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Answer : You can just use Eloquent::insert() . For example: $data = array( array('name'=>'Coder 1', 'rep'=>'4096'), array('name'=>'Coder 2', 'rep'=>'2048'), //... ); Coder::insert($data); We can update GTF answer to update timestamps easily $data = array( array( 'name'=>'Coder 1', 'rep'=>'4096', 'created_at'=>date('Y-m-d H:i:s'), 'modified_at'=> date('Y-m-d H:i:s') ), array( 'name'=>'Coder 2', 'rep'=>'2048', 'created_at'=>date('Y-m-d H:i:s'), 'modified_at'=> date('Y-m-d H:i:s') ), //... ); Coder::insert($data); Update: to simplify the date we can use carbon as @Pedro Moreira suggested $now = Carbon::now('utc')->toDateTimeString(); $data = array( ...

Answer : You need to change your constructor to: public function __construct(array $attributes = array()) { parent::__construct($attributes); $this->directory = $this->setDirectory(); } The first line ( parent::__construct() ) will run the Eloquent Model 's own construct method before your code runs, which will set up all the attributes for you. Also the change to the constructor's method signature is to continue supporting the usage that Laravel expects: $model = new Post(['id' => 5, 'title' => 'My Post']); The rule of thumb really is to always remember, when extending a class, to check that you're not overriding an existing method so that it no longer runs (this is especially important with the magic __construct , __get , etc. methods). You can check the source of the original file to see if it includes the method you're defining.