What is the "required_without" validation rule in Laravel?

The required_without rule is used for form validation in Laravel. This rule is similar to frontend checks that mark form input fields as required.

Usage of the required_without validation rule

The required_without validation rule can be seen as an OR in a query language statement, in which execution continues if any condition is met.

The code below shows how to use the required_without validation rule:

APP_NAME=Laravel
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_URL=http://localhost

LOG_CHANNEL=stack
LOG_DEPRECATIONS_CHANNEL=null
LOG_LEVEL=debug

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

BROADCAST_DRIVER=log
CACHE_DRIVER=file
FILESYSTEM_DRIVER=local
QUEUE_CONNECTION=sync
SESSION_DRIVER=file
SESSION_LIFETIME=120

MEMCACHED_HOST=127.0.0.1

REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PASSWORD=null
REDIS_PORT=6379

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailhog
MAIL_PORT=1025
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=null
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=null
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
AWS_BUCKET=
AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT=false

PUSHER_APP_ID=
PUSHER_APP_KEY=
PUSHER_APP_SECRET=
PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER=mt1

MIX_PUSHER_APP_KEY="${PUSHER_APP_KEY}"
MIX_PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER="${PUSHER_APP_CLUSTER}"
Code example for required_without validation rule

Explanation

On lines 12-13, we set first_name as required_without:last_name and last_name as required_without:first_name. It includes three validation cases:

  • If the first_name field is filled and the last_name field is empty, then execution continues.

  • If the first_name field is empty and the last_name field is filled, the execution again continues.

  • There is only an error when both the first_name and last_name fields are empty.

In Laravel, the required_without validation rule is used to ensure that a field is required if none of the other specified fields are filled. It allows us to define dependencies between fields, indicating that a particular field must be filled when other related fields are empty.

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