laravel/framework · critical · LogicException

The [{__METHOD__}] method may not be called on model [{stati

Error message

The [{__METHOD__}] method may not be called on model [{static::class}] while it is being booted.

What it means

Thrown by Model::bootIfNotBooted() when a model is instantiated while that same model class is still mid-boot. The framework sets a $booting flag during static::boot()/booting()/booted() callbacks; encountering that flag again means a callback created a new instance of the current model, creating a re-entrant boot cycle that would otherwise recurse infinitely.

Source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Database/Eloquent/Model.php:337

        $this->bootIfNotBooted();
        $this->initializeTraits();
        $this->initializeModelAttributes();
        $this->syncOriginal();
        $this->fill($attributes);
    }

    /**
     * Check if the model needs to be booted and if so, do it.
     *
     * @return void
     *
     * @throws \LogicException
     */
    protected function bootIfNotBooted()
    {
        if (! isset(static::$booted[static::class])) {
            if (isset(static::$booting[static::class])) {
                throw new LogicException('The ['.__METHOD__.'] method may not be called on model ['.static::class.'] while it is being booted.');
            }

            static::$booting[static::class] = true;

            $this->fireModelEvent('booting', false);

            static::booting();
            static::boot();

            static::$booted[static::class] = true;
            unset(static::$booting[static::class]);

            static::booted();

            static::$bootedCallbacks[static::class] ??= [];

            foreach (static::$bootedCallbacks[static::class] as $callback) {
                $callback();

View on GitHub (pinned to e0f6eb3518)

Solutions

1. Move any code that instantiates or queries the same model OUT of boot/booting/booted and into a deferred location (a service provider's boot() that uses the model, an Artisan command, or a lazy callback).
2. If you must touch rows during boot, query a different model or use the base query builder (DB::table) to avoid re-entering the model's boot.
3. Break the cycle by deferring with dispatch() or resolving the model after first request.

Example fix

// before - causes re-entrant boot
class User extends Model
{
    public static function boot()
    {
        parent::boot();
        static::created(function ($user) { /* ok */ });
        // WRONG: instantiates User during User's own boot
        $seed = User::where('email', 'admin@example.com')->first();
    }
}

// after - defer the query out of boot
class User extends Model { /* boot only registers listeners */ }
// in a ServiceProvider::boot() or via App::booted()
App::booted(fn () => User::where('email', 'admin@example.com')->first());

// Never instantiate or query the SAME model inside boot/booting/booted.
// Move such work out of boot entirely, e.g. into App::booted()
App::booted(function () {
    User::where('email', 'seed@example.com')->firstOrCreate([...]);
});

try {
    $model = new User; // triggers boot
} catch (\LogicException $e) {
    if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'while it is being booted')) {
    //    Log and defer the instantiation to a booted callback.
        App::booted(fn () => new User);
    } else { throw $e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Inside boot(), booting(), or booted() (or a registered boot listener) on Model X, code does 'new X()' or X::query()->first()/X::create([...]) which triggers bootIfNotBooted() on X again while X::$booting[X] is still true.

Common situations: A boot listener that seeds data by inserting the same model; a global scope registered during boot that queries the model immediately; observers attached in boot that instantiate the model; trait boot methods that warm caches by loading rows of the same model.

Related errors

• No primary key defined on model.
• Resource collection guesser expects the collection to contai
• Expected class %s to implement guessResourceName method. Mak
• Failed to find resource class for model [%s].
• No record found for the given query.

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@e0f6eb3518 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3e4a45f126b5762c. Report an issue: GitHub.