Execute Closures on Input Presence with $request->whenFilled() and whenHas()

Use $request->whenFilled() and $request->whenHas() to run closures only when input fields are present and non-empty.

Checking if optional search filters or form inputs are present in incoming requests usually requires manual if ($request->filled('search')) { ... } boilerplate.

Laravel's request object provides whenFilled() and whenHas() for fluent conditional execution.

Using whenFilled()

whenFilled() executes the given closure only if the value exists in the request and is not empty:

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

public function index(Request $request)
{
    $query = User::query();

    // Runs closure only if 'search' is present and not an empty string
    $request->whenFilled('search', function (string $search) use ($query) {
        $query->where('name', 'LIKE', "%{$search}%");
    });

    // Supports fallback default closure when the input is empty or absent
    $request->whenFilled('status', function (string $status) use ($query) {
        $query->where('status', $status);
    }, function () use ($query) {
        $query->where('status', 'active'); // Default fallback
    });

    return $query->paginate(20);
}

whenFilled() vs. whenHas()

• whenHas('field', fn ($val) => ...): Executes if the key is present in the request payload, even if its value is an empty string ("") or null.
• whenFilled('field', fn ($val) => ...): Executes only if the key is present AND contains a non-empty, non-null value.

Summary

• Replaces repetitive if ($request->filled(...)) blocks with readable closures.
• Injects the resolved input value directly as the first argument to the callback.
• Supports optional default fallback callbacks as the second closure parameter.