How to pass an array as a URL parameter in Laravel?

In Laravel, you can pass arrays as URL parameters using several PHP built-in functions. This is useful when you need to send structured data through URLs for API calls or redirects.

Using http_build_query()

The http_build_query() function converts an array into a URL-encoded query string, making it the most common approach for passing arrays in URLs.

Basic Example

Here's a simple demonstration of how http_build_query() works ?

<?php
$data = array(
   'field1' => 'test',
   'field2' => 'xyz'
);
echo http_build_query($data);
?>

field1=test&field2=xyz

Laravel Controller Example

The following example shows how to use http_build_query() in a Laravel controller to construct URLs with array parameters ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Http\Response;

class UserController extends Controller{
   public function index(Request $request) {
      $yoururl = "https://www.test.com";
      $params = array(
         "t1" => "abc",
         "t2" => "xyz"
      );
      echo $yourfinalurl = $yoururl."?".http_build_query($params);
   }
}
?>

https://www.test.com?t1=abc&t2=xyz

Using serialize() and urlencode()

You can combine serialize() and urlencode() to pass complex array structures. The serialize() function converts the array to a string representation, while urlencode() makes it URL-safe ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Http\Response;

class UserController extends Controller{
   public function index(Request $request) {
      $yoururl = "https://www.test.com";
      $params = array(
         "t1" => "abc",
         "t2" => "xyz"
      );
      $firstserialize = serialize($params);
      echo $yourfinalurl = $yoururl."?".urlencode($firstserialize);
   }
}
?>

https://www.test.com?a%3A2%3A%7Bs%3A2%3A%22t1%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22abc%22%3Bs%3A2%3A%22t2%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22xyz%22%3B%7D

Using json_encode() and urlencode()

Another approach is to use json_encode() with urlencode() for a more readable serialized format ?

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Http\Response;

class UserController extends Controller{
   public function index(Request $request) {
      $yoururl = "https://www.test.com";
      $params = array(
         "t1" => "abc",
         "t2" => "xyz"
      );
      echo $yourfinalurl = $yoururl."?".urlencode(json_encode($params));
   }
}
?>

https://www.test.com?%7B%22t1%22%3A%22abc%22%2C%22t2%22%3A%22xyz%22%7D

Comparison

Conclusion

Use http_build_query() for simple array-to-URL conversion as it produces the most readable URLs. For complex data structures, consider json_encode() with urlencode() for better cross-platform compatibility.