Laravel Form Requests provide a clean and organized way to handle validation. 1. They separate validation logic from controllers, improving code organization. 2. Validation rules are defined in the rules() method of a custom request class. 3. Authorization logic is handled in the authorize() method. 4. Reusability across controllers is enabled by type-hinting the Form Request in controller methods. 5. Laravel automatically returns appropriate error responses, making them ideal for APIs.

When you need to handle form validation in Laravel, using Form Requests is a clean and organized way to keep your controllers slim while encapsulating all the validation logic in one place. It’s especially useful when dealing with complex forms or reusing validation across multiple endpoints.

What Are Laravel Form Requests?

Laravel Form Requests are custom request classes that contain validation rules and authorization logic for handling incoming HTTP requests. Instead of writing validation directly inside your controller methods, you move it into a dedicated class, usually stored in the app/Http/Requests directory.

This approach has several benefits:

• Separation of concerns – Keeps your controllers focused on handling business logic.
• Reusability – You can reuse the same validation logic across multiple controllers.
• Readability – Validation rules are neatly grouped and easy to understand.

To create a Form Request, run:

php artisan make:request StorePostRequest

This will generate a new file under app/Http/Requests/StorePostRequest.php.

How to Define Validation Rules

Inside your Form Request class, you'll find the rules() method. This is where you define your validation logic using Laravel's familiar validation syntax.

For example, let's say you're building a blog and want to validate data before creating a post:

public function rules()
{
    return [
        'title' => 'required|string|max:255',
        'content' => 'required|string',
        'category_id' => 'required|exists:categories,id',
    ];
}

A few things to note here:

• Each rule is associated with a form input name.
• You can use array-based rules if needed, like checking multiple values.
• Laravel automatically returns a JSON response with errors if validation fails—perfect for APIs.

Also, you can conditionally apply rules based on the request data. For instance:

'publish_date' => $this->input('is_scheduled') ? 'required|date' : 'nullable',

Authorization Logic Inside Form Requests

Form Requests also provide an authorize() method where you can check whether the current user has permission to perform the action.

Here's a basic example:

public function authorize()
{
    // Only allow authenticated users to submit this form
    return auth()->check();
}

If you have more granular permissions, such as only allowing admins to update certain fields, you can do that too:

return $this->user()->can('update-post', Post::find($this->route('id')));

Just remember, if authorize() returns false, Laravel will automatically respond with a 403 Forbidden status.

Using Your Form Request in Controllers

Once your Form Request is ready, you simply type-hint it in your controller method:

use App\Http\Requests\StorePostRequest;

public function store(StorePostRequest $request)
{
    // At this point, the request has already been validated
    Post::create($request->validated());

    return redirect()->route('posts.index');
}

Because Laravel automatically handles the validation process, you don't need to manually check $request->validate() or deal with error responses.

And if you're working with APIs, the response format will be JSON by default when validation fails, making it ideal for SPA or mobile app backends.

That's how you implement validation logic using Laravel Form Requests. It keeps things clean, reusable, and tightly integrated with Laravel's ecosystem. Not complicated, but definitely powerful once you get used to it.

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