Built-in Validation Rules

This page provides a comprehensive reference for all 50+ built-in validation methods implemented in the ValidatesAttributes trait. These methods form the core validation logic of the Hypervel Validation package and are automatically invoked when string-based rules are specified.

Scope: This page documents the validation methods themselves, their parameters, and behavior. For information about creating custom validation rules, see Custom Validation Rules. For object-based rule implementations, see Built-in Rule Objects.

Rule Categories Overview

The built-in validation rules are organized into 13 functional categories based on their purpose:

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1-2334

Rule Name to Method Mapping

All built-in validation rules follow a consistent naming convention where the rule name maps directly to a method in the ValidatesAttributes trait:

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php37-2333

Type Validation Rules

These rules verify that a value matches a specific PHP type.

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
boolean	validateBoolean	None	Accepts true, false, 0, 1, '0', '1'
string	validateString	None	Verifies value is a PHP string
integer	validateInteger	None	Uses FILTER_VALIDATE_INT
numeric	validateNumeric	None	Verifies is_numeric() returns true
array	validateArray	Optional: key list	Validates array structure; optionally checks for specific keys
list	validateList	None	Validates array is a sequential list (uses array_is_list())

Implementation Details:

• Boolean validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php398-403 accepts both strict boolean types and string representations.
• Array validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php339-350 with parameters ensures the array contains only the specified keys.
• List validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php355-358 uses PHP 8.1's native array_is_list() function to ensure sequential integer keys starting from 0.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php398-403 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2149-2152 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1270-1273 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1591-1594 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php339-350 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php355-358

Format Validation Rules

Character Set Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
alpha	validateAlpha	Optional: 'ascii'	Alphabetic characters only; with ascii limits to ASCII
alpha_dash	validateAlphaDash	Optional: 'ascii'	Alphanumeric plus dashes and underscores
alpha_num	validateAlphaNum	Optional: 'ascii'	Alphanumeric characters only
ascii	validateAscii	None	7-bit ASCII characters only
lowercase	validateLowercase	None	All characters must be lowercase
uppercase	validateUppercase	None	All characters must be uppercase

Implementation Details:

The character validation methods src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php290-332 use Unicode-aware regular expressions by default:

• \pL matches any Unicode letter
• \pM matches any Unicode mark
• \pN matches any Unicode number

When the ascii parameter is provided, the validation switches to ASCII-only patterns ([a-zA-Z], [a-zA-Z0-9]).

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php290-297 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php304-315 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php321-332 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php134-137 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1186-1192 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1198-1203

Network and Identifier Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
email	validateEmail	Optional: rfc, strict, dns, spoof, filter, filter_unicode	Email validation with multiple strategies
url	validateUrl	Optional: protocols	Validates URL format
active_url	validateActiveUrl	None	Validates URL with DNS lookup
ip	validateIp	None	Valid IPv4 or IPv6 address
ipv4	validateIpv4	None	Valid IPv4 address
ipv6	validateIpv6	None	Valid IPv6 address
mac_address	validateMacAddress	None	Valid MAC address
uuid	validateUuid	Optional: version	Valid UUID (optionally specific version)
ulid	validateUlid	None	Valid ULID
json	validateJson	None	Valid JSON string
timezone	validateTimezone	Optional: group, country	Valid timezone identifier
hex_color	validateHexColor	None	Valid hexadecimal color code

Email Validation Strategy src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php779-802:

The email validation integrates with the egulias/email-validator library and supports multiple validation strategies that can be combined. See Email Validation Strategies for detailed documentation.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php779-802 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2168-2171 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php102-121 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1278-1305 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2186-2199 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2176-2179 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1310-1328 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2157-2163 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1208-1211

