Helper functions

Learn about Laravel’s global helper functions and the Arr and Number classes with practical examples.

What are helper functions

Laravel provides a large number of global PHP functions (helpers). While the framework itself uses most of them internally, you’re free to use them in your application as well.

Helpers fall into these main categories:

• Arrays and objects — the Arr:: class and functions like data_get()
• Numbers — the Number:: class
• Paths — path retrieval functions like app_path() and storage_path()
• URLs — URL generation functions like route(), url(), and asset()
• Miscellaneous — commonly used utilities like config(), collect(), and auth()

Helper functions can be called from anywhere without a use declaration. To use the Arr or Number class, you need imports like use Illuminate\Support\Arr;.

Array helpers (Arr class)

Arr::get() — retrieve nested values using dot notation

Safely retrieve nested values from a multi-dimensional array using dot notation (foo.bar.baz). Returns a default value if the key does not exist.

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$config = [
    'database' => [
        'connections' => [
            'mysql' => ['host' => '127.0.0.1', 'port' => 3306],
        ],
    ],
];

$host = Arr::get($config, 'database.connections.mysql.host');
// '127.0.0.1'

// Default value if the key does not exist
$charset = Arr::get($config, 'database.connections.mysql.charset', 'utf8mb4');
// 'utf8mb4'

The data_get() global function has the same capability. It also handles Arrayable objects (such as Eloquent relationships), so it’s usable in more general situations.

Arr::set() — set a value in a nested array

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$array = ['products' => ['desk' => ['price' => 100]]];

Arr::set($array, 'products.desk.price', 200);

// ['products' => ['desk' => ['price' => 200]]]

Arr::has() — check if a key exists

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$array = ['product' => ['name' => 'Desk', 'price' => 100]];

$hasName = Arr::has($array, 'product.name');
// true

// Verify that all of multiple keys are present
$hasAll = Arr::has($array, ['product.name', 'product.price']);
// true

Arr::only() / Arr::except() — filter or exclude keys

Handy when you want to extract only the necessary keys from request data or configuration arrays, or exclude unneeded keys.

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$user = [
    'id' => 1,
    'name' => 'Taro Yamada',
    'email' => '[e-mail]',
    'password' => 'secret',
    'role' => 'admin',
];

// Take only the necessary keys
$safe = Arr::only($user, ['id', 'name', 'email']);
// ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'email' => '[e-mail]']

// Exclude only password
$public = Arr::except($user, ['password']);
// ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'email' => '...', 'role' => 'admin']

Arr::pluck() — extract a specific key from a nested array

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$records = [
    ['user' => ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Taro Yamada']],
    ['user' => ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Hanako Suzuki']],
];

$names = Arr::pluck($records, 'user.name');
// ['Taro Yamada', 'Hanako Suzuki']

// Specify a key via the third argument
$nameById = Arr::pluck($records, 'user.name', 'user.id');
// [1 => 'Taro Yamada', 2 => 'Hanako Suzuki']

Arr::first() / Arr::last() — the first/last element that matches a condition

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$prices = [150, 80, 200, 50, 120];

// The first price at or above 100
$first = Arr::first($prices, fn ($price) => $price >= 100);
// 150

// Default value when the condition is not satisfied
$first = Arr::first($prices, fn ($price) => $price >= 500, 0);
// 0

// The last element (no condition)
$last = Arr::last($prices);
// 120

Arr::flatten() — flatten a multi-dimensional array

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$tags = [
    'frontend' => ['html', 'css', 'javascript'],
    'backend'  => ['php', 'laravel', 'mysql'],
];

$allTags = Arr::flatten($tags);
// ['html', 'css', 'javascript', 'php', 'laravel', 'mysql']

Arr::wrap() — ensure a value is an array

If the value is not an array, wrap it in one. null becomes an empty array. Useful when accepting flexible arguments to functions.

