Laravel : How to use multiple databases in Laravel?

Using .env >= 5.0 (tested on 5.5)

In .env

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=database1
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=secret

DB_CONNECTION_SECOND=mysql
DB_HOST_SECOND=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT_SECOND=3306
DB_DATABASE_SECOND=database2
DB_USERNAME_SECOND=root
DB_PASSWORD_SECOND=secret

In config/database.php

'mysql' => [
    'driver'    => env('DB_CONNECTION'),
    'host'      => env('DB_HOST'),
    'port'      => env('DB_PORT'),
    'database'  => env('DB_DATABASE'),
    'username'  => env('DB_USERNAME'),
    'password'  => env('DB_PASSWORD'),
],

'mysql2' => [
    'driver'    => env('DB_CONNECTION_SECOND'),
    'host'      => env('DB_HOST_SECOND'),
    'port'      => env('DB_PORT_SECOND'),
    'database'  => env('DB_DATABASE_SECOND'),
    'username'  => env('DB_USERNAME_SECOND'),
    'password'  => env('DB_PASSWORD_SECOND'),
],

Note: In mysql2 if DB_username and DB_password is same, then you can use env('DB_USERNAME') which is metioned in .env first few lines.

Without .env <5.0

Define Connections

app/config/database.php

return array(

    'default' => 'mysql',

    'connections' => array(

        # Primary/Default database connection
        'mysql' => array(
            'driver'    => 'mysql',
            'host'      => '127.0.0.1',
            'database'  => 'database1',
            'username'  => 'root',
            'password'  => 'secret'
            'charset'   => 'utf8',
            'collation' => 'utf8_unicode_ci',
            'prefix'    => '',
        ),

        # Secondary database connection
        'mysql2' => array(
            'driver'    => 'mysql',
            'host'      => '127.0.0.1',
            'database'  => 'database2',
            'username'  => 'root',
            'password'  => 'secret'
            'charset'   => 'utf8',
            'collation' => 'utf8_unicode_ci',
            'prefix'    => '',
        ),
    ),
);

---

Schema

To specify which connection to use, simply run the connection() method

Schema::connection('mysql2')->create('some_table', function($table)
{
    $table->increments('id'):
});

Query Builder

$users = DB::connection('mysql2')->select(...);

Eloquent

Set the $connection variable in your model

class SomeModel extends Eloquent {

    protected $connection = 'mysql2';

}

You can also define the connection at runtime via the setConnection method or the on static method:

class SomeController extends BaseController {

    public function someMethod()
    {
        $someModel = new SomeModel;

        $someModel->setConnection('mysql2'); // non-static method

        $something = $someModel->find(1);

        $something = SomeModel::on('mysql2')->find(1); // static method

        return $something;
    }

}

Note Be careful about attempting to build relationships with tables across databases! It is possible to do, but it can come with some caveats and depends on what database and/or database settings you have.

Link : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31847054/how-to-use-multiple-databases-in-laravel