Data except()/only() ignored when saving via Eloquent class cast

[Yi-pixel]

✏️ Describe the bug

When I call the except or only methods on a data object using the default Data cast, these filters do not persist.

In the first call to the cast, everything works as expected ✅:

{
  "address": {
    "country": "Greece",
    "city": "Lynchfurt",
    "street": "Vernice Stravenue",
    "postalCode": "58391-3431",
    "phone": "+1 (662) 664-1742",
    "email": "acollier@hotmail.com",
    "comment": "Et omnis sit et asperiores voluptas. Architecto omnis ut amet velit quia id. Vero sit recusandae porro omnis incidunt molestiae ea."
  }
}

DataEloquentCast.php:78, Spatie\LaravelData\Support\EloquentCasts\DataEloquentCast->set()
HasAttributes.php:1235, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->setClassCastableAttribute()
HasAttributes.php:1075, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->setAttribute()
Model.php:589, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->fill()
Model.php:683, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->newInstance()
Builder.php:1717, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->newModelInstance()
Builder.php:1188, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->create()
ForwardsCalls.php:23, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->forwardCallTo()
Model.php:2496, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->__call()
Model.php:2512, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model::__callStatic()
web.php:27, Illuminate\Routing\RouteFileRegistrar->{closure:}()

But on the second call, the result is no longer as expected ❌:

{
  "profile": "Maverick Cartwright",
  "address": {
    "country": "Greece",
    "city": "Lynchfurt",
    "street": "Vernice Stravenue",
+   "houseNumber": "09-18-560",
    "postalCode": "58391-3431",
    "phone": "+1 (662) 664-1742",
    "email": "acollier@hotmail.com",
    "comment": "Et omnis sit et asperiores voluptas. Architecto omnis ut amet velit quia id. Vero sit recusandae porro omnis incidunt molestiae ea."
  }
}

DataEloquentCast.php:78, Spatie\LaravelData\Support\EloquentCasts\DataEloquentCast->set()
+ HasAttributes.php:1899, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->mergeAttributesFromClassCasts()
+ HasAttributes.php:1881, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->mergeAttributesFromCachedCasts()
Model.php:1191, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->save()
Builder.php:1189, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->{closure}()
helpers.php:399, tap()
Builder.php:1188, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->create()
ForwardsCalls.php:23, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->forwardCallTo()
Model.php:2496, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->__call()
Model.php:2512, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model::__callStatic()
web.php:27, Illuminate\Routing\RouteFileRegistrar->{closure:}()

Then again, the third call still behaves incorrectly ❌:

{
  "profile": "Maverick Cartwright",
  "address": {
    "country": "Greece",
    "city": "Lynchfurt",
    "street": "Vernice Stravenue",
+   "houseNumber": "09-18-560",
    "postalCode": "58391-3431",
    "phone": "+1 (662) 664-1742",
    "email": "acollier@hotmail.com",
    "comment": "Et omnis sit et asperiores voluptas. Architecto omnis ut amet velit quia id. Vero sit recusandae porro omnis incidunt molestiae ea."
  }
}

DataEloquentCast.php:78, Spatie\LaravelData\Support\EloquentCasts\DataEloquentCast->set()
+ HasAttributes.php:1899, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->mergeAttributesFromClassCasts()
+ HasAttributes.php:1881, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->mergeAttributesFromCachedCasts()
HasAttributes.php:1950, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->getAttributes()
HasAttributes.php:2214, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->getDirty()
HasAttributes.php:2134, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->isDirty()
HasTimestamps.php:68, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->updateTimestamps()
Model.php:1366, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->performInsert()
Model.php:1214, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->save()
Builder.php:1189, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->{closure}()
helpers.php:399, tap()
Builder.php:1188, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder->create()
ForwardsCalls.php:23, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->forwardCallTo()
Model.php:2496, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->__call()
Model.php:2512, Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model->__callStatic()
web.php:27, Illuminate\Routing\RouteFileRegistrar->{closure:}()

---

↪️ To Reproduce

UserProfileData.php

class UserProfileData extends Data
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $profile,
        public readonly AddressData $address,
    )
    {
        $this->address->except('houseNumber'); // <-- here
    }
}

We are trying to exclude address.houseNumber here.

AddressData.php

class AddressData extends Data
{
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $country,
        public readonly string $city,
        public readonly string $street,
        public readonly string $houseNumber,
        public readonly string $postalCode,
        public readonly string $phone,
        public readonly string $email,
        public readonly string $comment,
    ) {}
}

App\Models\User.php

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
        'password',
+       'profile',
    ];

    protected function casts(): array
    {
        return [
            'email_verified_at' => 'datetime',
            'password' => 'hashed',
+           'profile' => UserProfileData::class, // <-- here
        ];
    }
}

routes/web.php

Route::get('/', function () {
    $profile = \App\Data\UserProfileData::from([
        'profile' => fake()->name,
        'address' => [
            'country' => fake()->country,
            'city' => fake()->city,
            'street' => fake()->streetName,
            'houseNumber' => fake()->numerify('##-##-###'),
            'postalCode' => fake()->postcode,
            'phone' => fake()->phoneNumber,
            'email' => fake()->email,
            'comment' => fake()->text,
        ]
    ]);

    $user_data = [
        'email' => fake()->email,
        'name' => fake()->name,
        'password' => 123456,
    ];

    $user = \App\Models\User::create($user_data + ['profile' => $profile]);

    dump($user->toArray()); // Not Expected
    dump($user->fresh()->toArray()); // Expected
});

Migration (SQLite)

Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->json('profile')->default('{}'); // using SQLite
});

---

✅ Expected Behavior

The inserted data should exclude address.houseNumber:

{
  "profile": "Miss Alysha Metz",
  "address": {
    "country": "Wallis and Futuna",
    "city": "New Juniusview",
    "street": "Breitenberg Flats",
    "postalCode": "47876",
    "phone": "1-458-927-1713",
    "email": "mustafa.purdy@yahoo.com",
    "comment": "Ex beatae minus ducimus animi. Odit ullam voluptatibus aliquam ducimus..."
  }
}

---

❌ Actual Behavior

Instead, houseNumber is still persisted:

{
  "profile": "Miss Alysha Metz",
  "address": {
    "country": "Wallis and Futuna",
    "city": "New Juniusview",
    "street": "Breitenberg Flats",
+   "houseNumber": "29-92-219",
    "postalCode": "47876",
    "phone": "1-458-927-1713",
    "email": "mustafa.purdy@yahoo.com",
    "comment": "Ex beatae minus ducimus animi. Odit ullam voluptatibus aliquam ducimus..."
  }
}

✅ However, when dumping the model (dump($user->fresh()->toArray())), the houseNumber is correctly excluded — indicating it's a problem at cast-to-database level, not in model access.

---

🖥️ Versions

• Laravel: 12.19.3
• Laravel Data: 4.17.0
• PHP: 8.4.4

[Yi-pixel]

It looks like I missed something — if the excluded properties are required, an error will occur during unserialization.

So, by default, it seems necessary to save all the already-set Data properties. However, could we consider truly excluding optional fields — those that are optional, nullable, or have default values?

Because with the current approach, we end up storing data in the database for some properties that might never be used at all.