Laravel Validation Rules: Common Use Cases

Laravel provides a robust validation system to ensure that user input and data meet your application's requirements. In this guide, we'll delve into some common use cases for Laravel validation rules, helping you validate and sanitize data effectively in your Laravel applications.

1. Required Fields

Ensure a field is present in the input data:

        
'title' => 'required'
    

2. Numeric Fields

Validate that a field contains only numeric values:

        
'age' => 'numeric'
    

3. Email Validation

Validate that a field is a valid email address:

        
'email' => 'email'
    

4. URL Validation

Ensure that a field is a valid URL:

        
'website' => 'url'
    

5. Minimum and Maximum Length

Set minimum and maximum lengths for a field:

        
'password' => 'min:6|max:20'
    

6. Unique Values

Ensure that a value is unique in a specific database table:

        
'username' => 'unique:users'
    

7. Accepted Values

Check if a field's value is "yes," "on," "1," or "true" (useful for checkbox values):

        
'agreement' => 'accepted'
    

8. Custom Validation Rules

Create your custom validation rules for specific cases:

        
'custom_field' => 'custom_rule'
    

9. Conditional Validation

Apply validation rules based on conditions:

        
'password' => 'required_if:registration,true'
    

10. Custom Error Messages

Provide custom error messages for specific validation rules:

        
'email' => 'email|unique:users,email_address|required',
'email.unique' => 'This email is already in use.'
    

11. Conclusion

Laravel validation rules are essential for maintaining data integrity and security in your applications. By mastering these common use cases, you'll be able to validate user input effectively and provide a better user experience.

For further learning, consult the official Laravel documentation to explore advanced validation techniques, custom validation extensions, and form request validation for more complex scenarios.