String Content Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
starts_with	validateStartsWith	substring(s)	Value starts with any of the given substrings
doesnt_start_with	validateDoesntStartWith	substring(s)	Value doesn't start with any given substring
ends_with	validateEndsWith	substring(s)	Value ends with any of the given substrings
doesnt_end_with	validateDoesntEndWith	substring(s)	Value doesn't end with any given substring
contains	validateContains	value(s)	Array contains all specified values
doesnt_contain	validateDoesntContain	value(s)	Array doesn't contain any specified values
regex	validateRegex	pattern	Matches regular expression pattern
not_regex	validateNotRegex	pattern	Doesn't match regular expression pattern

Implementation Note: The contains and doesnt_contain rules src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php420-453 operate on array values, not string content. They verify that specific values exist (or don't exist) within an array.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2111-2144 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php420-433 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php440-453 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1677-1702

Size Validation Rules

Size validation rules adapt their behavior based on the type of value being validated:

Value Type	Size Meaning
Numeric	The numeric value itself
String	String length in characters (MB-aware)
Array	Number of elements
File	File size in kilobytes

Size Comparison Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Comparison	Description
size	validateSize	value	==	Exactly equal to size
min	validateMin	value	>=	Greater than or equal to size
max	validateMax	value	<=	Less than or equal to size
between	validateBetween	min, max	min <= x <= max	Between two sizes inclusive

Attribute Comparison Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Comparison	Description
gt	validateGt	attribute	>	Greater than another attribute
gte	validateGte	attribute	>=	Greater than or equal to another attribute
lt	validateLt	attribute	<	Less than another attribute
lte	validateLte	attribute	<=	Less than or equal to another attribute

Size Calculation Logic src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2204-2223:

Precision Note: All size comparisons use the Brick\Math\BigNumber library src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php385-393 for arbitrary precision arithmetic, preventing floating-point precision issues.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2089-2094 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1432-1437 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1335-1344 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php385-393 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1058-1179 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2204-2223

Numeric Validation Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
digits	validateDigits	count	Exactly count digits (numeric string)
digits_between	validateDigitsBetween	min, max	Between min and max digits
min_digits	validateMinDigits	min	At least min digits
max_digits	validateMaxDigits	max	At most max digits
decimal	validateDecimal	places [, max]	Decimal with exact or range of decimal places
multiple_of	validateMultipleOf	value	Value is a multiple of parameter

Implementation Details:

• Digits validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php592-615 checks that the value contains only numeric characters and has the specified length. It does not validate the value as a number type.

• Decimal validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php541-563 accepts one parameter for exact decimal places or two parameters for a range. It uses regex to extract and count decimal places.

• Multiple of validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1538-1566 uses BigDecimal::remainder() from Brick\Math to handle arbitrary precision calculations and avoid floating-point issues.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php592-600 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php607-615 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1444-1451 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1351-1358 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php541-563 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1538-1566

Date and Time Validation Rules

Basic Date Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
date	validateDate	None	Valid date (uses strtotime and checkdate)
date_format	validateDateFormat	format(s)	Date matches specific format(s)
timezone	validateTimezone	Optional: group, country	Valid timezone identifier

Date Comparison Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Comparison	Description
date_equals	validateDateEquals	date	==	Date equals comparison date
before	validateBefore	date	<	Date is before comparison date
before_or_equal	validateBeforeOrEqual	date	<=	Date is before or equal to comparison date
after	validateAfter	date	>	Date is after comparison date
after_or_equal	validateAfterOrEqual	date	>=	Date is after or equal to comparison date

Date Comparison Logic src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php202-217:

Date Parsing: The system uses Carbon::parse() src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php276-284 as a fallback for flexible date parsing when explicit format matching fails.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php477-494 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php501-522 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2157-2163 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php154-195 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php529-534 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php202-259

File Validation Rules

Basic File Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
file	validateFile	None	Valid file upload
image	validateImage	Optional: 'allow_svg'	Image file (jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, webp)
mimes	validateMimes	extensions	File extension matches list
mimetypes	validateMimetypes	mime types	MIME type matches list
extensions	validateExtensions	extensions	File extension in list

Advanced File Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
dimensions	validateDimensions	constraints	Image dimensions validation

File Validation Process src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1036-1039:

PHP Upload Protection src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1407-1425: By default, all file validation rules block PHP file uploads (extensions: php, php3, php4, php5, php7, php8, phtml, phar) unless explicitly allowed by including 'php' in the parameters.

