How to use `whereIn()` with an array of IDs

Table Of Contents

• Laravel's Built-in Solution: Multiple Value Filtering
• Advanced whereIn() Query Patterns
• Complex whereIn() Scenarios with Relationships
• Advanced Use Cases and Performance Optimization

Laravel's Built-in Solution: Multiple Value Filtering

Instead of multiple OR conditions, whereIn() checks if a column value exists in an array. Much cleaner than chaining OR statements:

// VERBOSE - Multiple OR conditions
$products = Product::where('category_id', 1)
    ->orWhere('category_id', 3)
    ->orWhere('category_id', 5)
    ->orWhere('category_id', 8)
    ->get();

// CLEAN - Single whereIn() statement
$categoryIds = [1, 3, 5, 8];
$products = Product::whereIn('category_id', $categoryIds)->get();

// Real-world example: Get posts by specific authors
$authorIds = [10, 25, 42, 67];
$posts = Post::whereIn('user_id', $authorIds)
    ->where('published', true)
    ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
    ->get();

// Exclude specific values with whereNotIn()
$bannedUserIds = [5, 12, 33];
$comments = Comment::whereNotIn('user_id', $bannedUserIds)
    ->where('approved', true)
    ->get();

Advanced whereIn() Query Patterns

Handle complex filtering scenarios with arrays and collections:

// E-commerce: Products from selected brands
$selectedBrands = ['Nike', 'Adidas', 'Puma'];
$brandProducts = Product::whereIn('brand', $selectedBrands)
    ->where('active', true)
    ->where('stock', '>', 0)
    ->get();

// User permission filtering
$allowedRoles = ['admin', 'moderator', 'editor'];
$users = User::whereIn('role', $allowedRoles)
    ->where('email_verified_at', '!=', null)
    ->get();

// Dynamic filtering based on request
$request = request();
$query = Product::query();

if ($request->filled('categories')) {
    $categoryIds = explode(',', $request->categories);
    $query->whereIn('category_id', $categoryIds);
}

if ($request->filled('brands')) {
    $brands = explode(',', $request->brands);
    $query->whereIn('brand', $brands);
}

$filteredProducts = $query->get();

// Status-based filtering
$activeStatuses = ['published', 'featured', 'promoted'];
$activePosts = Post::whereIn('status', $activeStatuses)
    ->where('publish_date', '<=', now())
    ->get();

// Numeric range alternatives
$priceRanges = [100, 200, 500, 1000]; // IDs representing price ranges
$products = Product::whereIn('price_range_id', $priceRanges)->get();

// Better approach for actual price ranges
$products = Product::whereBetween('price', [100, 1000])->get();

Complex whereIn() Scenarios with Relationships

Combine whereIn() with relationship queries and subqueries:

// Users who have posts in specific categories
$techCategoryIds = [1, 5, 12, 18]; // Technology-related categories
$techAuthors = User::whereHas('posts', function ($query) use ($techCategoryIds) {
    $query->whereIn('category_id', $techCategoryIds);
})->get();

// Products with reviews from verified buyers
$verifiedBuyerIds = User::where('verified_buyer', true)->pluck('id');
$trustedProducts = Product::whereHas('reviews', function ($query) use ($verifiedBuyerIds) {
    $query->whereIn('user_id', $verifiedBuyerIds);
})->get();

// Subquery approach - Orders from high-value customers
$vipCustomerIds = User::selectRaw('id')
    ->whereHas('orders', function ($query) {
        $query->selectRaw('SUM(total)')
              ->groupBy('user_id')
              ->havingRaw('SUM(total) > 5000');
    })
    ->pluck('id');

$vipOrders = Order::whereIn('user_id', $vipCustomerIds)->get();

// Alternative using join
$vipOrders = Order::join('users', 'orders.user_id', '=', 'users.id')
    ->whereIn('users.id', function ($query) {
        $query->select('user_id')
              ->from('orders')
              ->groupBy('user_id')
              ->havingRaw('SUM(total) > 5000');
    })->get();

// Performance optimization: Use pluck() for ID arrays
$popularCategoryIds = Category::where('post_count', '>', 100)->pluck('id');
$popularPosts = Post::whereIn('category_id', $popularCategoryIds)->get();

// Relationship-based ID collection
$adminUsers = User::where('role', 'admin')->get();
$adminPostIds = $adminUsers->pluck('posts.*.id')->flatten();
$adminPosts = Post::whereIn('id', $adminPostIds)->get();

// More efficient approach
$adminPosts = Post::whereHas('user', function ($query) {
    $query->where('role', 'admin');
})->get();

