14 Laravel 11 Basics: Error Handling

Configuration

The debug option in your config/app.php file determines how much information about an error is displayed to the user. By default, this option respects the value of the APP_DEBUG environment variable stored in your .env file. Set this variable to true during local development and false in production to avoid exposing sensitive information.

// .env
APP_DEBUG=true

Handling Exceptions

Exception handling in Laravel involves reporting and rendering exceptions. You can customize this behavior in your bootstrap/app.php file using the withExceptions method.

Reporting Exceptions

To report exceptions, use the report method to log exceptions or send them to an external service like Sentry or Flare.

use Illuminate\Foundation\Exceptions;
 
->withExceptions(function (Exceptions $exceptions) {
    $exceptions->report(function (InvalidOrderException $e) {
        // Custom reporting logic
    });
});

To prevent the propagation of the exception to the default logging stack, use the stop method or return false from the callback.

->withExceptions(function (Exceptions $exceptions) {
    $exceptions->report(function (InvalidOrderException $e) {
        // Custom reporting logic
    })->stop();
 
    $exceptions->report(function (InvalidOrderException $e) {
        return false;
    });
});

Exception Log Context

You can add global contextual data to every exception's log message using the context method.

->withExceptions(function (Exceptions $exceptions) {
    $exceptions->context(fn () => [
        'foo' => 'bar',
    ]);
});

For specific exceptions, define a context method on the exception class to include unique context data.

public function context(): array
{
    return ['order_id' => $this->orderId];
}

Rendering Exceptions

By default, Laravel converts exceptions into HTTP responses. Customize this by registering a rendering closure for specific exception types.

use App\Exceptions\InvalidOrderException;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
 
->withExceptions(function (Exceptions $exceptions) {
    $exceptions->render(function (InvalidOrderException $e, Request $request) {
        return response()->view('errors.invalid-order', [], 500);
    });
});

To render exceptions as JSON based on the Accept header, use the shouldRenderJsonWhen method.

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Throwable;
 
->withExceptions(function (Exceptions $exceptions) {
    $exceptions->shouldRenderJsonWhen(function (Request $request, Throwable $e) {
        return $request->expectsJson();
    });
});

Custom HTTP Error Pages

Laravel allows you to customize error pages for various HTTP status codes. Create a resources/views/errors/404.blade.php view template for 404 errors.

// resources/views/errors/404.blade.php
{{ $exception->getMessage() }}

Publish Laravel's default error page templates using the vendor:publish Artisan command and customize them as needed.

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laravel-errors

Conclusion

Effective error handling is crucial for maintaining a robust application. By mastering the error handling techniques in Laravel 11, you can ensure a smooth user experience and maintain the integrity of your application.

For more detailed information, refer to the official Laravel 11 Error Handling Documentation.