feat: add Model existsById() helper

system/Model.php

@@ -558,6 +558,14 @@ public function exists(bool $reset = true, bool $test = false)
         return $this->builder()->testMode($test)->exists($reset);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Determines whether the given primary key value exists.
+     */
+    public function existsById(int|string $id): bool
+    {
+        return $this->where($this->table . '.' . $this->primaryKey, $id)->exists();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Determines whether the current Model query would not return any rows.
      *

tests/system/Models/ExistsModelTest.php

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 namespace CodeIgniter\Models;
 
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\Group;
+use Tests\Support\Models\EventModel;
 use Tests\Support\Models\UserModel;
 
 /**
@@ -22,6 +23,46 @@
 #[Group('DatabaseLive')]
 final class ExistsModelTest extends LiveModelTestCase
 {
+    public function testExistsByIdReturnsTrueForExistingPrimaryKey(): void
+    {
+        $this->createModel(UserModel::class);
+
+        $this->assertTrue($this->model->existsById(1));
+    }
+
+    public function testExistsByIdReturnsFalseForMissingPrimaryKey(): void
+    {
+        $this->createModel(UserModel::class);
+
+        $this->assertFalse($this->model->existsById(999));
+    }
+
+    public function testExistsByIdRespectsSoftDeletes(): void
+    {
+        $this->createModel(UserModel::class);
+        $this->model->delete(1);
+
+        $this->assertFalse($this->model->existsById(1));
+        $this->assertTrue($this->model->withDeleted()->existsById(1));
+    }
+
+    public function testExistsByIdWorksWithCurrentModelQuery(): void
+    {
+        $this->createModel(UserModel::class);
+
+        $this->assertTrue($this->model->where('country', 'US')->existsById(1));
+        $this->assertFalse($this->model->where('country', 'UK')->existsById(1));
+    }
+
+    public function testExistsByIdDoesNotTriggerFindCallbacks(): void
+    {
+        $model = $this->createModel(EventModel::class);
+
+        $this->assertTrue($model->existsById(1));
+        $this->assertFalse($model->hasToken('beforeFind'));
+        $this->assertFalse($model->hasToken('afterFind'));
+    }
+
     public function testExistsRespectsSoftDeletes(): void
     {
         $this->createModel(UserModel::class);

user_guide_src/source/changelogs/v4.8.0.rst

@@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ Model
 =====
 
 - Added new ``chunkRows()`` method to ``CodeIgniter\Model`` for processing large datasets in smaller chunks.
+- Added new ``existsById()`` method to ``CodeIgniter\Model`` to check whether a row exists for a primary key without fetching it. See :ref:`model-exists-by-id`.
 - Added new ``firstOrInsert()`` method to ``CodeIgniter\Model`` that finds the first row matching the given attributes or inserts a new one. See :ref:`model-first-or-insert`.
 
 Libraries

user_guide_src/source/models/model.rst

@@ -509,6 +509,23 @@ of just one:
 .. note:: If ``find()`` is called without parameters or with ``null``, it will return all rows in
     that model's table, effectively acting like ``findAll()``, though less explicit.
 
+.. _model-exists-by-id:
+
+existsById()
+------------
+
+.. versionadded:: 4.8.0
+
+Checks whether a row exists where the model's `$primaryKey`_ matches the
+given value, without fetching or hydrating the row:
+
+.. literalinclude:: model/068.php
+
+This method respects soft deletes. Use ``withDeleted()`` first if you need to
+check deleted rows. It can also be combined with Query Builder methods like
+``where()``. For condition-based existence checks that are not tied to a
+primary key, use ``exists()`` or ``doesntExist()``.
+
 findColumn()
 ------------
 

user_guide_src/source/models/model/068.php

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<?php
+
+$userExists       = $userModel->existsById($userId);
+$activeUserExists = $userModel->where('active', 1)->existsById($userId);