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Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

Every route or controller action must return a response to the user’s browser. Laravel makes it easy to return strings, arrays, views, redirects, and JSON — all with minimal code.

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Basic responses

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Returning a string

The simplest response is a plain string. Laravel automatically converts it into a proper HTTP response: 
Route::get('/', function () {
    return 'Hello World';
});

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Returning an array

Return an array and Laravel automatically converts it to a JSON response: 
Route::get('/users', function () {
    return [
        ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'],
        ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob'],
    ];
});
Returning an Eloquent model or collection also produces a JSON response automatically — a convenient pattern for building simple APIs.

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Returning an Eloquent model

use App\Models\User;

Route::get('/user/{user}', function (User $user) {
    return $user;
});

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The Response object

Use the response() helper when you need to control the HTTP status code or headers: 
Route::get('/home', function () {
    return response('Hello World', 200)
        ->header('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
});
The first argument is the response body; the second is the HTTP status code.

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Common HTTP status codes

CodeMeaning
200OK
201Created
204No Content
301Moved Permanently
302Found (temporary redirect)
404Not Found
422Unprocessable Entity (validation error)
500Internal Server Error

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Returning a view

Use view() to render a Blade template. This is the most common response in a web application: 
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\View\View;

class HomeController extends Controller
{
    public function index(): View
    {
        $users = [
            ['name' => 'Alice', 'email' => '[email protected]'],
            ['name' => 'Bob', 'email' => '[email protected]'],
        ];

        return view('users.index', ['users' => $users]);
    }
}
The first argument is the view name; the second is an array of data to pass to the template.
Adding the Illuminate\View\View return type hint makes the intent of your method immediately clear.

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Controlling status code and headers alongside a view

return response()
    ->view('errors.404', ['message' => 'Page not found'], 404);

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Redirects

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Basic redirect

The redirect() helper returns a redirect response. It’s commonly used after form submissions to send users to a different page: 
use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;

Route::get('/old-page', function (): RedirectResponse {
    return redirect('/new-page');
});
Controller example: 
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function store(Request $request): RedirectResponse
    {
        // Save the post...

        return redirect('/posts');
    }
}

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Redirecting to a named route

Use the route() helper to redirect by route name instead of a hard-coded URL. If the URL ever changes, you only need to update the route definition: 
// Defining named routes
Route::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index'])->name('posts.index');
Route::get('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'show'])->name('posts.show');

// Redirect to a named route
return redirect()->route('posts.index');

// With route parameters
return redirect()->route('posts.show', ['post' => $post->id]);

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Redirecting back

Use back() to redirect to the user’s previous location. This is common after a validation failure: 
return back();

// Preserve the previous input so forms can be repopulated
return back()->withInput();

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Redirect with a flash message

Use with() to store a message in the session for the next request: 
return redirect('/posts')->with('success', 'Post created successfully.');
Display the message in a Blade template: 
@if (session('success'))
    <div class="alert alert-success">
        {{ session('success') }}
    </div>
@endif

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JSON responses

For APIs, return JSON explicitly with response()->json(). Laravel sets the Content-Type: application/json header automatically: 
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;

Route::get('/api/users', function (): JsonResponse {
    $users = [
        ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Alice'],
        ['id' => 2, 'name' => 'Bob'],
    ];

    return response()->json($users);
});
Include a status code: 
return response()->json(['message' => 'Created'], 201);
Controller example: 
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class UserController extends Controller
{
    public function index(): JsonResponse
    {
        return response()->json(User::all());
    }

    public function store(Request $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $user = User::create($request->validated());

        return response()->json($user, 201);
    }
}
Returning an array or Eloquent model directly also produces JSON, but response()->json() gives you fine-grained control over status codes and headers.

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Response headers

Add headers with the header() method: 
return response('Hello World')
    ->header('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
    ->header('X-Custom-Header', 'MyValue');
Set multiple headers at once with withHeaders(): 
return response('Hello World')
    ->withHeaders([
        'Content-Type' => 'text/plain',
        'X-Custom-Header' => 'MyValue',
        'Cache-Control' => 'no-cache',
    ]);

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Example: a complete resource controller

1

Define the routes

use App\Http\Controllers\PostController;

Route::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index'])->name('posts.index');
Route::get('/posts/create', [PostController::class, 'create'])->name('posts.create');
Route::post('/posts', [PostController::class, 'store'])->name('posts.store');
Route::get('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'show'])->name('posts.show');
Route::delete('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'destroy'])->name('posts.destroy');
2

Implement the controller

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Post;
use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\View\View;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    // Return a view for listing posts
    public function index(): View
    {
        $posts = Post::latest()->get();

        return view('posts.index', ['posts' => $posts]);
    }

    // Return a view for the creation form
    public function create(): View
    {
        return view('posts.create');
    }

    // Save and redirect
    public function store(Request $request): RedirectResponse
    {
        $post = Post::create($request->validated());

        return redirect()
            ->route('posts.show', ['post' => $post->id])
            ->with('success', 'Post created successfully.');
    }

    // Return a view for a single post
    public function show(Post $post): View
    {
        return view('posts.show', ['post' => $post]);
    }

    // Delete and redirect
    public function destroy(Post $post): RedirectResponse
    {
        $post->delete();

        return redirect()
            ->route('posts.index')
            ->with('success', 'Post deleted.');
    }
}
In web applications, display actions return a View and mutating actions (create, update, delete) redirect after completing. This pattern prevents duplicate form submissions on refresh.

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Next steps

Session

Learn how to store data across requests using Laravel’s session.
Last modified on March 29, 2026