arefshojaei/class-validator

PHP Class validator ( Attribute base ) library

1.4.4 2026-06-16 15:20 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.2

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^10

MIT

• ArefShojaei

Published on Packagist.org on 2026-06-16 15:20 UTC

README

🛡️ Class Validator for PHP

A lightweight, powerful, and modern PHP 8.2+ validation library that uses Attributes to define validation rules directly inside your classes.

✨ Features

• 🏷️ Attribute-based validation using native PHP 8 attributes
• 🧩 Validate entire objects and class properties
• 📝 Custom error messages for every validation rule
• ⚡ Static validation methods for quick checks
• 📦 Simple Composer installation
• 🪶 Lightweight with zero unnecessary dependencies
• 🔒 Strongly typed and modern PHP syntax
• 🛠️ Easy to extend with custom validation rules

📥 Installation

Install using Composer

composer require arefshojaei/class-validator

Clone from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/ArefShojaei/Class-validator.git
cd Class-validator

🚀 Quick Start

1. Create a DTO or Entity with Validation Attributes

<?php

use Validator\Rules\{
    Required,
    IsEmail,
    IsNumber,
    IsPositive,
    IsString,
    Length
};

class User
{
    #[IsString]
    #[Required]
    #[Length(min: 2, max: 50)]
    public string $name;

    #[Required]
    #[IsEmail]
    public string $email;

    #[Required]
    #[IsNumber]
    #[IsPositive]
    public int $age;
}

2. Validate the Object

use Validator\Validator;

$user = new User();

$user->name = "Aref";
$user->email = "invalid-email";
$user->age = 31;

$validator = new Validator();

$isValid = $validator->validate($user);

if (!$isValid) {
    print_r($validator->getErrors());
}

Output:

Array
(
    [email] => Array
        (
            [IsEmail] => Invalid Email address!
        )
)

🧩 Available Validation Rules

String Rules

Rule	Description
IsString	Checks if the value is a string
Length	Validates minimum and maximum string length
Min	Checks minimum string length
Max	Checks maximum string length
IsLowercase	Checks lowercase strings
IsUppercase	Checks uppercase strings
Equals	Checks exact equality
NotEquals	Checks inequality

Number Rules

Rule	Description
IsNumber	Checks if the value is a number
IsPositive	Checks positive numbers
IsNegative	Checks negative numbers

Collection Rules

Rule	Description
IsArray	Validates arrays
Count	Checks array size
Contains	Checks if an array contains values
NotContains	Checks if an array does not contain values
Unique	Ensures all array values are unique

Type & State Rules

Rule	Description
Required	Checks whether a property exists
IsNull	Checks null values
IsNotEmpty	Checks that the value is not empty
IsEmpty	Checks empty values
IsBoolean	Validates booleans
IsObject	Validates objects
IsInstance	Checks object instance type

Format Rules

Rule	Description
IsEmail	Validates email addresses
IsUrl	Validates URLs
IsDate	Validates date formats
IsJSON	Validates JSON strings
IsIn	Checks allowed values
IsNotIn	Checks forbidden values

🎨 Custom Error Messages

Override default validation messages:

use Validator\Rules\Required;
use Validator\Rules\IsEmail;

class User
{
    #[Required(message: "Name is required.")]
    public string $name;

    #[Required(message: "Email is required.")]
    #[IsEmail(message: "Please enter a valid email address.")]
    public string $email;
}

⚡ Static Validation

Use validation rules without creating a class:

use Validator\Validator;

Validator::isEmail("[e-mail]");
// true

Validator::isEmail("invalid-email");
// "Invalid Email address!"

Validator::length("Hello", 10, 20);
// "The value must have the specified length!"

💡 Example Use Cases

This library is useful for:

• Request DTO validation
• API input validation
• Configuration validation
• Domain entities validation
• Form data validation
• Command-line input validation

🔥 Why Class Validator?

Unlike traditional validation approaches that separate rules from data, Class Validator keeps validation rules close to your class properties using PHP Attributes.

This provides:

• Better readability
• Cleaner architecture
• Less duplicated code
• Better IDE support
• More maintainable applications

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch:

git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

1. Commit your changes:

git commit -m "Add amazing feature"

1. Push your branch:

git push origin feature/amazing-feature

1. Open a Pull Request.

👨‍💻 Author

Aref Shojaei

• 📧 Email: [e-mail]
• 🐙 GitHub: @ArefShojaei
• 📦 Packagist: arefshojaei/class-validator

⭐ Show Your Support

If this project helps your PHP development workflow, consider giving it a Star ⭐ on GitHub.

Your support helps the project grow.