mini\Validator\Validator class

Documentation

Composable validation builder

Build reusable validators that can be composed for complex validation scenarios. Inspired by JSON Schema, validators are permissive by default and rules are added incrementally.

Basic Usage

// Simple field validator with fluent API
$emailValidator = (new Validator())->required()->email();

if ($error = $emailValidator->isInvalid($_POST['email'])) {
    echo "Error: $error";
}

Entity Validation

class User {
    public static function validator(): Validator {
        return (new Validator())
            ->forProperty('username',
                (new Validator())->isString()->required()->minLength(3))
            ->forProperty('email',
                (new Validator())->required()->email())
            ->forProperty('age',
                (new Validator())->isInt()->minVal(18));
    }
}

// Direct field validation
if ($error = User::validator()->username->isInvalid($_POST['username'])) {
    echo "Username error: $error";
}

// Full entity validation
$errors = User::validator()->validate($_POST);
if ($errors) {
    // ['username' => Translatable, 'email' => Translatable, ...]
}

Composition & Reusability

// Define reusable validators
$emailValidator = (new Validator())->required()->email();
$passwordValidator = (new Validator())->required()->minLength(8);

// Compose into entity validator
$userValidator = (new Validator())
    ->forProperty('email', $emailValidator)
    ->forProperty('password', $passwordValidator);

// Partial validation (returns clone)
$profileValidator = User::validator()->withoutFields(['password']);

Design Philosophy

  • Permissive by default: Empty validator accepts any value
  • Non-smart: Doesn't prevent contradictory rules (e.g., isInt()->isString())
  • Fail fast: Returns first error for field validation
  • Nullable aware: Optional fields skip validation when empty
  • Lazy translation: Error messages (Translatable) aren't converted until displayed

Inheritance

Implements: JsonSerializable

Properties (7)

private array $rules
private array $propertyValidators
private array $patternPropertyValidators
private ?mini\Validator\Validator $additionalPropertiesValidator
private bool $allowAdditionalProperties
private bool $isRequired
private Stringable|string|null $requiredMessage

Methods (54)

public __get()

Magic property access for field validators

public __invoke()

Invokable: $validator($value)

public isInvalid()

Check if value is invalid

private validateRule()

Validate a single rule

public validate()

Validate entire structure (alias for isInvalid)

public required()

Mark field as required

private setRule()

Set a rule immutably (clones before mutation)

public type()

Set JSON Schema type(s)

public format()

Validate string format (JSON Schema: format)

public minLength()

Validate minimum string length

public maxLength()

Validate maximum string length

public const()

Validate exact value match (JSON Schema: const)

public enum()

Validate value is in allowed list (JSON Schema: enum)

public minimum()

Validate minimum value (inclusive) - JSON Schema: minimum

public maximum()

Validate maximum value (inclusive) - JSON Schema: maximum

public exclusiveMinimum()

Validate minimum value (exclusive) - JSON Schema: exclusiveMinimum

public exclusiveMaximum()

Validate maximum value (exclusive) - JSON Schema: exclusiveMaximum

public multipleOf()

Validate number is a multiple of value (JSON Schema: multipleOf)

public minItems()

Validate minimum array length (JSON Schema: minItems)

public maxItems()

Validate maximum array length (JSON Schema: maxItems)

public minProperties()

Validate minimum number of object properties (JSON Schema: minProperties)

public maxProperties()

Validate maximum number of object properties (JSON Schema: maxProperties)

public dependentRequired()

Validate dependent required properties (JSON Schema: dependentRequired)

public uniqueItems()

Validate array has unique items (JSON Schema: uniqueItems)

public items()

Validate all array items against a schema (JSON Schema: items)

public additionalItems()

Validate additional items beyond tuple schema (JSON Schema: additionalItems)

public minContains()

Validate minimum number of items matching a schema (JSON Schema: minContains)

public maxContains()

Validate maximum number of items matching a schema (JSON Schema: maxContains)

public pattern()

Validate value matches regex pattern

public anyOf()

Validate against any of the provided validators (JSON Schema: anyOf)

public allOf()

Validate against all of the provided validators (JSON Schema: allOf)

public oneOf()

Validate against exactly one of the provided validators (JSON Schema: oneOf)

public not()

Validate that value does NOT match validator (JSON Schema: not)

public custom()

Custom validation callback (for server-side validation only)

public forProperty()

Add validator for object property or array key

public properties()

Define validators for multiple properties (JSON Schema: properties)

public patternProperties()

Validate properties matching regex patterns (JSON Schema: patternProperties)

public additionalProperties()

Validate additional properties (JSON Schema: additionalProperties)

public withoutFields()

Remove fields from validation

public withFields()

Keep only specified fields for validation

private isObjectLike()

Check if a value is object-like (PHP object or associative array)

private validateCustom()

Validate using custom closure

private validateType()

Documentation missing

private validateFormat()

Documentation missing

private validateItems()

Documentation missing

private validateAnyOf()

Documentation missing

private validateAllOf()

Documentation missing

private validateOneOf()

Documentation missing

private validateNot()

Documentation missing

private validateAdditionalItems()

Documentation missing

private validateMinContains()

Documentation missing

private validateMaxContains()

Documentation missing

private validateDependentRequired()

Documentation missing

public jsonSerialize()

Export validator as JSON Schema (JsonSerializable interface)

Source

src/Validator/Validator.php:79-1153