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The Response class handles HTTP responses, manages headers, sets response codes, and formats output for different content types including JSON, HTML, XML, and more.

​
Accessing the response

Access the response instance: 
$response = app()->response;

​
Content type constants

The Response class provides constants for common content types: 
Response::JSON  // 'json'
Response::HTML  // 'html'
Response::XML   // 'xml'
Response::CSS   // 'css'
Response::JS    // 'js'
Response::TXT   // 'txt'
Response::CSV   // 'csv'
Response::PDF   // 'pdf'
Response::PNG   // 'png'
Response::JPG   // 'jpg'
Response::GIF   // 'gif'
Response::SVG   // 'svg'
Response::ICO   // 'ico'

​
Sending responses

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type()

Output data with a specific content type and response code. 
// JSON response
return app()->response->type(['message' => 'Success'], 200, Response::JSON);

// HTML response
return app()->response->type('<h1>Hello World</h1>', 200, Response::HTML);

// Custom status code
return app()->response->type(['error' => 'Not Found'], 404, Response::JSON);
​
data
mixed
required
Data to output (array, string, object, etc.)
​
code
int
default:"null"
HTTP status code (defaults to 200)
​
type
string
default:"Response::HTML"
Content type constant
​
return
mixed
Returns formatted output based on type

​
Headers

​
addHeaders()

Add headers to the response. 
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
    'X-Custom-Header' => 'Custom Value',
    'Cache-Control' => 'no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate'
]);
​
headers
array
default:"[]"
Associative array of headers to add
​
return
Response
Returns Response instance for method chaining

​
removeHeaders()

Remove specific headers from the response. 
app()->response->removeHeaders(['Content-type', 'X-Custom-Header']);
​
headers
array
default:"[]"
Array of header names to remove
​
return
Response
Returns Response instance for method chaining

​
getHeaders()

Get all headers that will be sent with the response. 
$headers = app()->response->getHeaders();
​
return
array
Returns array of headers

​
sendHeaders()

Send all headers and response code. 
app()->response
    ->addHeaders(['X-API-Version' => '1.0'])
    ->withResponseCode(200)
    ->sendHeaders();
​
return
void
Sends headers and sets HTTP response code

​
assignHeadersToResponse()

Assign headers to the response without sending them. 
app()->response->assignHeadersToResponse();
​
headers
array
default:"[]"
Optional array of headers (not used in current implementation)
​
return
Response
Returns Response instance for method chaining

​
Status codes

​
withResponseCode()

Set the HTTP response code. 
app()->response->withResponseCode(201); // Created
app()->response->withResponseCode(404); // Not Found
app()->response->withResponseCode(500); // Internal Server Error
​
code
int
required
HTTP status code
​
return
void
Sets the response code

​
Examples

​
JSON API responses

class ApiController extends Controller
{
    public function success($data, $message = 'Success')
    {
        return app()->response->type([
            'success' => true,
            'message' => $message,
            'data' => $data
        ], 200, Response::JSON);
    }

    public function error($message, $code = 400)
    {
        return app()->response->type([
            'success' => false,
            'message' => $message
        ], $code, Response::JSON);
    }

    public function notFound()
    {
        return app()->response->type([
            'error' => 'Resource not found'
        ], 404, Response::JSON);
    }
}

​
RESTful responses

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $users = User::find(['active', '=', true]);
        return app()->response->type($users, 200, Response::JSON);
    }

    public function store()
    {
        $data = app()->request->getPayload();
        $user = User::create($data);
        
        return app()->response->type([
            'message' => 'User created successfully',
            'user' => $user
        ], 201, Response::JSON);
    }

    public function update($id)
    {
        $user = User::find($id);
        if (!$user) {
            return app()->response->type(
                ['error' => 'User not found'], 
                404, 
                Response::JSON
            );
        }

        $data = app()->request->getPayload();
        $user->update($data)->commit();
        
        return app()->response->type($user, 200, Response::JSON);
    }

    public function destroy($id)
    {
        User::delete([['id', '=', $id]])->commit();
        return app()->response->type(
            ['message' => 'User deleted'], 
            200, 
            Response::JSON
        );
    }
}

​
Custom headers

// CORS headers
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' => '*',
    'Access-Control-Allow-Methods' => 'GET, POST, PUT, DELETE',
    'Access-Control-Allow-Headers' => 'Content-Type, Authorization'
]);

// Cache control
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'Cache-Control' => 'public, max-age=3600',
    'Expires' => gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + 3600) . ' GMT'
]);

// Security headers
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'X-Content-Type-Options' => 'nosniff',
    'X-Frame-Options' => 'DENY',
    'X-XSS-Protection' => '1; mode=block',
    'Strict-Transport-Security' => 'max-age=31536000'
]);

​
Different content types

// XML response
$xml = '<?xml version="1.0"?><users><user>John</user></users>';
return app()->response->type($xml, 200, Response::XML);

// Plain text
return app()->response->type('Hello World', 200, Response::TXT);

// CSV download
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'Content-Disposition' => 'attachment; filename="users.csv"'
]);
return app()->response->type($csvData, 200, Response::CSV);

// PDF response
app()->response->addHeaders([
    'Content-Disposition' => 'inline; filename="document.pdf"'
]);
return app()->response->type($pdfContent, 200, Response::PDF);

​
Conditional responses

class FileController extends Controller
{
    public function download($id)
    {
        $file = File::find($id);
        
        if (!$file) {
            return app()->response->type(
                ['error' => 'File not found'], 
                404, 
                Response::JSON
            );
        }

        $type = match($file->extension) {
            'pdf' => Response::PDF,
            'jpg', 'jpeg' => Response::JPG,
            'png' => Response::PNG,
            'json' => Response::JSON,
            default => Response::TXT
        };

        app()->response->addHeaders([
            'Content-Disposition' => "attachment; filename=\"{$file->name}\""
        ]);

        return app()->response->type($file->content, 200, $type);
    }
}

​
API versioning with headers

class ApiController extends Controller
{
    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();
        
        app()->response->addHeaders([
            'X-API-Version' => '2.0',
            'X-RateLimit-Limit' => '100',
            'X-RateLimit-Remaining' => '95'
        ]);
    }

    public function index()
    {
        return app()->response->type([
            'version' => '2.0',
            'endpoints' => ['/users', '/posts', '/comments']
        ], 200, Response::JSON);
    }
}

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