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

Arr::wrap('Laravel');
// ['Laravel']

Arr::wrap(['Laravel', 'PHP']);
// ['Laravel', 'PHP']

Arr::wrap(null);
// []

Arr::sort() — sort by value

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$fruits = ['banana', 'apple', 'cherry'];
$sorted = Arr::sort($fruits);
// ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

// Specify a sort key via a closure
$products = [
    ['name' => 'Laptop', 'price' => 120000],
    ['name' => 'Mouse', 'price' => 3500],
    ['name' => 'Keyboard', 'price' => 8000],
];

$byPrice = Arr::sort($products, fn ($product) => $product['price']);
// Order: Mouse, Keyboard, Laptop

Arr::dot() / Arr::undot() — convert to and from dot notation

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$nested = [
    'user' => [
        'profile' => ['name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'age' => 28],
    ],
];

$dotted = Arr::dot($nested);
// ['user.profile.name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'user.profile.age' => 28]

// Restore the original structure
$restored = Arr::undot($dotted);
// ['user' => ['profile' => ['name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'age' => 28]]]

Arr::join() — join an array into a string

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

$items = ['PHP', 'Laravel', 'MySQL'];

Arr::join($items, ', ');
// 'PHP, Laravel, MySQL'

// Use a different separator before the last element
Arr::join($items, ', ', ' and ');
// 'PHP, Laravel and MySQL'

data_get() — access nested data

The general-purpose version of Arr::get(). It supports not just arrays but also objects, Eloquent models, and collections.

$users = [
    ['name' => 'Taro Yamada', 'address' => ['city' => 'Tokyo']],
    ['name' => 'Hanako Suzuki', 'address' => ['city' => 'Osaka']],
];

// Access with dot notation
$city = data_get($users, '0.address.city');
// 'Tokyo'

// Get from all elements with wildcards
$cities = data_get($users, '*.address.city');
// ['Tokyo', 'Osaka']

Number helpers (Number class)

Number::format() — format numbers for readability

use Illuminate\Support\Number;

Number::format(1234567.89);
// '1,234,567.89'

Number::format(1234567.89, precision: 0, locale: 'ja');
// '1,234,568'

Number::currency() — currency formatting

use Illuminate\Support\Number;

Number::currency(10000, 'JPY', locale: 'ja');
// '￥10,000'

Number::currency(29.99, 'USD');
// '$29.99'

Number::fileSize() — human-readable file sizes

use Illuminate\Support\Number;

Number::fileSize(1024);
// '1 KB'

Number::fileSize(1024 * 1024 * 2.5);
// '2.5 MB'

Number::abbreviate() — abbreviate large numbers

use Illuminate\Support\Number;

Number::abbreviate(1000);
// '1K'

Number::abbreviate(1500000);
// '1.5M'

Number::percentage() — display as a percentage

use Illuminate\Support\Number;

Number::percentage(75.5, precision: 1);
// '75.5%'

Path helpers

Retrieve directory paths within your application. They return the correct path regardless of environment or deployment target.

// Absolute path to the app directory
app_path();
// /var/www/html/app

// Path to app/Http/Controllers/UserController.php
app_path('Http/Controllers/UserController.php');

// Relative to the project root
base_path('composer.json');

// The config directory
config_path('database.php');

// The database directory
database_path('migrations');

// The storage directory
storage_path('app/uploads');

// The public directory
public_path('css/app.css');

// The resources directory
resource_path('views/welcome.blade.php');

URL helpers

route() — generate a URL for a named route

// Route definition
// Route::get('/users/{user}', [UserController::class, 'show'])->name('users.show');

// Absolute URL (default)
$url = route('users.show', ['user' => 1]);
// 'https://example.com/users/1'

// Relative URL
$url = route('users.show', ['user' => 1], false);
// '/users/1'

url() — absolute URL for an arbitrary path

$url = url('user/profile');
// 'https://example.com/user/profile'

// Get a URL generator instance
$current  = url()->current();   // Current URL
$full     = url()->full();      // Current URL including query string
$previous = url()->previous();  // Previous URL

asset() — URL for a static asset

$url = asset('img/logo.png');
// 'https://example.com/img/logo.png'

to_route() — redirect to a named route

return to_route('users.show', ['user' => 1]);

// You can also specify HTTP status and headers
return to_route('users.show', ['user' => 1], 302, ['X-Custom' => 'value']);

