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The request node uses validation rules to verify incoming data. Rules are specified as pipe-separated strings.

​
Syntax

"field": "rule1|rule2|rule3"
"field": "rule1|rule2:param|rule3:param1,param2"

​
Presence Rules

Control when fields are required.

​
required

Field must be present and not empty. 
{
  "name": "required"
}

​
nullable

Field can be null. If present and not null, other rules apply. 
{
  "middle_name": "nullable|string|max:50"
}

​
present

Field must exist in input (can be empty/null). 
{
  "acknowledged": "present|boolean"
}

​
sometimes

Only validate if field exists. 
{
  "nickname": "sometimes|string|max:30"
}

​
Conditional Required

Make fields conditionally required.

​
required_if

Required when another field equals a value. 
{
  "company_name": "required_if:account_type,business"
}

​
required_unless

Required unless another field equals a value. 
{
  "parent_email": "required_unless:age,18"
}

​
required_with

Required when another field is present. 
{
  "shipping_address": "required_with:physical_product"
}

​
required_without

Required when another field is absent. 
{
  "email": "required_without:phone"
}

​
required_with_all

Required when all specified fields are present. 
{
  "billing_address": "required_with_all:credit_card,save_card"
}

​
required_without_all

Required when all specified fields are absent. 
{
  "guest_email": "required_without_all:user_id,session_id"
}

​
Type Rules

Validate data types.

​
string

Must be a string. 
{
  "name": "required|string"
}

​
integer

Must be an integer (no decimals). 
{
  "quantity": "required|integer"
}

​
numeric

Must be a number (integer or float). 
{
  "price": "required|numeric"
}

​
boolean

Must be true or false. 
{
  "active": "required|boolean"
}

​
array

Must be an array. 
{
  "tags": "required|array"
}

​
object

Must be an object. 
{
  "metadata": "required|object"
}

​
Size Rules

Validate size, length, or value. Size rules behave differently based on the field type:
  • Strings: Validates character length
  • Numbers: Validates the numeric value
  • Arrays: Validates item count

​
min

Minimum size/length/value. 
{
  "password": "required|string|min:8",
  "age": "required|integer|min:18",
  "items": "required|array|min:1"
}

​
max

Maximum size/length/value. 
{
  "username": "required|string|max:20",
  "quantity": "required|integer|max:100",
  "tags": "array|max:10"
}

​
size

Exact size/length/value. 
{
  "pin": "required|string|size:4",
  "coordinates": "required|array|size:2"
}

​
between

Value/length must be in range. 
{
  "age": "required|integer|between:18,120",
  "title": "required|string|between:5,100"
}

​
Format Rules

Validate string formats.

​
email

Valid email address format. 
{
  "email": "required|email"
}

​
url

Valid URL format. 
{
  "website": "sometimes|url"
}

​
uuid

Valid UUID format. 
{
  "id": "required|uuid"
}

​
ip

Valid IP address (v4 or v6). 
{
  "ip_address": "required|ip"
}

​
ipv4

Valid IPv4 address. 
{
  "ip_address": "required|ipv4"
}

​
ipv6

Valid IPv6 address. 
{
  "ip_address": "required|ipv6"
}

​
json

Valid JSON string. 
{
  "config": "required|json"
}

​
regex

Matches regular expression pattern. 
{
  "sku": "required|regex:^[A-Z]{3}-[0-9]{4}$",
  "phone": "required|regex:^\\+[0-9]{10,15}$"
}

​
Date Rules

Validate date values.

​
date

Valid date format. 
{
  "birth_date": "required|date"
}

​
datetime

Valid datetime format. 
{
  "scheduled_at": "required|datetime"
}

​
before

Date must be before specified date. 
{
  "start_date": "required|date|before:2025-01-01"
}

​
after

Date must be after specified date. 
{
  "end_date": "required|date|after:start_date"
}

​
before_or_equal

Date must be before or equal to specified date. 
{
  "expiry": "required|date|before_or_equal:2030-12-31"
}

​
after_or_equal

Date must be after or equal to specified date. 
{
  "publish_date": "required|date|after_or_equal:today"
}

​
Comparison Rules

Compare fields to each other.

