Working with Laravel Session

1. Retrieving Value from Session

There are two primary ways of working with session data in Laravel: the global session() helper function and via a type-hinted Request instance on a controller method.

Via The Request Instance

For the Request instance, you need to use Illuminate\Http\Request;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

public function show(Request $request, $id)
{
// Retrieve a piece of data from the session...
$value = $request->session()->get('key');

// Second argument is the default value if the key does not exist
$value = $request->session()->get('key', 'default');

// You can also pass a Closure as a default value
$value = $request->session()->get('key', function () {
return 'default_value';
});
}

Via The Global Session Helper

// Retrieve a piece of data from the session...
$value = session('key');

// Retrieve data with a default value...
$value = session('key', 'default');

// Storing data via the helper...
session(['key' => 'value']);

2. Retrieving All Session Data

If you would like to retrieve all the available data in the session, you can use the all() method:

$data = $request->session()->all();

3. Checking If an Item Exists

To determine if a value is present in the session, you may use the has() method. The has() method returns true if the value is present and is not null.

if ($request->session()->has('users')) {
// The 'users' key exists and is not null...
}

4. Storing Data in the Session

To store data, you typically use the put() method of the Request instance or the session() helper:

// Via Request instance
$request->session()->put('key', 'value');

// Via Global Helper
session(['key' => 'value']);

5. Deleting Data from Session

The forget() method will remove the specified item from the session:

$request->session()->forget('key');

If you want to retrieve the value and then delete it, use the pull() method:

$value = $request->session()->pull('key', 'default');

To remove all items from the session, use flush():

$request->session()->flush();

6. Flash Data

Flash data is only available during the subsequent HTTP request and is then deleted. This is useful for status messages.

$request->session()->flash('status', 'Task was successful!');

7. Important: Session Persistence

Laravel writes session data at the very end of the request lifecycle. If you terminate the script early (e.g., using dd() or die()), the session will not save. To force an immediate save:

$request->session()->put('key', 'value');
$request->session()->save();

Bonus: 3 Advanced Session Tips

Tip 1: Pushing to Array Sessions

If your session key holds an array, you can use the push() method to add a new value to it without retrieving the whole array first.

$request->session()->push('user.teams', 'developers');

Tip 2: Re-flashing Data

If you need to keep your flash data for an additional request (for example, after a second redirect), you can use the reflash() or keep() methods.

// Keep all flash data for one more request
$request->session()->reflash();

// Keep only specific flash data
$request->session()->keep(['status', 'email']);

Tip 3: Regenerating the Session ID

To prevent session fixation attacks, you should regenerate the session ID periodically, especially after a user logs in. Laravel does this automatically during authentication, but you can do it manually:

$request->session()->regenerate();