How to Validate Arrays in Laravel: Empty Submissions and Best Practices?

Validating Arrays in Laravel

When attempting to validate an array in Laravel using the following code:

$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
    "name.*" => 'required|distinct|min:3',
    "amount.*" => 'required|integer|min:1',
    "description.*" => "required|string"
]);

You may encounter an unexpected scenario where an empty POST submission is mistakenly recognized as valid, resulting in a false positive.

This confusion arises because the asterisk symbol (*) in the code is intended to validate the values within the array, not the array itself. To address this, the validation rules should be modified to check for the presence of the array:

$validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
    "names"    => "required|array|min:3",
    "names.*"  => "required|string|distinct|min:3",
]);

In this adjusted code:

• "names" ensures that the "names" key in the POST data is present and contains an array.
• "names.*" then validates the individual values within the "names" array, ensuring they are required, unique strings with a minimum length of 3 characters.

Since Laravel 5.5, a simplified approach can be employed:

$data = $request->validate([
    "names"    => "required|array|min:3",
    "names.*"  => "required|string|distinct|min:3",
]);

This compact syntax directly performs validation on the Request object, eliminating the need for the $validator intermediary.

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