​
same

Must match another field’s value. 
{
  "password_confirmation": "required|same:password"
}

​
different

Must differ from another field’s value. 
{
  "new_password": "required|different:current_password"
}

​
confirmed

Field must have a matching _confirmation field. 
{
  "email": "required|email|confirmed"
}
This expects an email_confirmation field with the same value.

​
gt

Greater than another field. 
{
  "max_price": "required|numeric|gt:min_price"
}

​
gte

Greater than or equal to another field. 
{
  "end_date": "required|date|gte:start_date"
}

​
lt

Less than another field. 
{
  "min_price": "required|numeric|lt:max_price"
}

​
lte

Less than or equal to another field. 
{
  "discount": "required|numeric|lte:total"
}

​
Inclusion Rules

Validate against a list of values.

​
in

Must be one of the specified values. 
{
  "status": "required|in:pending,active,suspended,closed",
  "role": "required|in:admin,editor,viewer"
}

​
not_in

Must not be one of the specified values. 
{
  "username": "required|string|not_in:admin,root,system"
}

​
Control Rules

Control validation behavior.

​
bail

Stop validating the field on first error. 
{
  "email": "bail|required|email|unique"
}
Without bail, all rules are checked. With bail, validation stops at first failure.

​
Array Validation

Validate nested array items using .* wildcard.

​
Basic Array Items

{
  "tags": "required|array",
  "tags.*": "string|max:50"
}

​
Object Array Items

{
  "items": "required|array|min:1",
  "items.*.product_id": "required|uuid",
  "items.*.quantity": "required|integer|min:1",
  "items.*.price": "required|numeric|min:0"
}

​
Nested Array Validation

{
  "orders": "required|array",
  "orders.*.items": "required|array|min:1",
  "orders.*.items.*.sku": "required|string"
}

​
Complete Examples

​
User Registration

{
  "source": "request.body",
  "schema": {
    "username": "required|string|min:3|max:20|regex:^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$",
    "email": "required|email",
    "password": "required|string|min:8",
    "password_confirmation": "required|same:password",
    "date_of_birth": "required|date|before:2010-01-01",
    "terms_accepted": "required|boolean"
  }
}

​
Product Creation

{
  "source": "request.body",
  "schema": {
    "name": "required|string|min:2|max:200",
    "description": "nullable|string|max:5000",
    "price": "required|numeric|min:0",
    "compare_price": "nullable|numeric|gt:price",
    "sku": "required|string|regex:^[A-Z0-9-]+$",
    "category": "required|in:electronics,clothing,home,sports",
    "tags": "array|max:10",
    "tags.*": "string|max:30",
    "variants": "sometimes|array",
    "variants.*.name": "required|string",
    "variants.*.price": "required|numeric|min:0",
    "variants.*.stock": "required|integer|min:0"
  }
}

​
Order Placement

{
  "source": "request.body",
  "schema": {
    "items": "required|array|min:1|max:50",
    "items.*.product_id": "required|uuid",
    "items.*.quantity": "required|integer|min:1|max:100",
    "shipping_address": "required|object",
    "shipping_address.street": "required|string|max:200",
    "shipping_address.city": "required|string|max:100",
    "shipping_address.postal_code": "required|string|max:20",
    "shipping_address.country": "required|string|size:2",
    "billing_same_as_shipping": "required|boolean",
    "billing_address": "required_if:billing_same_as_shipping,false|object",
    "payment_method": "required|in:card,paypal,bank_transfer",
    "card_token": "required_if:payment_method,card|string",
    "notes": "nullable|string|max:500"
  }
}

​
Profile Update

{
  "source": "request.body",
  "schema": {
    "display_name": "sometimes|string|min:2|max:50",
    "bio": "nullable|string|max:500",
    "website": "nullable|url",
    "social_links": "sometimes|object",
    "social_links.twitter": "nullable|url",
    "social_links.linkedin": "nullable|url",
    "notification_preferences": "sometimes|object",
    "notification_preferences.email": "boolean",
    "notification_preferences.push": "boolean"
  }
}

​
Error Messages

Each rule generates a specific error message:
RuleMessage Example
requiredThe name field is required
emailThe email field must be a valid email address
min (string)The password field must be at least 8 characters
min (number)The age field must be at least 18
min (array)The items field must have at least 1 items
maxThe title field may not be greater than 100 characters
inThe status field must be one of: pending, active, closed
uuidThe id field must be a valid UUID
sameThe password_confirmation field must match password