Dimensions Validation src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php622-652 accepts named parameters:

• width, height - Exact dimensions
• min_width, max_width, min_height, max_height - Dimension ranges
• ratio, min_ratio, max_ratio - Aspect ratio constraints (format: 3/2)

SVG files bypass dimension checking src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php624-626

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1036-1039 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1216-1225 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1365-1400 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1020-1031 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php622-720 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2228-2235

Presence Validation Rules

Presence rules determine whether an attribute must exist, may exist, or must not exist based on various conditions.

Core Presence Rules

Rule	Method	Description
required	validateRequired	Attribute must exist and not be empty
present	validatePresent	Attribute must exist in data (can be empty)
filled	validateFilled	If attribute exists, it must not be empty
missing	validateMissing	Attribute must not exist in data

Required Value Definition src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1707-1723:

• null values fail
• Empty strings (after trim) fail
• Countable values with count < 1 fail
• Files with empty path fail
• All other values pass

Conditional Presence Rules

Dependent Rule Parameter Parsing src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1942-1957: The parseDependentRuleParameters method handles type coercion for conditional rules. It converts string 'true'/'false' to boolean and 'null' to null when comparing against boolean or null fields.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1707-1723 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1599-1602 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1044-1051 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1460-1463 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1728-2040 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1609-1670 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1470-1531

Prohibition Validation Rules

Prohibition rules ensure that attributes do not exist or are empty based on various conditions.

Rule	Method	Description
prohibited	validateProhibited	Attribute must not exist or be empty
prohibited_if	validateProhibitedIf	Prohibited when another field has specific value
prohibited_if_accepted	validateProhibitedIfAccepted	Prohibited when another field is accepted
prohibited_if_declined	validateProhibitedIfDeclined	Prohibited when another field is declined
prohibited_unless	validateProhibitedUnless	Prohibited unless another field has specific value
prohibits	validateProhibits	When this exists, other fields must not exist

Implementation: Prohibited rules src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1776-1855 are essentially the inverse of required rules - they pass when validateRequired would fail.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1776-1779 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1784-1839 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1844-1855

Exclusion Validation Rules

Exclusion rules mark attributes that should be removed from the validated data. Unlike prohibition rules which validate absence, exclusion rules allow presence but exclude the attribute from the final output.

Rule	Method	Returns	Description
exclude	validateExclude	false	Always exclude this attribute
exclude_if	validateExcludeIf	false	Exclude when other field has specific value
exclude_unless	validateExcludeUnless	false	Exclude unless other field has specific value
exclude_with	validateExcludeWith	false	Exclude when another field is present
exclude_without	validateExcludeWithout	false	Exclude when another field is missing

Special Behavior src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1860-1935: Exclusion rules return false to indicate the attribute should be excluded from validated data, not that validation failed. The Validator checks for these rules when building the final validated data set.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1860-1863 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1868-1935

Acceptance and Declination Rules

These rules validate boolean-like consent or refusal values.

Acceptance Rules

Rule	Method	Accepted Values	Description
accepted	validateAccepted	'yes', 'on', '1', 1, true, 'true'	Attribute must be accepted (implies required)
accepted_if	validateAcceptedIf	Same	Accepted when other field has specific value

Declination Rules

Rule	Method	Declined Values	Description
declined	validateDeclined	'no', 'off', '0', 0, false, 'false'	Attribute must be declined (implies required)
declined_if	validateDeclinedIf	Same	Declined when other field has specific value

Important: Both acceptance and declination rules src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php44-97 internally call validateRequired, so they implicitly require the attribute to be present.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php44-49 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php54-67 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php74-79 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php84-97

Comparison and Relationship Rules

Value Comparison Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
same	validateSame	attribute	Value must equal another attribute's value
different	validateDifferent	attribute(s)	Value must differ from all listed attributes
confirmed	validateConfirmed	Optional: field	Value must match {attribute}_confirmation field

