Pivot tables

 A pivot table stores the relationship between two entities in a many-to-many relationship.

Example:

users
teams
team_user
-------
user_id
team_id
joined_at

Migration:

Schema::create('team_user', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
    $table->foreignId('team_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
    $table->timestamp('joined_at')->nullable();

    $table->primary(['user_id', 'team_id']);
});

Access pivot data:

$user->teams->first()->pivot->joined_at;

When extra business logic/data exists, I may create a custom pivot model.

Scenario

For a subscription-like relationship:

user_id
plan_id
started_at
expires_at
status

The pivot is no longer just a simple linking table—it contains business information.