Typed values

Values keep their real PHP type across write and read — no manual casting:

use RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\Facades\Attributes;

$attributes = Attributes::for($product);

$attributes->set('color', 'white');       // string
$attributes->set('rating', 5);            // int
$attributes->set('on_sale', true);        // bool
$attributes->set('price', 9.99);          // float
$attributes->set('tags', ['a', 'b']);     // array
$attributes->set('published_at', now());  // datetime

$attributes->get('rating');               // int(5)
$attributes->get('on_sale');              // true
$attributes->get('published_at');         // CarbonImmutable, in the app timezone

// Model shorthand — the same manager underneath
$product->attachAttribute('rating', 5);
$product->getAttachedAttributeValue('rating'); // int(5)

How types are stored

Without a definition, the type is inferred from the PHP value you pass and stored in value_type next to the value, which is kept as text:

PHP value	value_type	Stored as	Read back as
string (and anything else)	`string`	the string	string
int	`integer`	5 → 5 as text	int
float	`float`	the shortest text that reads back as the same float	float
bool	`boolean`	1 or 0	bool
array	`array`	JSON	array
DateTimeInterface	`datetime`	ISO-8601 string in UTC	CarbonImmutable in the app timezone
null	`string`	SQL NULL (value_type is the defined type, if any)	null

Datetimes are normalized to UTC, so one instant always has one stored string, and come back as the same instant in your app timezone. Floats keep their full precision.

Definitions set the type

With a definition, its type wins: the value is validated against that type and stored in it, so a request string “5” under an integer definition is stored and read back as the int 5:

use RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\DataTransferObjects\AttributeDefinitionData;
use RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\Enums\AttributeType;
use RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\Facades\Attributes;

Attributes::define(new AttributeDefinitionData('rating', AttributeType::Integer));

Attributes::for($product)->set('rating', $request->input('rating')); // '5' from the request
Attributes::for($product)->get('rating');                            // int(5) — stored in the defined type

The AttributeType enum

The supported types are the cases of RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\Enums\AttributeType. The enum also exposes the inference and conversion it uses internally:

use RoundlyConsulting\Attributes\Enums\AttributeType;

AttributeType::forValue(5);                 // AttributeType::Integer
AttributeType::forValue(now());             // AttributeType::DateTime
AttributeType::forValue('5');               // AttributeType::String_

AttributeType::Boolean->toStorage(true);    // '1'
AttributeType::Array_->toStorage(['a']);    // '["a"]'
AttributeType::Integer->fromStorage('42');  // 42

AttributeType::Float_->toStorage(0.1 + 0.2);                      // '0.30000000000000004' — full precision
AttributeType::DateTime->toStorage('2026-01-01 10:00:00+02:00');  // '2026-01-01T08:00:00+00:00' — UTC
AttributeType::Float_->isNumeric();                               // true — integer and float are one family

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