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Package for Laravel Laravel Client Validation
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Validation Rules

Understand which Laravel validation rules run fully in the browser, which rules remain server-backed, and how to document edge cases.

On this page

Laravel Client Validation currently ships broad client-side coverage and a smaller set of explicitly remote rules. Use this page as the working overview when deciding whether a rule can stay in the browser or must hit the backend.

Rule parity at a glance

  • Client-side rules: 104
  • Remote rules: 5 primary rules handled through AJAX
  • Rule source lists: config/client-validation.php, resources/js/core/rules, and resources/js/core/RuleRegistry.js

Common client-side categories

Core and string rules

Rule Purpose Data types Example
required Reject empty input string, array, file required
email Validate email format string `required
alpha_dash Allow letters, numbers, dashes, underscores string `required
contains:value Require a substring string contains:@company.com
uuid:4 Validate UUID format and version string `required

Numeric and size rules

Rule Purpose Data types Example
numeric Accept numeric values string, number `required
integer:strict Enforce integer-only values number, numeric string `integer:strict
between:min,max Constrain range or length string, array, numeric between:3,10
multiple_of:value Enforce divisibility number multiple_of:5
digits_between:min,max Validate exact digit count range numeric string digits_between:6,8

Comparison and conditional rules

Rule Purpose Data types Example
confirmed Match a confirmation field string `required
same:field Match another field value mixed same:billing_email
required_if:field,value Require when another field matches mixed required_if:role,admin
required_without:field Require when another field is missing mixed required_without:phone
prohibits:field Prevent conflicting fields mixed prohibits:coupon_code

Date, network, and file rules

Rule Purpose Data types Example
date_format:format Match a Laravel-style date format string date_format:Y-m-d
after:today Compare against a relative date string `date
ip / ipv4 / ipv6 Validate network values string `required
image Restrict uploaded files to images file `file
dimensions:... Inspect image width or height image file dimensions:min_width=640,min_height=480

Remote rules

Remote rules are intentionally delegated to the server because they depend on application state or backend facilities.

Rule Why it stays remote Typical example
unique Needs database access unique:users,email
exists Needs database access exists:roles,id
password Needs current auth context password
current_password Needs current auth context current_password
encoding Needs backend encoding checks encoding:UTF-8

If a remote rule never fires, check troubleshooting for route, CSRF, or timeout issues.

Usage examples

Typical account form

<input name="name" @validateBlur('name', 'required|string|min:2|max:50')>
<input name="email" @validateLive('email', 'required|email|unique:users,email')>
<input name="password" @validateSubmit('password', 'required|min:8|confirmed')>

Array, date, and file examples

<input name="timezone" @rules('timezone', 'required|timezone')>
<input name="launch_date" @rules('launch_date', 'required|date|after_or_equal:today')>
<input type="file" name="avatar" @rules('avatar', 'file|image|mimes:jpg,png|dimensions:min_width=256,min_height=256')>

Edge cases and expected behavior

  • nullable allows empty input but does not skip other rules when the value is non-empty.
  • Rules that compare against sibling fields, such as same, different, gt, or required_if, depend on the form data already being available to the validator.
  • Remote rules still need normal Laravel validation messages and backend authorization to be correct.
  • File rules depend on browser-provided File objects, so they should be tested in a real browser flow rather than only in isolated unit tests.

Message placeholders

Default browser messages use the same placeholder vocabulary Laravel developers expect, such as :attribute, :min, :max, :other, and :values.

'messages' => [
    'required' => 'The :attribute field is required.',
    'min' => 'The :attribute must be at least :min characters.',
    'unique' => 'The :attribute has already been taken.',
],

When documenting a new rule

  • Explain the rule purpose in one sentence.
  • Include a realistic Laravel rule string.
  • Call out the supported value types.
  • Document edge cases, especially for remote or cross-field rules.
  • Show at least one example validation message.

Last updated

Built 2026-05-15T19:16:44+00:00

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