Validation Attributes

Complete reference of all 30+ validation attributes available in SimpleDTO.

Introduction

SimpleDTO provides 30+ validation attributes organized into categories:

• Type Validation - String, Integer, Boolean, Array, Numeric
• Size Validation - Min, Max, Between, Size
• Format Validation - Email, URL, IP, UUID, Json, Regex
• Content Validation - Required, In, NotIn, Same, Different
• Date Validation - Date, Before, After, DateFormat
• Database Validation - Exists, Unique
• File Validation - File, Image, Mimes, MaxFileSize
• Conditional Validation - RequiredIf, RequiredUnless, RequiredWith, RequiredWithout, Sometimes

Quick Reference Table

Attribute	Description	Example
#[Required]	Must be present	#[Required]
#[Email]	Valid email	#[Email]
#[Min(int $value)]	Minimum value/length	#[Min(3)]
#[Max(int $value)]	Maximum value/length	#[Max(100)]
#[Between(int $min, int $max)]	Between range	#[Between(18, 65)]
#[In(array $values)]	In array	#[In(['a', 'b'])]
#[NotIn(array $values)]	Not in array	#[NotIn(['admin'])]
#[Url]	Valid URL	#[Url]
#[Uuid]	Valid UUID	#[Uuid]
#[Regex(string $pattern)]	Match regex	#[Regex('/^[A-Z]+$/')]
#[Unique(string $table, string $column)]	Unique in DB	#[Unique('users', 'email')]
#[Exists(string $table, string $column)]	Exists in DB	#[Exists('users', 'id')]

See full list below for all 30+ attributes.

Type Validation

#[StringType]    // Must be string
#[Integer]       // Must be integer
#[Boolean]       // Must be boolean
#[ArrayType]     // Must be array
#[Numeric]       // Must be numeric (int or float)

Size Validation

#[Min(3)]              // Minimum value/length
#[Max(100)]            // Maximum value/length
#[Between(18, 65)]     // Between range
#[Size(10)]            // Exact size

Format Validation

#[Email]                        // Valid email
#[Url]                          // Valid URL
#[Ip]                           // Valid IP address
#[Uuid]                         // Valid UUID
#[Json]                         // Valid JSON
#[Regex('/^[A-Z]{2}\d{4}$/')]  // Match regex

Content Validation

#[Required]                              // Must be present
#[Nullable]                              // Can be null
#[In(['active', 'inactive'])]            // In array
#[NotIn(['admin', 'root'])]              // Not in array
#[Same('password')]                      // Match another field
#[Different('oldPassword')]              // Differ from another field
#[StartsWith('https://')]                // Start with prefix
#[EndsWith('.com')]                      // End with suffix

Date Validation

#[Date]                          // Valid date
#[Before('2024-12-31')]          // Before date
#[After('2024-01-01')]           // After date
#[DateFormat('Y-m-d')]           // Match date format

Database Validation

#[Unique('users', 'email')]              // Unique in database
#[Exists('users', 'id')]                 // Exists in database

File Validation

#[File]                                  // Must be file
#[Image]                                 // Must be image
#[Mimes(['jpg', 'png'])]                 // Allowed MIME types
#[MaxFileSize(2048)]                     // Max file size in KB

Conditional Validation

#[RequiredIf('status', 'active')]        // Required if field equals value
#[RequiredUnless('status', 'draft')]     // Required unless field equals value
#[RequiredWith('email')]                 // Required with another field
#[RequiredWithout('phone')]              // Required without another field
#[Sometimes]                             // Only validate if present

Real-World Examples

User Registration

class UserRegistrationDTO extends SimpleDTO
{
    public function __construct(
        #[Required, Min(3), Max(50)]
        public readonly string $name,

        #[Required, Email]
        public readonly string $email,

        #[Required, Min(8)]
        public readonly string $password,

        #[Required, Same('password')]
        public readonly string $passwordConfirmation,

        #[Sometimes, Url]
        public readonly ?string $website = null,
    ) {}
}

Product Creation

class ProductDTO extends SimpleDTO
{
    public function __construct(
        #[Required, Min(3)]
        public readonly string $name,

        #[Required, Numeric, Min(0)]
        public readonly float $price,

        #[Required, In(['active', 'inactive', 'draft'])]
        public readonly string $status,

        #[Required, Unique('products', 'sku')]
        public readonly string $sku,

        #[Sometimes, ArrayType]
        public readonly ?array $tags = null,
    ) {}
}

Best Practices

Combine Validation Attributes

// ✅ Good - multiple validations
#[Required, Email, Unique('users', 'email')]
public readonly string $email;

Use Appropriate Types

// ✅ Good - type hint matches validation
#[Integer, Min(0)]
public readonly int $age;

// ❌ Bad - type mismatch
#[Integer]
public readonly string $age;

Provide Custom Messages

#[Required(message: 'Name is required')]
#[Min(3, message: 'Name must be at least 3 characters')]
public readonly string $name;

See Also

• Validation - Validation guide
• Conditional Attributes - Conditional visibility
• Custom Validation - Create custom validators