Version

Add Column

You can add custom columns to your DataTables response using the addColumn API. Added columns are computed columns and are not part of the database, so search and sort are disabled by default.

[!WARNING] Added columns are computed and not part of the database. Search/sort will be disabled. Use editColumn if you need search/sort functionality.

Method 1: Blade String Syntax

Use Blade-style string interpolation:

use Yajra\DataTables\Facades\DataTables;
use App\Models\User;
 
Route::get('user-data', function() {
    $model = User::query();
 
    return DataTables::eloquent($model)
        ->addColumn('intro', 'Hi {{$name}}!')
        ->toJson();
});

Method 2: Closure

Use a closure for more complex logic:

use Yajra\DataTables\Facades\DataTables;
use App\Models\User;
 
Route::get('user-data', function() {
    $model = User::query();
 
    return DataTables::eloquent($model)
        ->addColumn('intro', function(User $user) {
            return 'Hi ' . $user->name . '!';
        })
        ->toJson();
});

Method 3: Blade View

Render the column using a Blade view:

use Yajra\DataTables\Facades\DataTables;
use App\Models\User;
 
Route::get('user-data', function() {
    $model = User::query();
 
    return DataTables::eloquent($model)
        ->addColumn('intro', 'users.datatables.intro')
        ->toJson();
});

Create your view at resources/views/users/datatables/intro.blade.php:

Hi {{ $name }}!

Column Ordering

Position the column at a specific index by passing order as the third argument:

use Yajra\DataTables\Facades\DataTables;
use App\Models\User;
 
Route::get('user-data', function() {
    $model = User::query();
 
    return DataTables::eloquent($model)
        ->addColumn('intro', 'Hi {{$name}}!', 2) // Position at index 2
        ->toJson();
});

Multiple Columns

Add multiple columns by chaining:

use Yajra\DataTables\Facades\DataTables;
use App\Models\User;
 
Route::get('user-data', function() {
    $model = User::query();
 
    return DataTables::eloquent($model)
        ->addColumn('full_name', function (User $user) {
            return $user->first_name . ' ' . $user->last_name;
        })
        ->addColumn('posts_count', function (User $user) {
            return $user->posts_count;
        })
        ->addColumn('status_badge', function (User $user) {
            return $user->is_active ? 'Active' : 'Inactive';
        })
        ->toJson();
});

Common Use Cases

Action Buttons

->addColumn('action', function (User $user) {
    return '<a href="/users/'.$user->id.'/edit">Edit</a>';
})
->rawColumns(['action']) // Allow HTML rendering

Computed Values

// addColumn for money values - return raw number
->addColumn('total_amount', function (Order $order) {
    return $order->items_sum_price ?? 0;
})

Conditional Formatting

->addColumn('status', function (User $user) {
    if ($user->is_active) {
        return '<span class="badge bg-success">Active</span>';
    }
    return '<span class="badge bg-secondary">Inactive</span>';
})
->rawColumns(['status'])

Comparison: addColumn vs editColumn

Feature	`addColumn`	`editColumn`
Search	❌ Disabled	✅ Enabled
Sort	❌ Disabled	✅ Enabled
Database Column	❌ Not required	✅ Required
Use Case	Computed values	Modifying existing

[!TIP] Need both search/sort AND multiple columns? Use editColumn to modify existing columns and chain multiple calls.

Laravel DataTables