If you're using PostgreSQL with Laravel and have a table column defined as an ENUM, you may run into a common issue: PostgreSQL does not let you modify ENUMs like regular fields. Instead, you need to alter the underlying ENUM type directly — which can be confusing at first.

Here’s how to properly add a new value to a PostgreSQL ENUM column in a Laravel project.

Use Case

Let’s say you have a transactions table with a type column defined as an ENUM in PostgreSQL. Initially, it supports values like 'credit' and 'debit'.

Now you want to add a new option: 'withdrawal'.

Step 1: Create a Migration to Add a New Value

Create a migration:

php artisan make:migration add_withdrawal_to_transaction_type_enum

Inside the generated file:

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;

class AddWithdrawalToTransactionTypeEnum extends Migration
{
    public function up()
    {
        DB::statement('ALTER TABLE transactions DROP CONSTRAINT transactions_type_check;');
        DB::statement('ALTER TABLE transactions ADD CONSTRAINT transactions_type_check CHECK (status::TEXT = ANY (ARRAY[\'holder\'::CHARACTER VARYING, \'referral\'::CHARACTER VARYING, \'withdrawal\'::CHARACTER VARYING]::TEXT[]))');
    }

    public function down()
    {
        // PostgreSQL doesn't support removing enum values easily.
        // You’d have to recreate the type if you really needed to revert.
    }
}

Run the migration:

php artisan migrate