Laravel 12 File Upload with Validation Example

4 min read - Last updated on: 3 May 2026

File uploading is one of the most common features in web applications. In this tutorial, you will learn how to implement file upload with validation in a Laravel 12 application using the Storage facade.

Step 1: Install Laravel 12

Create a fresh Laravel application if you don't already have one:

composer create-project laravel/laravel file-upload-app

Step 2: Create the Upload Form

Create a Blade view at resources/views/upload.blade.php with a file input and CSRF token:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>File Upload</title></head>
<body>
    @if (session('success'))
        <p style="color:green">{{ session('success') }}</p>
    @endif

    @if ($errors->any())
        <ul>@foreach ($errors->all() as $e) <li>{{ $e }}</li> @endforeach</ul>
    @endif

    <form method="POST" action="{{ route('upload.store') }}" enctype="multipart/form-data">
        @csrf
        <input type="file" name="document" />
        <button type="submit">Upload</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

Step 3: Create a Form Request for Validation

Generate a Form Request to keep validation logic out of your controller:

php artisan make:request UploadFileRequest

Open app/Http/Requests/UploadFileRequest.php and define the rules:

namespace App\Http\Requests;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;

class UploadFileRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return true;
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'document' => [
                'required',
                'file',
                'mimes:pdf,doc,docx,jpg,jpeg,png',
                'max:5120', // 5 MB
            ],
        ];
    }

    public function messages(): array
    {
        return [
            'document.required' => 'Please select a file to upload.',
            'document.mimes'    => 'Only PDF, Word, and image files are allowed.',
            'document.max'      => 'The file must not exceed 5 MB.',
        ];
    }
}

Step 4: Create the Controller

php artisan make:controller UploadController

Open app/Http/Controllers/UploadController.php and add the upload logic:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Http\Requests\UploadFileRequest;
use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;
use Illuminate\View\View;

class UploadController extends Controller
{
    public function create(): View
    {
        return view('upload');
    }

    public function store(UploadFileRequest $request): RedirectResponse
    {
        // Store in storage/app/public/uploads — publicly accessible
        $path = $request->file('document')->store('uploads', 'public');

        return redirect()->route('upload.create')
            ->with('success', "File uploaded successfully: $path");
    }
}

Step 5: Define Routes

use App\Http\Controllers\UploadController;

Route::get('/upload', [UploadController::class, 'create'])->name('upload.create');
Route::post('/upload', [UploadController::class, 'store'])->name('upload.store');

Step 6: Create the Storage Symlink

Run the following command to make uploaded files publicly accessible via the browser:

php artisan storage:link

Files stored in storage/app/public/uploads will be accessible at /storage/uploads/filename.

Step 7: Retrieve Uploaded Files

To display or link to an uploaded file, use the Storage facade:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;

// Get the public URL
$url = Storage::url($path); // e.g. /storage/uploads/abc123.pdf

// Check if file exists
Storage::disk('public')->exists('uploads/abc123.pdf');

// Delete a file
Storage::disk('public')->delete('uploads/abc123.pdf');

Step 8: Test the Application

php artisan serve

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000/upload in your browser and try uploading different file types to test the validation rules.