Advanced Use Cases and Performance Optimization

Handle large datasets and complex business logic:

// Bulk operations with whereIn()
class ProductService
{
    public function updatePricesForCategories(array $categoryIds, float $multiplier)
    {
        return Product::whereIn('category_id', $categoryIds)
            ->update(['price' => DB::raw("price * {$multiplier}")]);
    }
    
    public function deactivateProductsByBrands(array $brands)
    {
        return Product::whereIn('brand', $brands)
            ->update(['active' => false, 'deactivated_at' => now()]);
    }
    
    public function getRevenueByCategories(array $categoryIds, $startDate, $endDate)
    {
        return OrderItem::join('products', 'order_items.product_id', '=', 'products.id')
            ->join('orders', 'order_items.order_id', '=', 'orders.id')
            ->whereIn('products.category_id', $categoryIds)
            ->whereBetween('orders.created_at', [$startDate, $endDate])
            ->select('products.category_id', DB::raw('SUM(order_items.price * order_items.quantity) as revenue'))
            ->groupBy('products.category_id')
            ->get();
    }
}

// Geographic filtering
$allowedStates = ['CA', 'NY', 'TX', 'FL'];
$regionalOrders = Order::whereHas('shippingAddress', function ($query) use ($allowedStates) {
    $query->whereIn('state', $allowedStates);
})->get();

// Time-based filtering with arrays
$businessHours = [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17]; // 9 AM to 5 PM
$businessHourOrders = Order::whereIn(DB::raw('HOUR(created_at)'), $businessHours)->get();

// Multi-dimensional filtering
$filterCriteria = [
    'categories' => [1, 3, 5],
    'brands' => ['Apple', 'Samsung', 'Google'],
    'price_ranges' => ['100-500', '500-1000']
];

$query = Product::query();

if (!empty($filterCriteria['categories'])) {
    $query->whereIn('category_id', $filterCriteria['categories']);
}

if (!empty($filterCriteria['brands'])) {
    $query->whereIn('brand', $filterCriteria['brands']);
}

if (!empty($filterCriteria['price_ranges'])) {
    $query->where(function ($q) use ($filterCriteria) {
        foreach ($filterCriteria['price_ranges'] as $range) {
            [$min, $max] = explode('-', $range);
            $q->orWhereBetween('price', [$min, $max]);
        }
    });
}

$filteredProducts = $query->get();

// Performance considerations for large arrays
class LargeDatasetService
{
    public function processLargeIdArray(array $ids)
    {
        // Chunk large arrays to avoid query length limits
        $chunks = array_chunk($ids, 1000);
        $results = collect();
        
        foreach ($chunks as $chunk) {
            $chunkResults = Product::whereIn('id', $chunk)->get();
            $results = $results->merge($chunkResults);
        }
        
        return $results;
    }
    
    public function efficientBulkUpdate(array $productIds, array $updates)
    {
        // For MySQL, use CASE statements for different updates per ID
        $cases = [];
        $ids = [];
        
        foreach ($updates as $id => $price) {
            $cases[] = "WHEN {$id} THEN {$price}";
            $ids[] = $id;
        }
        
        $caseSql = implode(' ', $cases);
        
        return Product::whereIn('id', $ids)
            ->update(['price' => DB::raw("CASE id {$caseSql} END")]);
    }
}

// API endpoint example
class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function filterProducts(Request $request)
    {
        $query = Product::query();
        
        // Category filtering
        if ($request->filled('category_ids')) {
            $categoryIds = is_array($request->category_ids) 
                ? $request->category_ids 
                : explode(',', $request->category_ids);
            $query->whereIn('category_id', $categoryIds);
        }
        
        // Brand filtering
        if ($request->filled('brands')) {
            $brands = is_array($request->brands) 
                ? $request->brands 
                : explode(',', $request->brands);
            $query->whereIn('brand', $brands);
        }
        
        // Status filtering
        if ($request->filled('statuses')) {
            $statuses = is_array($request->statuses) 
                ? $request->statuses 
                : explode(',', $request->statuses);
            $query->whereIn('status', $statuses);
        }
        
        return $query->paginate(20);
    }
}

Use whereIn() when filtering by multiple values to replace multiple OR conditions. It's more readable and often more performant than chaining OR statements. For very large arrays (>1000 items), consider chunking to avoid query length limits, and always validate array inputs in API endpoints.

Related: Laravel Collections: Beyond Basic Array Operations | Laravel Events and Listeners: Building Decoupled Applications | Building Multi-tenant Applications with Laravel: A Comprehensive Guide