Laravel DTOs

Data Transfer Objects: never pass primitives, always use structured DTOs with Spatie Laravel Data.

Core Concepts

dtos.md - Complete DTO guide:

• Spatie Data basics
• Request vs response DTOs (dual DTO pattern)
• Formatters and transformers
• Test factories
• Validation integration

dto-factories.md - DTO Factory pattern:

• Transform external data into internal DTOs
• Named constructors
• Field mapping and enum transformations
• Nested DTOs
• Safe data access

Pattern

use Spatie\LaravelData\Data;

final class CreateOrderDto extends Data
{
    public function __construct(
        public int $userId,
        public array $items,
        public ?string $notes = null,
    ) {}
}

Use DTOs for:

• Action parameters
• API requests/responses
• Service communication
• Form request transformation