Laravel request validation: Missing array values after POST request from input[type="checkbox"] fields

readme.md

Problem:

Browsers don't submit any value for checkboxes that are unchecked.

If you have optional checkboxes the request will validate using $data = $request->validate($rules) but any checkbox field is missing from the returned $data array. This means you still have to check if the index exists in the $data array as trying to access the field will throw an exception.

Solution

Set a default value for each optional checkbox fields before validation.

Controller.php

function post(Request $request)
{
  $rules = [
    'items' => 'nullable|array'
  ];
  
  // set default value for optional array fields
  $request->merge(['items' => $request->input('items', [])]);

  // validate as usual
  $data = $request->validate($rules);

  // no need to check for index
  if ($data['items']) {
    // do stuff with array entries
  }
}