Why is my validation rule not working in my Laravel Controller? - laravel

Question

I am trying to write a test that checks that a date is formatted correctly. Looking at the docs it seems pretty straight-forward.
Here is my test. I am submitting an invalid date format to my controller:
MyTest.php
/** #test */
public function a_date_must_be_formatted_correctly()
{
$foo = factory(Foo::class)->raw([
'date' => date('d/m/Y'),
]);
$response = $this->postJson('api/v1/foo', $foo)
->assertStatus(422)
->assertJsonValidationErrors('date');
}
Here is my controller method:
public function store(Request $request)
{
$attributes = $request->validate([
'date' => 'required|date_format:Y-m-d',
]);
...
}
I get a passing test each time.
I have also tried wrapping the format in quotes: 'date' => 'required|date_format:"Y-m-d"',
I'm expecting to get a 422 back saying my date is invalid. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Well, I ended up writing a custom rule. I don't think this is the correct solution though given that Laravel has the handy built-in stuff. I feel like I should be leveraging that instead. In my case I am working with Blackout date(s).
Hers is what I ended up with. If there is a way to make the built-in methods work, please let me know so I can update the answer.
MyTest.php
/** #test */
public function a_blackout_date_must_be_formatted_correctly()
{
$blackout = factory(Blackout::class)->raw([
'date' => date('d/m/Y'),
]);
$response = $this->postJson('api/v1/blackouts', $blackout)
->assertStatus(422)
->assertJsonValidationErrors('date');
}
MyController.php
public function store(Request $request)
{
$attributes = $request->validate([
'date' => ['required', new DateFormatRule],
...
]);
$blackout = new Blackout($attributes);
...
}
DateFormatRule.php
public function passes($attribute, $value)
{
// The format we're looking for.
$format = 'Y-m-d';
// Create a new DateTime object.
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat($format, $value);
// Verify that the date provided is formatted correctly.
return $date && $date->format($format) === $value;
}
/**
* Get the validation error message.
*
* #return string
*/
public function message()
{
return 'Invalid date format.';
}
In my test I am getting a 422 response as expected. I can verify things are working by changing the name of the expected error from date to date123 and I'll get an error -- saying It was expecting date not date123.
Hope this helps someone!