
Top comments (4)
So you are saying the official documentation got it wrong?
It clearly states use the
ScopedByattribute or add them to the booted method.How is this a problem? There is only one
bootmethod per model.If that would be a problem it would also be a problem for the
bootedmethod.How can you override it many times? Can you give an example?
The example in the Laravel documentation is
You can see it on their website. Why would they spread bad information about their own framework?
it’s not referring to multiple boot methods inside the same model class (because, as you said, there can only be one). The situation arises when traits or parent classes define their own
boot()methods. PHP allows only oneboot()method per final class, so if multiple traits defineboot()directly, the last one wins, and earlier logic may be silently overwritten.Here’s a minimal example:
Depending on trait resolution, some boot logic (like UUID generation or logging) may not run because only one
boot()method exists in the final class.The safe alternative is:
bootTraitName()in traits (Laravel automatically calls them), orbooted()in the model for event callbacks, which allows multiple hooks to coexist safely:Note: For global scopes,
boot()is still recommended because they must exist beforebooted()callbacks.I’m not denying the usefulness of
boot()— it’s essential for global scopes, parent boot logic, or other critical pre-boot operations. My point is only that for multiple event callbacks (especially with traits),booted()is safer because it avoids subtle overwriting issues.