Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kawax.biz/llms.txt

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

​
What is a session?

HTTP is a stateless protocol — it has no built-in way to retain information between requests. Laravel’s session feature provides a way to store data about a user across multiple requests. You’ll use sessions for things like login state, shopping cart contents, and flash messages after form submissions.

​
Session driver configuration

Session settings live in config/session.php. Switch drivers by setting the SESSION_DRIVER environment variable in your .env file: 
SESSION_DRIVER=database
Laravel supports the following drivers:
DriverDescription
fileStored as files in storage/framework/sessions (default for new projects)
cookieStored as encrypted cookies in the browser
databaseStored in a database table
redisStored in Redis (fast; good for production)
arrayStored in a PHP array; not persisted across requests (use in tests)
New Laravel projects use the database driver by default. The required sessions table is created by the default migrations, so it works out of the box.

​
Accessing the session

There are two ways to interact with the session: via the Request instance or the global session() helper.

​
Via the Request instance

Type-hint Request in your controller and call $request->session(): 
<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\View\View;

class DashboardController extends Controller
{
    public function index(Request $request): View
    {
        $username = $request->session()->get('username');

        return view('dashboard', ['username' => $username]);
    }
}

​
Via the session() helper

The session() helper is available anywhere — controllers, views, or other classes: 
// Retrieve a value
$value = session('key');

// Retrieve with a default
$value = session('key', 'default');

// Store a value
session(['key' => 'value']);
In controllers, using $request->session() makes your dependencies explicit and easier to test. The session() helper is convenient in Blade templates.

​
Working with session data

​
Retrieving data

// Retrieve by key
$value = $request->session()->get('key');

// Retrieve with a default value
$value = $request->session()->get('key', 'default');

// Default as a closure
$value = $request->session()->get('key', function () {
    return 'default';
});

// Retrieve all session data
$data = $request->session()->all();

​
Checking for data

// True if the key exists and is not null
if ($request->session()->has('user_id')) {
    // ...
}

// True if the key exists even if the value is null
if ($request->session()->exists('user_id')) {
    // ...
}

// True if the key is missing
if ($request->session()->missing('user_id')) {
    // ...
}
Note the difference between has and exists:
MethodWhen value is null
hasReturns false
existsReturns true

​
Storing data

// Via the Request instance
$request->session()->put('username', 'Alice');

// Via the global helper
session(['username' => 'Alice']);

// Append to an array stored in the session
$request->session()->push('cart.items', ['id' => 1, 'name' => 'Widget']);

​
Removing data

// Remove a specific key
$request->session()->forget('username');

// Remove multiple keys at once
$request->session()->forget(['username', 'cart']);

// Clear all session data
$request->session()->flush();

​
Flash data

Flash data is available only for the next request and then deleted automatically. It’s ideal for success messages, error notices, or any information that should be shown once.

​
Storing flash data

$request->session()->flash('status', 'Post saved successfully.');

​
Extending flash data

// Keep all flash data for one more request
$request->session()->reflash();

// Keep specific keys for one more request
$request->session()->keep(['status', 'message']);

​
Displaying flash messages in Blade

{{-- resources/views/layouts/app.blade.php --}}

@if (session('success'))
    <div class="alert alert-success">
        {{ session('success') }}
    </div>
@endif

@if (session('error'))
    <div class="alert alert-danger">
        {{ session('error') }}
    </div>
@endif
Place flash message display in your layout file so it appears consistently on every page that uses that layout.

​
Example: flash messages after a form submission

Storing a success message after a form submission and showing it on the next page is one of the most common session patterns in Laravel.
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');
2

Store the flash message in the controller

After saving the post, redirect with a success message attached:
<?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
{
    public function index(): View
    {
        return view('posts.index', ['posts' => Post::latest()->get()]);
    }

    public function create(): View
    {
        return view('posts.create');
    }

    public function store(Request $request): RedirectResponse
    {
        $validated = $request->validate([
            'title' => 'required|string|max:255',
            'body'  => 'required|string',
        ]);

        Post::create($validated);

        return redirect()
            ->route('posts.index')
            ->with('success', 'Post created successfully.');
    }
}
redirect()->with('success', '...') is a shortcut that flashes the value to the session before redirecting.
3

Show the message in the layout

Add flash message display to resources/views/layouts/app.blade.php:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My App</title>
</head>
<body>
    @if (session('success'))
        <div class="alert alert-success">
            {{ session('success') }}
        </div>
    @endif

    @if (session('error'))
        <div class="alert alert-danger">
            {{ session('error') }}
        </div>
    @endif

    @yield('content')
</body>
</html>
4

Create the list view

{{-- resources/views/posts/index.blade.php --}}

@extends('layouts.app')

@section('content')
<h1>Posts</h1>

@foreach ($posts as $post)
    <div>
        <h2>{{ $post->title }}</h2>
        <p>{{ $post->body }}</p>
    </div>
@endforeach
@endsection
After a successful save, the success message appears at the top of this page exactly once.
flush() removes all session data, including login state. If you only want to remove specific data, use forget() with the relevant keys.

​
Next steps

Validation

Validate incoming request data before processing or storing it.
Last modified on March 29, 2026