RequestBody

Extract and manipulate parameters from request body supporting JSON, form-data, multipart, and any HTTP method

Overview

The RequestBody helper extracts and manipulates parameters from a Laravel Request body. It supports JSON, form-data, multipart, raw body content, and works with any HTTP method (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, etc.). It excludes query parameters and route parameters by default.

Class Reference

use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Helpers\RequestBody;

Methods

get()

Extract parameters from request body without query params or route params.

public static function get(
    Request $request,
    string|array|null $keys = null,
    array $options = []
): mixed

request · Request · required

The Laravel Request instance

keys · string|array|null · default: "null"

• null: Return all body parameters
• string: Return single parameter (supports dot notation)
• array: Return multiple parameters

options · array · default: "[]"

Configuration options:

Show Available Options

default · mixed · default: "null"

Default value when key not found

only · array|null · default: "null"

Only include specified keys

except · array · default: "[]"

Exclude specified keys

trim_strings · bool · default: "true"

Trim whitespace from string values

empty_to_null · bool · default: "false"

Convert empty strings to null

drop_internal · bool · default: "true"

Remove Laravel internal fields (_token, _method)

casts · array · default: "[]"

Type casting rules (e.g., [‘age’ => ‘int’, ‘active’ => ‘bool’])

strict · bool · default: "false"

Throw exception if required keys are missing

return · mixed

• Returns array when keys is null or array
• Returns mixed when keys is a string

Example Usage

use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Helpers\RequestBody;

// Get all body parameters
$body = RequestBody::get($request);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]']

// Get single parameter
$email = RequestBody::get($request, 'email');
// '[e-mail]'

// Get nested parameter with dot notation
$city = RequestBody::get($request, 'user.address.city');
// 'New York'

// Get multiple parameters
$data = RequestBody::get($request, ['name', 'email']);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]']

// With default value
$phone = RequestBody::get($request, 'phone', ['default' => 'N/A']);
// 'N/A' (if phone not in body)

// With type casting
$age = RequestBody::get($request, 'age', ['casts' => ['age' => 'int']]);
// 25 (as integer)

---

all()

Explicit alias to get all parameters from request body.

public static function all(Request $request, array $options = []): array

request · Request · required

The Laravel Request instance

options · array · default: "[]"

Configuration options (same as get() method)

return · array

All body parameters as an associative array

Example Usage

$body = RequestBody::all($request);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]', 'age' => '25']

// With trimming and empty to null
$body = RequestBody::all($request, [
    'trim_strings' => true,
    'empty_to_null' => true,
]);

---

only()

Get a single parameter with default value.

public static function only(
    Request $request,
    string $key,
    mixed $default = null,
    array $options = []
): mixed

request · Request · required

The Laravel Request instance

key · string · required

The parameter key (supports dot notation)

default · mixed · default: "null"

Default value if key not found

options · array · default: "[]"

Additional configuration options

return · mixed

The parameter value or default

Example Usage

$email = RequestBody::only($request, 'email', '[e-mail]');
// '[e-mail]' or '[e-mail]' if not found

$status = RequestBody::only($request, 'status', 'pending', [
    'casts' => ['status' => 'string']
]);

---

pick()

Get multiple specific parameters.

public static function pick(
    Request $request,
    array $keys,
    array $options = []
): array

request · Request · required

The Laravel Request instance

keys · array · required

Array of keys to extract (supports dot notation)

options · array · default: "[]"

Configuration options

return · array

Associative array with only specified keys

Example Usage

$data = RequestBody::pick($request, ['name', 'email', 'phone']);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]', 'phone' => '555-1234']

// With nested keys
$data = RequestBody::pick($request, [
    'user.name',
    'user.email',
    'settings.theme'
]);

---

require()

Validate that required keys exist and return them (throws exception if missing).

public static function require(
    Request $request,
    array $requiredKeys,
    array $options = []
): array

request · Request · required

The Laravel Request instance

requiredKeys · array · required

Array of required keys (supports dot notation)

options · array · default: "[]"

Configuration options

return · array

Associative array with required keys

throws · \InvalidArgumentException

Thrown when one or more required keys are missing

Example Usage

try {
    $data = RequestBody::require($request, ['name', 'email', 'password']);
    // ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]', 'password' => 'secret']
    