List Membership Rules

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
in	validateIn	value(s)	Value must be in the list
not_in	validateNotIn	value(s)	Value must not be in the list
in_array	validateInArray	attribute	Value must exist in another attribute's array
distinct	validateDistinct	Optional: 'strict', 'ignore_case'	Array value must be unique among siblings
required_array_keys	validateRequiredArrayKeys	key(s)	Array must contain all specified keys

Array Handling src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1232-1245: The in rule has special handling when validating an array value against array rules. It ensures all array elements are in the allowed list and no elements are themselves arrays.

Distinct Values Caching src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php741-755: The distinct rule caches extracted values per attribute to avoid repeated extraction when validating array elements.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2075-2082 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php570-585 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php410-413 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1232-1245 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1583-1586 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1252-1265 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php727-772 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php365-378

Database Validation Rules

Database rules verify data against database records using the PresenceVerifierInterface. These rules require database integration to be configured. See Database Integration for setup details.

Rule	Method	Parameters	Description
exists	validateExists	table[,column][,conditions...]	Record must exist in database
unique	validateUnique	table[,column][,id][,idColumn][,conditions...]	Value must be unique in database

Parameter Format:

table - Table name or Model::class
column - Column to check (defaults to attribute name)
id - ID to exclude (for unique, during updates)
idColumn - ID column name (defaults to 'id')
conditions... - Additional where clauses (key,value pairs)

Table Specification src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php955-973:

Integration with Rule Objects src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php848-850: When using Exists or Unique rule objects, additional query callbacks from the rule object are merged with the parameters.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php809-833 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php864-904 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php955-997 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1002-1013

Meta and Control Flow Rules

These rules don't perform validation themselves but control validation behavior.

Rule	Method	Returns	Purpose
bail	validateBail	true	Stop validation on first failure for this attribute
nullable	validateNullable	true	Allow null values to pass all rules
sometimes	validateSometimes	true	Marker for conditional validation

Implementation: These rules src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php144-147 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1573-1576 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2101-2104 always return true and serve as markers for the Validator's control flow logic. The Validator checks for these specific rule names to alter its behavior.

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php144-147 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1573-1576 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2101-2104

Helper Methods and Utilities

The ValidatesAttributes trait includes several protected helper methods used by validation rules:

Size and Type Helpers

Method	Purpose
getSize(attribute, value)	Calculate size based on value type
isValidFileInstance(value)	Check if value is valid file
isSameType(first, second)	Compare types of two values
trim(value)	Trim string values

Date Helpers

Method	Purpose
getDateTime(value)	Parse value to DateTime using Carbon
getDateTimestamp(value)	Get Unix timestamp from date value
getDateFormat(attribute)	Get date_format rule parameter if exists
checkDateTimeOrder(format, first, second, operator)	Compare formatted dates

Comparison Helpers

Method	Purpose
compare(first, second, operator)	Generic comparison with operator
compareDates(attribute, value, parameters, operator)	Date comparison logic

Database Helpers

Method	Purpose
parseTable(table)	Parse table specification to [connection, table, idColumn]
getQueryColumn(parameters, attribute)	Determine database column name
guessColumnForQuery(attribute)	Extract column from attribute path
getExtraConditions(segments)	Parse additional where conditions

Parameter Helpers

Method	Purpose
parseNamedParameters(parameters)	Convert key=value strings to array
parseDependentRuleParameters(parameters)	Extract and convert comparison values
requireParameterCount(count, parameters, rule)	Validate parameter count
shouldBeNumeric(attribute, rule)	Add rule to numeric rules list

Math Helpers

Method	Purpose
ensureExponentWithinAllowedRange(attribute, value)	Validate scientific notation exponent

Sources: src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2204-2333 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php234-284 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2242-2252 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php955-1013 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2259-2280 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php1942-1992 src/Concerns/ValidatesAttributes.php2300-2332