RFC: Native Object Cast for JSON Columns (AsJsonObject) #58425

AmadulHaque · 2026-01-19T15:49:51Z

AmadulHaque
Jan 19, 2026

Author: Amadul
Related Package: amadul/json-object
Target: Laravel Eloquent ORM
Status: Proposal / RFC

1. Problem Statement

Laravel currently provides the following JSON casts:

array
collection
AsCollection
AsEncryptedArrayObject
AsEncryptedCollection

These casts treat JSON as data containers, not domain objects.

Current limitation

$user->settings['notifications']['email']; // array
$user->settings->get('notifications.email'); // collection workaround

There is no native way to treat JSON columns as object graphs with:

Property access (->)
Nested auto-casting
Domain behavior
Structural guarantees

2. Real-World Use Cases (Why This Matters)

JSON columns are increasingly used for:

User preferences
Feature flags
Shopify / Stripe metadata
AI model configuration
Multi-tenant system configs

In these cases:

Arrays become fragile
Collections are too generic
DTOs require manual mapping

Laravel lacks a first-class JSON object abstraction.

3. Proposed Solution

Introduce a new native cast:

Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\AsObject
// or
Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Casts\AsJsonObject

Example Usage

protected $casts = [
    'settings' => AsJsonObject::class,
];

Developer Experience

$user->settings->notifications->email;
$user->settings->theme->dark;
$user->settings->timezone;

4. Expected Behavior

Reading

JSON is decoded into an object tree
Nested arrays become objects automatically
Access via property syntax (->)

Writing

$user->settings->notifications->email = true;
$user->save();

Automatically serialized back to JSON

5. Minimal Core Feature Set (Laravel-Friendly)

Laravel prefers small, composable features.

Core responsibilities only:

Object-style access
Recursive wrapping
JSON serialization
Compatibility with existing casts

❌ No validation
❌ No schema enforcement
❌ No DTO logic

(Advanced features remain package-level)

6. Example Core Implementation (Conceptual)

class AsJsonObject implements CastsAttributes
{
    public function get($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return JsonObject::fromJson($value);
    }

    public function set($model, string $key, $value, array $attributes)
    {
        return json_encode($value);
    }
}

class JsonObject implements Arrayable, JsonSerializable
{
    protected array $attributes;

    public function __get($key)
    {
        return static::wrap($this->attributes[$key] ?? null);
    }

    protected static function wrap($value)
    {
        return is_array($value) ? new static($value) : $value;
    }
}

7. Why This Belongs in Laravel Core

Fits Laravel Philosophy

Fluent
Expressive
Minimal magic
Opt-in

Aligns With Existing Casts

Existing	Purpose
`AsCollection`	Fluent data access
`AsArrayObject`	Mutable array wrapper
`AsJsonObject`	Object-oriented JSON

This is a natural evolution, not a breaking change.

8. Backward Compatibility

Fully opt-in
No changes to existing behavior
No impact on current casts

9. Community Validation

The feature is already validated by real usage via:

amadul/json-object
Multiple production applications
API-heavy systems

Laravel has historically adopted ideas from:

Carbon
Flysystem
Symfony components
Community packages

10. Alternative Considered (Why Not Enough)

Option	Why Insufficient
Arrays	Fragile, verbose
Collections	Not object-like
DTOs	Manual mapping
Accessors	Boilerplate

11. Proposed Naming Options

Laravel-style naming suggestions:

AsObject
AsJsonObject ✅ (clear & explicit)
AsDataObject

12. Migration Path (Optional)

// before
'options' => 'collection',

// after
'options' => AsJsonObject::class,

No refactor required in business logic.

shaedrich · 2026-01-19T16:27:47Z

shaedrich
Jan 19, 2026

Ehm, this is not true. You can use

or a value object

0 replies

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RFC: Native Object Cast for JSON Columns (AsJsonObject) #58425

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RFC: Native Object Cast for JSON Columns (AsJsonObject) #58425

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AmadulHaque Jan 19, 2026

1. Problem Statement

Current limitation

2. Real-World Use Cases (Why This Matters)

3. Proposed Solution

Example Usage

Developer Experience

4. Expected Behavior

Reading

Writing

5. Minimal Core Feature Set (Laravel-Friendly)

Core responsibilities only:

6. Example Core Implementation (Conceptual)

7. Why This Belongs in Laravel Core

Fits Laravel Philosophy

Aligns With Existing Casts

8. Backward Compatibility

9. Community Validation

10. Alternative Considered (Why Not Enough)

11. Proposed Naming Options

12. Migration Path (Optional)

Replies: 1 comment

Uh oh!

shaedrich Jan 19, 2026

AmadulHaque
Jan 19, 2026

shaedrich
Jan 19, 2026