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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.

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Class Reference

use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Helpers\RequestBody;

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Methods

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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
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request
Request
required
The Laravel Request instance
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keys
string|array|null
default:"null"
  • null: Return all body parameters
  • string: Return single parameter (supports dot notation)
  • array: Return multiple parameters
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options
array
default:"[]"
Configuration options:
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return
mixed
  • Returns array when keys is null or array
  • Returns mixed when keys is a string

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Example Usage

use Ronu\RestGenericClass\Core\Helpers\RequestBody;

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

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

// 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' => '[email protected]']

// 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)

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all()

Explicit alias to get all parameters from request body. 
public static function all(Request $request, array $options = []): array
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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

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Example Usage

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

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

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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
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return
mixed
The parameter value or default

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Example Usage

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

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

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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

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Example Usage

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

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

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require()

Validate that required keys exist and return them (throws exception if missing). 
public static function require(
    Request $request,
    array $requiredKeys,
    array $options = []
): array
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request
Request
required
The Laravel Request instance
​
requiredKeys
array
required
Array of required keys (supports dot notation)
​
options
array
default:"[]"
Configuration options
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return
array
Associative array with required keys
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throws
\InvalidArgumentException
Thrown when one or more required keys are missing

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Example Usage

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

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Type Casting

The casts option supports automatic type conversion:

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Supported Cast Types

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int, integer
cast
Convert to integer
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float, double, decimal
cast
Convert to float
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bool, boolean
cast
Convert to boolean
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string
cast
Convert to string
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array
cast
Convert to array
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json
cast
Parse JSON string to array
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date
cast
Convert to Carbon date instance
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date:format
cast
Convert to Carbon using specific format (e.g., date:Y-m-d)
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callable
cast
Custom transformation function

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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
// ]

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Filtering Options

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Only Specific Keys

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

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Exclude Keys

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

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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
]);

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String Normalization

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Trim Strings

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

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Empty to Null

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

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Supported Content Types

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JSON (application/json)

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

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

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

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

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

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Multipart (multipart/form-data)

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

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

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Raw Content

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

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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);
    }
}

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