[Table] - There is no way to access individual "-many" relationship models in column

[khangln-amv]

Package

filament/tables

Package Version

v4, v5

Laravel Version

v11, v12

Livewire Version

v3, v4

PHP Version

PHP 8.3+

Problem description

Currently, there is a number of columns that support displaying a list of 1-n and n-n relationship: TextColumn::make('tags.name'), ImageColumn::make('colleagues.avatar')->circular()->stacked(), however, there is no "official" way to access other fields or the model itself.

Consider:

// suppose we have a TagModel with columns (name, color)
TextColumn::make('tags.name')
    ->badge()
    ->color( // 'tags.color') //here, $record will be the main table $record, $state will be `tag.name`, $rowLoop will be the row loop of the row itself, not the loop of tags

or

ImageColumn::make('colleagues.avatar')
    ->circular()
    ->stacked()
    ->tooltip(// 'colleagues.name')

Currently, some cases there are workaround, for example:

TextColumn::make('tags.name')
    ->badge()
    ->color(function ($record, $state){
        $tag = $record->tags->firstWhere('name', $state);

        return Color::hex($tag->color);
    })

but at the end of the day, it is still a workaround, it wouldnt work if there is a record with null name, or duplicate name (it doesnt make sense with tag name, but other models may)

Speaking of which, there is currently no workaround for the avatar example, since $user->avatar may be null, or 2 user can use the same img url.

Expected behavior

There should be a way to access the model itself, either directly, or through a $rowLoop-type variable.

function($relationshipRecord) {

}

or

function($model, $relationshipRowLoop) {
    $model->relationship[$relationshipRowLoop->index]
}

Steps to reproduce

1. Make a new filament project
2. Make a table
3. Make a HasMany or BelongsToMany relation
4. Try to access and customize individual relation model

Reproduction repository (issue will be closed if this is not valid)

https://github.com/filamentphp/demo

Relevant log output

[danharrin]

I'm going to let it slide this time, but this is not a bug report and really should have gone in Discussions first. I'll let it stay as I think it's valid feedback that I need to consider.

[goozkan]

I was playin around for this and this is my implementation, I did not create pull request yet because I need to check which column traits can use this implementation.

Feature: Dot Notation Support for Column Properties

Summary

Add support for dot notation (relationship paths) in tooltip(), color(), and description() etc. methods, allowing them to work the same way as make('parent.name') does for column state.

Before:

TextColumn::make('parent.name')
    ->tooltip(fn ($record) => $record->parent?->name)  // Manual closure required
    ->color(fn ($record) => $record->parent?->color)   // Manual closure required

After:

TextColumn::make('parent.name')
    ->tooltip('parent.name')        // Direct dot notation support
    ->color('parent.color')         // Direct dot notation support
    ->description('parent.slug')    // Direct dot notation support

Files Changed

1. vendor/filament/tables/src/Columns/Column.php

Added: New helper method resolveRelationAttribute()

/**
 * Resolve dot notation by temporarily setting column name and calling getState()
 * Single entry point for both make() and dot notation methods (tooltip, color, description)
 */
public function resolveRelationAttribute(string $path): mixed
{
    if (! str_contains($path, '.')) {
        return data_get($this->getRecord(), $path);
    }

    $originalName = $this->getName();
    $this->name($path);

    try {
        $this->clearCachedState();
        return $this->getState();
    } finally {
        $this->name($originalName);
        $this->clearCachedState();
    }
}

2. vendor/filament/tables/src/Columns/Concerns/HasTooltip.php as an examle

Modified: tooltip() method

public function tooltip(string | Htmlable | Closure | null $tooltip): static
{
    // Resolve dot notation using Column::resolveRelationAttribute()
    if (is_string($tooltip) && str_contains($tooltip, '.')) {
        $tooltip = fn ($record) => $this->resolveRelationAttribute($tooltip) ?? $tooltip;
    }

    $this->tooltip = $tooltip;

    return $this;
}

Usage Examples

Basic Example

use Filament\Tables\Columns\TextColumn;

TextColumn::make('parent.name')
    ->tooltip('parent.description')
    ->color('parent.color')
    ->description('parent.slug')

Nested Relations

TextColumn::make('category.parent.name')
    ->tooltip('category.parent.description')
    ->color('category.parent.color')

Multiple Columns

Table::make()
    ->columns([
        TextColumn::make('name'),
        TextColumn::make('parent.name')
            ->label('Parent')
            ->tooltip('parent.description'),
        TextColumn::make('parent.status')
            ->color('parent.status_color'),
    ])

Fallback Values

If the path doesn't exist on the record, the original string is returned as fallback:

->tooltip('parent.url')  // If parent.name doesn't exist, shows 'parent.name' as tooltip

How It Works

make('parent.name') Flow

1. Column created with name = 'parent.name'
2. At render: getState() called
3. Uses $this->getName() which returns 'parent.name'
4. getStateFromRecord() resolves the relation
5. Returns parent's name value

tooltip('parent.name') Flow

1. tooltip() detects dot notation
2. Converts to closure: fn ($record) => $this->resolveRelationAttribute('parent.name')
3. At render: Closure executed
4. resolveRelationAttribute() temporarily sets name = 'parent.name'
5. Calls getState() (same entry point as make)
6. Returns parent's name value
7. Restores original name

Both use the same internal mechanism: HasCellState::getState() and HasCellState::getStateFromRecord()

Single Entry Point

All three methods (tooltip, color, description) now use one central method:

make('parent.name')
    └─ getState() ← Entry point

tooltip('parent.name')
    └─ resolveRelationAttribute()
        └─ getState() ← Same entry point!

color('parent.color')
    └─ resolveRelationAttribute()
        └─ getState() ← Same entry point!

Backward Compatibility

✅ Fully backward compatible

• Existing code works unchanged
• Non-string values not affected
• Strings without dots passed through unchanged

Testing

// Test case
$category = Category::create(['name' => 'Parent', 'slug' => 'parent']);
$child = Category::create(['parent_id' => $category->id, 'name' => 'Child']);

TextColumn::make('parent.name')
    ->tooltip('parent.slug')
    ->color('parent.status_color')

// Renders tooltip: 'parent'
// Resolves color from parent model

Performance

• Same performance as make()
• Uses HasCellState's optimized relation loading
• Caching handled via clearCachedState()
• No N+1 queries (eager loading respected)

Future Extensions

This feature can be easily extended to other methods:

• icon('parent.icon')
• label('parent.display_label')
• url('parent.edit_url')
• Any other method accepting string parameters

Just add the same pattern to the method:

if (is_string($value) && str_contains($value, '.')) {
    $value = fn ($record) => $this->resolveRelationAttribute($value) ?? $value;
}

[danharrin]

Sorry, that sort of fix is not what I'm looking for, it's too magic and is a breaking change.

[goozkan]

maybe I dont need to change column.php, I can use get_data in tooltip etc to get record but I am not sure if its going to be less complicated, getState looked better