API Form Requests: Clean Validation for JSON APIs

For APIs, validation is still required, but you want errors returned as JSON. Form Requests keep your API controllers clean. ## Create request ```bash php artisan make:request StorePostApiRequest ``` ## Rules ```php public function rules(): array { return [ 'title' => 'required|min:3', 'body' => 'required|min:10', ]; } ``` ## Controller ```php public function store(StorePostApiRequest $request) { $post = Post::create($request->validated()); return response()->json($post, 201); } ``` ## Flow ```mermaid flowchart LR A[Request] --> B[Form Request] B --> C{Valid?} C -->|Yes| D[Controller] C -->|No| E[422 JSON Errors] ``` In the next tutorial, we will implement database backups and safe recovery practices.