hasan-22/generate_validation

A Laravel package to automatically generate validation rules from models.

v1.2.0 2026-06-05 06:12 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.0

Requires (Dev)

• orchestra/testbench: ^7.0|^8.0

MIT

• Hasan

• generator
• validation
• rules
• laravel

README

Generate validation 📝

A Laravel package to automatically generate validation rules from models.

✨ Features

• Generate Rules Automatically: Creates comprehensive validation rules for your models based on their database schema.
• Separate Store & Update Rules: Generates distinct rule sets for store (create) and update operations, handling nuances like required vs. nullable fields.
• Ignore Specific Columns: Skip certain columns when generating validation rules by passing them as an argument to the Artisan command.
• Override with Custom Rules: Define your own validation rules for specific models and columns in the configuration file, overriding the default auto-generated ones.

🚀 Installation

You can install the package via Composer:

composer require hasan-22/generate_validation

📖 Usage

1. Generating a Form Request

• First, create the migration.

• Then, create the model.

• Finally, run the Artisan command.

For example, we want to generate validation for the Post model.

First, create the migration and model using this command:

php artisan make:model Post -m

This is our Post migration

<?php

use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration
{
    /**
     * Run the migrations.
     */
    public function up(): void
    {
        Schema::create('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
            $table->string('title')->unique();
            $table->text('content');
            $table->string('image');
            $table->enum('status', ['draft', 'published', 'archived'])->default('draft');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    /**
     * Reverse the migrations.
     */
    public function down(): void
    {
        Schema::dropIfExists('posts');
    }
};

This is our Post model

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    //
}

And now run this command for generate the validations:

Options explained:

