Laravel String Helpers: 16 Open-Source Examples

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Tuesday, November 14, 2023 7 mins to read

Laravel has a lot of valuable helper functions. This post will show 16 examples of string helpers and how they are used in real projects.

Notice: String Syntax Changes

Before we begin, a little notice: you may find different variants of the same String functions, so you would understand the differences, here's what were added in Laravel lately.

In Laravel 7, they added Fluent String Operations. You may create a fluent Illuminate\Support\Stringable object using the Str::of() method. All fluent string methods can be found in the official documentation.
In Laravel 9, they added a new str() helper. The str() function is shorter and equivalent to the Str::of() method, which returns the Illuminate\Support\Stringable.

1. Str::slug()

The easiest way to create a slug from a given string without using any external packages is the Str::slug() helper.

An example is from an open-source platform BookStackApp.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class ImageStorage
{
    // ...
 
    public function cleanImageFileName(string $name): string
    {
        $name = str_replace(' ', '-', $name);
        $nameParts = explode('.', $name);
        $extension = array_pop($nameParts);
        $name = implode('-', $nameParts);
        $name = Str::slug($name); 
 
        if (strlen($name) === 0) {
            $name = Str::random(10);
        }
 
        return $name . '.' . $extension;
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

2. Str::title()

Create a title from a string where the first letter of every word starts with a capital letter using Str::title() helper.

An example is from an open-source platform BookStackApp.

// ...
<h1 class="list-heading">{{ Str::title(trans('auth.log_in')) }}</h1>
// ...

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

3. Str::startsWith()

If you need to check whether a string starts with a given value, the Str::startsWith() helper is just for that.

An example is from an open-source project Pterodactyl.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class ActivityLogged extends Event
{
    // ...
 
    public function isServerEvent(): bool
    {
        return Str::startsWith($this->model->event, 'server:');
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

4. Str::endsWith()

Opposite to the Str::startsWith(), the Str::endsWith() helper checks if a given string end with a provided value.

An example is from an open-source project creater.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class PathToZip implements Rule
{
    // ...
 
    public function passes($attribute, $value)
    {
        return Str::endsWith($value, '.zip');
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

5. Str::before() and basename()

The Str::before() helper returns everything from a string before a given value.

An example is from an open-source project creater. The basename will return a full filename with an extension, and from the Str::before, everything before .blade.php will be returned.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class Invoice extends Model implements HasMedia
{
    // ...
 
    public static function invoiceTemplates()
    {
        $templates = Storage::disk('views')->files('/app/pdf/invoice');
        $invoiceTemplates = [];
 
        foreach ($templates as $key => $template) {
            $templateName = Str::before(basename($template), '.blade.php'); 
            $invoiceTemplates[$key]['name'] = $templateName;
            $invoiceTemplates[$key]['path'] = vite_asset('img/PDF/'.$templateName.'.png');
        }
 
        return $invoiceTemplates;
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

6. Str::kebab()

The Str::kebab() helper converts a string to a kebab-case.

An example is from an open-source project akaunting.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
trait Sources
{
    // ...
 
    public function getSourceAlias()
    {
        $prefix = '';
 
        $namespaces = explode('\\', get_class($this));
 
        if (empty($namespaces[0]) || (empty($namespaces[1]))) {
            return $prefix;
        }
 
        if ($namespaces[0] != 'Modules') {
            return 'core';
        }
 
        $prefix = Str::kebab($namespaces[1]);
 
        return $prefix;
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

7. Str::snake()

The Str::snake() helper converts a string to a snake_case.

An example is from an open-source project akaunting.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
abstract class Export implements FromCollection, HasLocalePreference, ShouldAutoSize, ShouldQueue, WithHeadings, WithMapping, WithTitle, WithStrictNullComparison
{
    // ...
 
    public function title(): string
    {
        return Str::snake((new \ReflectionClass($this))->getShortName());
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

8. Str::plural()

The Str::plural() helper is a handy method for converting a singular word to its plural form.

An example is from an open-source project laravel.io.

// ...
    <span class="text-gray-700">
        {{ $member->solutions_count }} {{ Str::plural('Solution', $member->solutions_count) }}
    </span>
// ...

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

9. Str::random()

A handy helper Str::random() to generate a random string with a specified length.

