Laravel Route::pattern causes parameters order to shift. How can I fix this?

Updated: Feb 04, 2025

Laravel Route::pattern causes parameters order to shift. How can I fix this?

When working with Laravel routes, you might encounter a situation where using Route::pattern causes the order of parameters to shift unexpectedly. This can lead to routing issues and incorrect parameter values in your controller methods.

To fix this issue, you need to understand how Laravel routes are defined and how Route::pattern affects the parameter ordering.

By default, Laravel routes are defined using a regular expression pattern. When you define a route with multiple parameters, Laravel assumes that the parameters are ordered based on their appearance in the route definition. For example, consider the following route definition:

Route::get('/users/{id}/posts/{postId}', 'PostController@show');

In this example, the route /users/{id}/posts/{postId} has two parameters: id and postId. Laravel assumes that id is the first parameter and postId is the second parameter based on their order in the route definition.

However, if you use Route::pattern to define a custom regular expression pattern for a parameter, the order of the parameters can change unexpectedly. For example, consider the following route definition:

Route::pattern('slug', '[a-z\-]+');
Route::get('/posts/{slug}/comments/{commentId}', 'CommentController@show');

In this example, the Route::pattern statement is used to define a custom regular expression pattern for the slug parameter. However, this statement does not affect the order of the parameters in the route definition. Therefore, Laravel assumes that slug is the first parameter and commentId is the second parameter based on their order in the route definition.

To fix this issue, you need to make sure that the order of the parameters in the route definition matches the order of the parameters in the controller method signature. You can achieve this by swapping the order of the parameters in the route definition if necessary.

For example, to fix the previous route definition, you need to swap the order of the parameters:

Route::get('/posts/comments/{commentId}/{slug}', 'CommentController@show');

In this example, the route /posts/comments/{commentId}/{slug} has two parameters: commentId and slug. Laravel assumes that commentId is the first parameter and slug is the second parameter based on their order in the route definition. This matches the order of the parameters in the controller method signature, so there will be no routing issues or incorrect parameter values.

Therefore, to fix the issue of Laravel route parameters order shifting caused by Route::pattern, make sure that the order of the parameters in the route definition matches the order of the parameters in the controller method signature. If necessary, swap the order of the parameters in the route definition to match the controller method signature.