    User::create($data);
    
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    // Exception message: "Missing required body parameters: password"
    return response()->json(['error' => $e->getMessage()], 422);
}

---

Type Casting

The casts option supports automatic type conversion:

Supported Cast Types

int, integer · cast

Convert to integer

float, double, decimal · cast

Convert to float

bool, boolean · cast

Convert to boolean

string · cast

Convert to string

array · cast

Convert to array

json · cast

Parse JSON string to array

date · cast

Convert to Carbon date instance

date:format · cast

Convert to Carbon using specific format (e.g., date:Y-m-d)

callable · cast

Custom transformation function

Type Casting Examples

$data = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'casts' => [
        'age' => 'int',
        'price' => 'float',
        'active' => 'bool',
        'tags' => 'array',
        'metadata' => 'json',
        'birth_date' => 'date:Y-m-d',
        'created_at' => 'date',
        'name' => fn($v) => strtoupper($v), // Custom cast
    ]
]);

// Input body:
// {
//   "age": "25",
//   "price": "19.99",
//   "active": "true",
//   "tags": "tag1,tag2",
//   "metadata": "{\"key\":\"value\"}",
//   "birth_date": "1998-05-15",
//   "created_at": "2024-01-15 10:30:00",
//   "name": "john"
// }

// Result:
// [
//   'age' => 25,                           // int
//   'price' => 19.99,                      // float
//   'active' => true,                      // bool
//   'tags' => ['tag1', 'tag2'],            // array
//   'metadata' => ['key' => 'value'],      // decoded JSON
//   'birth_date' => Carbon instance,       // Carbon date
//   'created_at' => Carbon instance,       // Carbon date
//   'name' => 'JOHN'                       // custom cast
// ]

---

Filtering Options

Only Specific Keys

$body = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'only' => ['name', 'email', 'phone']
]);
// Only includes name, email, and phone (ignores all others)

Exclude Keys

$body = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'except' => ['password', 'secret_key']
]);
// Includes everything except password and secret_key

Drop Internal Fields

// By default, _token and _method are removed
$body = RequestBody::get($request);

// To keep internal fields:
$body = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'drop_internal' => false
]);

---

String Normalization

Trim Strings

$body = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'trim_strings' => true  // Default
]);
// '  John  ' becomes 'John'

Empty to Null

$body = RequestBody::get($request, null, [
    'empty_to_null' => true
]);
// '' (empty string) becomes null

---

Supported Content Types

JSON (application/json)

// POST /api/users
// Content-Type: application/json
// {"name": "John", "email": "[e-mail]"}

$body = RequestBody::get($request);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]']

Form Data (application/x-www-form-urlencoded)

// POST /api/users
// Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
// name=John&email=[e-mail]

$body = RequestBody::get($request);
// ['name' => 'John', 'email' => '[e-mail]']

Multipart (multipart/form-data)

// POST /api/users
// Content-Type: multipart/form-data

$body = RequestBody::get($request);
// Excludes uploaded files by default

Raw Content

// Works with raw request body content
// Automatically detects JSON, URL-encoded, or key=value formats

---

Complete Example

use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Helpers\RequestBody;

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        // Extract required fields with type casting
        try {
            $data = RequestBody::require($request, ['name', 'email', 'age'], [
                'casts' => [
                    'age' => 'int',
                    'active' => 'bool',
                ],
                'trim_strings' => true,
                'empty_to_null' => true,
            ]);
            
            // Create user with validated data
            $user = User::create($data);
            
            return response()->json($user, 201);
            
        } catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
            return response()->json([
                'error' => 'Validation failed',
                'message' => $e->getMessage(),
            ], 422);
        }
    }
    
    public function update(Request $request, $id)
    {
        // Get only specific fields
        $data = RequestBody::pick($request, ['name', 'email', 'bio'], [
            'trim_strings' => true,
            'except' => ['id', 'created_at', 'updated_at'],
        ]);
        
        $user = User::findOrFail($id);
        $user->update($data);
        
        return response()->json($user);
    }
}