An example is from an open-source page freek.dev.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class Post extends Model implements Feedable, HasMedia, Sluggable
{
    // ...
 
    public static function booted()
    {
        static::creating(function (Post $post) {
            $post->preview_secret = Str::random(10); 
        });
 
        // ...
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

10. Str::of()->contains()

An example of a fluent string syntax with a contains() helper to check if a string contains a given value.

An example is from an open-source project pixelfed.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class AutolinkService
{
    const CACHE_KEY = 'pf:services:autolink:';
 
    public static function mentionedUsernameExists($username)
    {
        $key = 'pf:services:autolink:userexists:' . hash('sha256', $username);
 
        return Cache::remember($key, 3600, function() use($username) {
            $remote = Str::of($username)->contains('@');
            $profile = Profile::whereUsername($username)->first();
            // ...
        });
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

11. Str::of()->explode()->last()

An example of a fluent string syntax where a string is using explode() method is exploded by a given delimiter. The explode() returns a collection to which the last() method is used to receive only the last item as a result.

An example is from an open-source project pixelfed.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class AvatarService
{
    // ...
 
    public static function cleanup($avatar, $confirm = false)
    {
        // ...
 
        $curFile = Str::of($avatar->cdn_url)->explode('/')->last(); 
 
        $files = $files->filter(function($f) use($curFile) {
            return !$curFile || !str_ends_with($f, $curFile);
        })->each(function($name) use($disk) {
            $disk->delete($name);
        });
 
        return;
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

12. Str::limit()

The [Str::limit()] is helpful to create, for example, excerpts from a string by a given length.

An example is from an open-source project laravel.io.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
final class Reply extends Model implements MentionAble, Spam
{
    // ...
 
    public function excerpt(int $limit = 100): string
    {
        return Str::limit(strip_tags(md_to_html($this->body())), $limit);
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

Another example is from an open-source page freek.dev.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class Ad extends Model
{
    // ...
 
    public function getExcerptAttribute()
    {
        return Str::limit($this->text);
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

13. Str::replaceLast()

The Str::replaceLast replaces the last provided value in a string with a given new value.

An example is from an open-source page spatie.be.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class DisplayablePrice
{
    // ...
 
    public function formattedPrice(): string
    {
        $amount = number_format($this->priceInCents / 100, 2, '.', ' ');
 
        $amount = Str::replaceLast('.00', '', $amount); 
 
        return "{$this->currencySymbol} {$amount}";
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

14. Str::of()->after()->before()->toString()

An example of a fluent string syntax where after(), before, and toString() methods are chained.

An example is from an open-source page spatie.be.

use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 
class MusicController
{
    public function __invoke(): View
    {
        $playlists = Playlist::query()->get()->sortByDesc(
            // Take number from "#123: The Playlist Title"
            fn (Playlist $playlist) => (int) Str::of($playlist->name) 
                ->after('#')
                ->before(':')
                ->toString() 
        );
 
        return view('front.pages.blog.music', ['playlists' => $playlists]);
    }
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

15. str()->camel()->kebab()

An example of a str() helper usage with camel and kebab methods chained.

An example is from an open-source package filament/tables.

// ...
 
<x-filament-tables::cell
    :wire:key="$this->getId() . '.table.record.' . $recordKey . '.column.' . $column->getName()"
    :attributes="
        \Filament\Support\prepare_inherited_attributes($column->getExtraCellAttributeBag())
            ->class([
                'fi-table-cell-' . str($column->getName())->camel()->kebab(), 
                $getHiddenClasses($column),
            ])
    "
>
// ...

Link to the example in GitHub repository.

16. str()->before()->kebab()->replace()->ucfirst()

An example of a str() helper usage with before, kebab, replace, and ucfirst methods chained to generate a label.

An example is from an open-source package filament/forms.

class Select extends Field implements Contracts\HasAffixActions, Contracts\HasNestedRecursiveValidationRules
{
    // ...
 
    public function getLabel(): string | Htmlable | null
    {
        if ($this->label === null && $this->hasRelationship()) {
            $label = (string) str($this->getRelationshipName())
                ->before('.')
                ->kebab()
                ->replace(['-', '_'], ' ')
                ->ucfirst();
 
            return ($this->shouldTranslateLabel) ? __($label) : $label;
        }
 
        return parent::getLabel();
    }
 
    // ...
}

Link to the example in GitHub repository.