Other commonly used helpers

config() — get and set configuration values

// Get a configuration value with dot notation
$timezone = config('app.timezone');
// 'Asia/Tokyo'

// With a default value
$debug = config('app.debug', false);

// Change configuration at runtime (limited to that process)
config(['app.locale' => 'ja']);

collect() — create a collection

$collection = collect([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);

$sum = collect([1, 2, 3])->sum(); // 6

collect() is the most important helper as the entry point to collections. See Collections for details.

auth() — get the authenticated user

// Get the current user
$user = auth()->user();

// Check whether they're logged in
if (auth()->check()) {
    // Logic for authenticated users
}

// Use a specific guard
$admin = auth('admin')->user();

blank() / filled() — check for emptiness

blank() treats null, empty string, whitespace-only, empty collections, and empty arrays as true. filled() is the inverse.

blank('');         // true
blank('   ');      // true
blank(null);       // true
blank(collect()); // true

blank(0);      // false (0 is not "blank")
blank(false);  // false

filled('hello'); // true
filled(0);       // true

abort() / abort_if() / abort_unless() — HTTP exceptions

// Throw an HTTP error directly
abort(404);
abort(403, 'You do not have permission to access this page.');

// Error when the condition is true
abort_if(! auth()->user()->isAdmin(), 403);

// Error when the condition is false
abort_unless(auth()->check(), 401);

dd() / dump() — debugging

// Print variables and terminate the script
dd($user);
dd($user, $orders, $config);

// Print without terminating the script
dump($query);

dispatch() — push a job onto the queue

dispatch(new App\Jobs\SendWelcomeEmail($user));

// Run immediately (synchronously)
dispatch_sync(new App\Jobs\GenerateReport($data));

encrypt() / decrypt() — encryption

$encrypted = encrypt('sensitive-value');
$decrypted = decrypt($encrypted);

env() — get an environment variable

$debug = env('APP_DEBUG', false);
$dbHost = env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1');

Best practice is to not call env() directly from controllers or service classes, but rather to call it inside config/ files and access the values via config(). When configuration caching (php artisan config:cache) is enabled, env() may not return the value you expect.

Choosing between the Arr class and collect()

The Arr:: class operates on regular PHP arrays; collect() returns collection objects.

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;

// When you want to keep working with arrays → Arr class
$filtered = Arr::where($items, fn ($v) => $v > 0);
// The result is an array

// When you want to chain multiple operations → collect()
$result = collect($items)
    ->filter(fn ($v) => $v > 0)
    ->map(fn ($v) => $v * 2)
    ->values()
    ->all();
// The result is an array (extracted with all())

Eloquent results are automatically returned as collections, so there’s no need to wrap them with collect(). When simple array operations are enough, using Arr:: keeps things simpler.

Summary

Common helpers reference

Helper	Purpose
Arr::get($array, 'a.b.c', $default)	Safely fetch from a nested array
Arr::only($array, $keys)	Keep only the specified keys
Arr::except($array, $keys)	Exclude the specified keys
Arr::pluck($array, 'key')	Fetch the values of a specific key
Arr::flatten($array)	Flatten a multi-dimensional array
Arr::wrap($value)	Ensure the value is an array
data_get($target, 'a.*.b')	Fetch with wildcards
Number::format($n)	Format a number for readability
Number::currency($n, 'JPY')	Currency display
Number::fileSize($bytes)	Human-readable file size
route('name', $params)	URL to a named route
url('path')	Generate an absolute URL
asset('path')	URL to a static asset
config('key', $default)	Retrieve a configuration value
collect($array)	Create a collection
auth()->user()	Get the current user
blank($value)	Check for emptiness
filled($value)	Check for non-emptiness
abort(403)	Throw an HTTP exception
dispatch($job)	Push a job onto the queue
env('KEY', $default)	Get an environment variable

Arr class vs collect()

When to use the Arr:: class:

• Simple array operations (accessing nested keys, filtering keys, etc.)
• When the collection object’s overhead is unnecessary
• When you want to keep the result as an array

When to use collect():

• When you want to express multiple operations via method chains
• When further transforming Eloquent results (already collections)
• When you want to use collection-specific methods like map, filter, or groupBy