laravel-form-requests

name	laravel:form-requests
description	Move validation and authorization into Form Requests; use rule objects, custom messages, and nested data handling to keep controllers slim

Form Requests and Validation

Promote validation and authorization to dedicated Form Request classes. Keep controllers focused on orchestration and domain intents.

Commands

# Create a request
sail artisan make:request UpdateProfileRequest      # or: php artisan make:request UpdateProfileRequest

# Use in controller method signature
public function update(UpdateProfileRequest $request) {
    $data = $request->validated();
    // ...
}

Patterns

• Define authorize() to gate access; prefer Policies for complex checks
• Use rule objects: Rule::unique('users', 'email')->ignore($user->id)
• Validate nested arrays: items.*.sku, addresses.home.city
• Prefer nullable + specific rules instead of sometimes for optional fields
• Standardize attribute names / messages via attributes() and messages()
• Centralize common rules in custom Rule classes or traits
• Return $request->safe()->only([...]) when partial updates are intended

Laravel 13+

// Strict mode: reject undeclared input fields
use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Attributes\FailOnUnknownFields;

#[FailOnUnknownFields]
class StoreUserRequest extends FormRequest { /* ... */ }

// Or globally (AppServiceProvider) — strict in non-production
FormRequest::failOnUnknownFields(! app()->isProduction());

// Validate arbitrary JSON payloads against a schema
use Illuminate\JsonSchema\Types\Type;

$request->validate([
    'data' => [Rule::jsonSchema(Type::object([
        'name' => Type::string()->required(),
        'age'  => Type::integer()->min(0),
    ]))],
]);

// Typed enum handling for optional input
$request->whenFilledEnum('status', Status::class, fn (Status $status) => /* ... */);

• Enable strict mode in dev/CI to catch typos and payload drift early; keep production lenient unless the API contract is strict

Testing

• Feature test the endpoint: assert validation errors and success flows
• Unit test custom validators and rule objects in isolation