Laravel 5.2 validation errors

Update as of Laravel 5.2.27

Laravel now supports the web middleware by default as you can see here: source

In other words, you no longer need to wrap your routes around the web middleware group because it does it for you in the RouteServiceProvider file. However, if you are using a version of Laravel between 5.2.0 and 5.2.26, then refer to the method below:

Below only applies to Laravel 5.2.0 to 5.2.26

Without seeing your routes.php or Kernel.php file, here is what I suspect is happening.

The way middlewares work has changed from 5.2 and 5.1. In 5.1, you will see this in your app/Http/Kernel.php file:

protected $middleware = [    \Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Middleware\CheckForMaintenanceMode::class,    \App\Http\Middleware\EncryptCookies::class,    \Illuminate\Cookie\Middleware\AddQueuedCookiesToResponse::class,    \Illuminate\Session\Middleware\StartSession::class,    \Illuminate\View\Middleware\ShareErrorsFromSession::class,    \App\Http\Middleware\VerifyCsrfToken::class,];

This array is your application's global HTTP middleware stack. In other words, they run on every request. Take a note at this particular middleware: Illuminate\View\Middleware\ShareErrorsFromSession. This is what adds the $errors variable on every request.

However, in 5.2, things have changed to allow for both a web UI and an API within the same application. Now, you will see this in that same file:

protected $middleware = [    \Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Middleware\CheckForMaintenanceMode::class,];protected $middlewareGroups = [    'web' => [        \App\Http\Middleware\EncryptCookies::class,        \Illuminate\Cookie\Middleware\AddQueuedCookiesToResponse::class,        \Illuminate\Session\Middleware\StartSession::class,        \Illuminate\View\Middleware\ShareErrorsFromSession::class,        \App\Http\Middleware\VerifyCsrfToken::class,    ],    'api' => [        'throttle:60,1',    ],];

The global middleware stack now only checks for maintenance. You now have a middleware group called "web" that includes a bulk of the previous global middleware. Remember that it is like this to allow for both a web UI and an API within the same application.

So how do we get that $errors variable back?

In your routes file, you need to add your routes within the "web" middleware group for you to have access to that $errors variable on every request. Like this:

Route::group(['middleware' => ['web']], function () {    // Add your routes here});

If you aren't going to build an API, another option is to move the "web" middlewares to the global middleware stack like in 5.1.

Try using

return redirect()->back()              ->withInput($request->all())              ->withErrors($validator->errors()); // will return only the errors

Try to replace:

->withErrors($validator, 'error');

with:

->withErrors($validator);