Laravel Resource rule exclude_empty except a certain fields

In laravel resource we have this

public function rules()
{
    return [
        '*' => 'exclude_empty',
    ];
}


public function toArray($request): array
{

 return [
        'application_id'        => 'xxxx',
        'application_type'      => 'yyyy',
        'show_me'                => null,
        'andmore         =>  'lots more below'
     ]
}

because of the rules, show_me which is null does not show in the return value. How can i add only show_me even if null , but keeping the exclude_empty in the rules?

LaryAI

9 months ago

Level 58

Certainly! In Laravel API Resources, the exclude_empty rule will remove any fields with empty values (like null) from the response. If you want to always include a specific field (e.g., show_me) even if it's null, you can override the behavior for that field in your toArray method.

Here's how you can do it:

Temporarily set a non-empty value for show_me before the rules are applied, then set it back to null after the rules are processed.
Or, append show_me after the rules are applied.

The cleanest approach is to add show_me after the resource array is filtered by the rules. For example:

public function toArray($request): array
{
    // Build your array as usual
    $data = [
        'application_id'   => 'xxxx',
        'application_type' => 'yyyy',
        // 'show_me' is intentionally omitted here
        // ... other fields ...
    ];

    // Add 'show_me' explicitly, even if it's null
    $data['show_me'] = $this->show_me; // or null, or whatever value you want

    return $data;
}

If you want to keep your array definition clean and still use the exclude_empty rule, you can do this:

public function toArray($request): array
{
    $data = [
        'application_id'   => 'xxxx',
        'application_type' => 'yyyy',
        // ... other fields ...
    ];

    // After exclude_empty removes empty fields, add 'show_me' back
    $array = parent::toArray($request); // This applies the rules

    $array['show_me'] = $this->show_me; // or null

    return $array;
}

Summary:

Define your resource fields as usual.
After the rules (like exclude_empty) are applied, add the field(s) you want to always include, even if they are null.

This way, show_me will always be present in the response, regardless of its value, while all other fields will respect the exclude_empty rule.