How to require array in Laravel validation and prevent getting unexpected keys

Question

I want to set require validation for array of objects in laravel and used following rule:

[
    'translations.*.languageId' => ['required', 'numeric', Rule::in(Language::all()->pluck('id'))],
    'translations.*.data.title' => 'required|string',
]

but there is problem when i send request without translations key the validate function does not throw require error for translation key.

so i add translations key separately too.

[
    'translations' => ['required', 'array'],
    'translations.*.languageId' => ['required', 'numeric', Rule::in(Language::all()->pluck('id'))],
    'translations.*.data.title' => 'required|string',
]

But there is a problem if an extra key is sent that should not be in the translations array (like locale), it can still be seen in the output of the validate function.

how can i prevent this unexpected result?

take a look here, does it solve your problem? stackoverflow.com/questions/66114290/… — Zia Yamin
– Zia Yamin, Commented Feb 24, 2021 at 11:54

Mahdi Aslami Khavari · Accepted Answer · 2021-02-24 14:16:09Z

0

As taylorotwell answered my issue and close it there is no way to validator do this filter.

Filter the array to only have the items you actually want after validation.

answered Feb 24, 2021 at 14:16

Mahdi Aslami Khavari

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Catalysiar · Accepted Answer · 2025-11-30 14:30:59Z

The validated() method returns data for every key that has a validation rule applied to it. Since you have a rule for 'translations', the entire translations array is returned, including any extra keys that you didn't explicitly validate.

To solve this, make your validation rules stricter by telling Laravel exactly which keys are allowed within your arrays.

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Validation\Rule;
use App\Models\Language; 

$validated = $request->validate([
    'translations'                => ['required', 'array', 'min:1'],
    'translations.*'              => ['required', 'array:languageId,data'],
    'translations.*.languageId'   => ['required', 'numeric', Rule::in(Language::all()->pluck('id'))],

    'translations.*.data'         => ['required', 'array:title'],
    'translations.*.data.title'   => ['required', 'string', 'max:255'],
]);

A Tip:

Your use of Rule::in(Language::all()->pluck('id')) will query the database on every single request. For better performance, it's highly recommended to use the exists rule, which is much more efficient:

Replace this: 'translations.*.languageId' => ['required', 'numeric', Rule::in(Language::all()->pluck('id'))],

With this: 'translations.*.languageId' => ['required', 'numeric', 'exists:languages,id'],

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