Flashdata

Flashdata survives exactly one additional request. It is the standard way to show a success or error message after a redirect.

Set a flash message

return redirect()->to('/products')->with('success', 'Product created.');

with() writes the value as flashdata before redirecting.

Read and display

if (session()->has('success')) {
    echo '<div class="alert alert-success">' . esc(session('success')) . '</div>';
}

Using the session directly

$session = session();
$session->setFlashdata('success', 'Saved.');
$message = $session->getFlashdata('success');

Keep it for another request

$session->keepFlashdata('success');

Use keepFlashdata() only when a second request should also display the message, for example after a redirect chain.

Good practices

• Store short, plain messages; do not put large objects or sensitive data in flashdata.
• Escape the message when rendering it.
• Display messages in one shared layout partial so every page behaves the same.
• Use flashdata for outcomes, not for form values; old input has its own mechanism.