How to use multiple databases in Laravel

Using Multiple Database Connections in Laravel

 Step 1: Set Up Database Connections in .env

In your root .env file, define both primary and secondary database credentials like this:

# Primary DB
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=database1
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=secret

# Secondary DB
DB_CONNECTION_SECOND=mysql
DB_HOST_SECOND=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT_SECOND=3306
DB_DATABASE_SECOND=database2
DB_USERNAME_SECOND=root
DB_PASSWORD_SECOND=secret

Step 2: Configure Connections in config/database.php

Add the second connection in the connections array:

'mysql' => [
    'driver' => env('DB_CONNECTION', 'mysql'),
    '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', ''),
    'charset' => 'utf8mb4',
    'collation' => 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
    'prefix' => '',
    'strict' => true,
    'engine' => null,
],

'mysql2' => [
    'driver' => env('DB_CONNECTION_SECOND', 'mysql'),
    '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', ''),
    'charset' => 'utf8mb4',
    'collation' => 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
    'prefix' => '',
    'strict' => true,
    'engine' => null,
],

Step 3: Get Data from the Second Database

You can now query data from both connections:

Example: Primary DB

$data = DB::table('users')->get();

Example: Secondary DB

$dataFromSecond = DB::connection('mysql2')->table('your_table')->get();

Bonus: Use Models with Custom Connection

If you're using Eloquent models, you can specify the connection like this:

class Product extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mysql2'; // use the second DB
    protected $table = 'products'; // optional
}

Now you can call:

Product::all(); // this will pull from mysql2 connection

Summary

Task	Command / Code
Define DBs	.env variables
Configure	config/database.php
Query Secondary DB	DB::connection('mysql2')->table('table')->get()
Use in Model	protected $connection = 'mysql2';