• --namespace : Set a custom namespace for the generated request class. Default is App\Http\Requests.
• --name : Set a custom name for the request class. Default is {ModelName}Request.
• --model-path : Set a custom path for the model class. Default is App\Models\{ModelName}.
• --ignore : Ignore specific columns when generating validation rules.
• --type : Specify which rules to generate (store, update, or all). Default is all.
• --rules-only : Output the generated rules to the console without saving to a file.

```bash 

# Generate all validations for the Post model
php artisan make:validation Post 

# To ignore some columns (e.g., title and content):
php artisan make:validation Post --ignore=title,content

# Outputs the generated validation rules without saving them to a file:
php artisan make:validation Post --rules-only

# Generates validation rules only for the specified type (store, update, or all). Default is all:
php artisan make:validation Post --type store

# Specify a custom namespace for the generated request class:
php artisan make:validation Post --namespace=App\Http\Requests\Admin

# Specify a custom name for the generated request class:
php artisan make:validation Post --name=CustomPostRequest

# Specify a custom model path if your model is not in the default location:
php artisan make:validation Post --model-path=App\Models\Admin\Post

# Combine options for advanced usage:
php artisan make:validation Post --ignore=title,content --type=update --namespace=App\Http\Requests\Admin --name=AdminPostRequest --model-path=App\Models\Admin\Post

# Display only the update rules for a model in a custom namespace, without saving to a file:
php artisan make:validation Post --type=update --rules-only --namespace=App\Http\Requests\Admin

Note: Note: The id column is always excluded from generated validation rules.

Note: This will create a new file at app/Http/Requests/PostRequest.php containing the generated rules.

This is the PostRequest.php file

<?php

namespace App\Http\Requests;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;

/**
 * Class PostRequest
 *
 * This Form Request class is used to validate incoming requests for the
 * Post model. It separates validation rules for "store" (create)
 * and "update" operations, ensuring data integrity.
 *
 * @package App\Http\Requests
 */
class PostRequest extends FormRequest
{
    /**
     * Determine if the user is authorized to make this request.
     *
     * In most cases, this should return true if the user is authenticated.
     * You can add custom authorization logic here if needed.
     *
     * @return bool
     */
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return true;
    }

    /**
     * Get the validation rules that apply to the request.
     *
     * This method dynamically returns a different set of rules based on the
     * HTTP method (POST for store, PUT/PATCH for update).
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function rules(): array
    {
        return $this->isMethod('POST') ? $this->forStore() : $this->forUpdate();
    }

    /**
     * Get the validation rules for a "store" (create) request.
     *
     * These rules are applied when creating a new Post resource.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    private function forStore(): array
    {
        return [
            // Generated rules for a new resource will be injected here.
            'user_id' => ['required', 'integer', 'min:0', 'max:18446744073709551615', 'exists:users,id'],
            'title' => ['unique:posts,title', 'required', 'string', 'max:255'],
            'content' => ['required', 'string', 'max:65535'],
            'image' => ['required', 'image', 'mimes:jpeg,png,jpg,gif,svg', 'max:2048'],
            'status' => ['required', 'in:draft,published,archived']
        ];
    }

    /**
     * Get the validation rules for an "update" request.
     *
     * These rules are applied when updating an existing Post resource.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function forUpdate(): array
    {
        return [
            // Generated rules for updating a resource will be injected here.
            'user_id' => ['required', 'integer', 'min:0', 'max:18446744073709551615', 'exists:users,id'],
            'title' => ['unique:posts,title,id', 'required', 'string', 'max:255'],
            'content' => ['required', 'string', 'max:65535'],
            'image' => ['nullable', 'image', 'mimes:jpeg,png,jpg,gif,svg', 'max:2048'],
            'status' => ['required', 'in:draft,published,archived']
        ];
    }
}

Note: Please review the created validation once to ensure that nothing is missing or excessive, and fix it if necessary.

2. Using the Form Request

You can now use this Form Request in your controller methods to automatically validate incoming requests.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Http\Requests\PostRequest;
use App\Models\Post;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Store a newly created resource in storage.
     *
     * @param  PostRequest  $request
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function store(PostRequest $request)
    {
        Post::create($request->all());

        return response()->json(['message' => 'Post created successfully!']);
    }
    
    /**
     * Update the specified resource in storage.
     *
     * @param  PostRequest  $request
     * @param  Post  $post
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function update(PostRequest $request, Post $post)
    {
        $post->update($request->all());

        return response()->json(['message' => 'Post updated successfully!']);
    }
}

⚙️ Configuration (Optional)

🎯 Custom Rules via Config

In addition to automatically generating rules based on your model's database schema, you can define custom validation rules for specific models and columns in the configuration file.

This allows you to override the auto-generated rules and fully control the validation logic.

1. Publish the Config File

If you haven't already published the config file, run:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=generate_validation

This will create a file at: config/generate_validation.php

2. Define Your Custom Rules

return [
    'custom_rules' => [
        // Model => [ column => rules... ]
        'Post' => [
            'title' => ['required', 'string', 'max:100'],
            'content' => ['required', 'string', 'min:50'],
        ],
        'User' => [
            'email' => ['required', 'email', 'unique:users,email'],
            'password' => ['required', 'string', 'min:8'],
        ],
    ],
];

3. How It Works

If a column has a custom rule defined in the config, the package will use that instead of generating the rule automatically.

If a column is not defined in custom_rules, the default auto-generation logic will be applied.

This gives you the flexibility to handle special cases without losing the convenience of automatic generation.

🖼 Blob & File Rules

You can customize the default rules for specific strategies. For example, to change the default max size for images, you can use the static methods of the BlobRuleGenerator class.

In your ServiceProvider's boot method:

use GenerateValidation\Strategies\BlobRuleGenerator;

// Set the maximum file size (in kilobytes)
BlobRuleGenerator::setMaxSize(5120); // 5MB

// This adds to the list of possible names used for images.
// or example, if you have a column that stores an image and its name is `my_thumbnail`, you need to add this name so it can be recognized. 
BlobRuleGenerator::addImageName('my_thumbnail');

// Add additional MIME types to the existing list
BlobRuleGenerator::setMimes(['webp', 'avif'], 'merge');

// Or replace the MIME types entirely
BlobRuleGenerator::setMimes(['webp', 'avif'], 'replace');

📅 Custom Date Format for Date, Datetime, and Timestamp

You can now customize the date format used for validation rules in the following strategies:

• DateRuleGenerator
• DatetimeRuleGenerator
• TimestampRuleGenerator

This allows you to set your preferred date format for each type, which will be used in the generated date_format validation rule.

In your ServiceProvider's boot method:

Usage Example:

use GenerateValidation\Strategies\DateRuleGenerator;
use GenerateValidation\Strategies\DatetimeRuleGenerator;
use GenerateValidation\Strategies\TimestampRuleGenerator;

// Set custom date format for Date fields
DateRuleGenerator::setDateFormat('d/m/Y'); // date_format:d/m/Y

// Set custom date format for Timestamp fields
TimestampRuleGenerator::setDateFormat('Y-m-d'); // date_format:Y-m-d

// Set custom date format for Datetime fields
DatetimeRuleGenerator::setDateFormat('d-m-Y H:i:s'); // date_format:d-m-Y H:i:s

// set custom time format for time fields
DatetimeRuleGenerator::setTimeFormat('H:i:s'); // date_format:H:i:s

// set custom year format for year fields
DatetimeRuleGenerator::setYearFormat('2000', '2030'); // between:2000,2030

This feature gives you full control over how date and time values are validated, making it easy to match your application's requirements or localization needs.

💖 Support the Project

If you like this project and want to support its development, you can donate here: Donate via NOWPayments

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you find a bug or have a suggestion for a new feature, please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

📄 License

generate_validation is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.