Responses

Return the value that best fits the HTTP result:

Return value	Result
Array	JSON response.
String	Normal response body.
Laravel view	Rendered view.
JSON response or redirect	The supplied response.
Streamed or file response	The supplied response, prepared for the request.
Laravel Responsable object	Converted using its toResponse() method.

Exert uses Laravel's Router::toResponse() before the handler result returns through action middleware. Middleware can therefore work with the response returned by $next($request).

Laravel's usual rules still apply to status codes, content types, HEAD responses, and response preparation. Exert does not force every result into a custom JSON format.

Pick a status deliberately

A plain array is useful for an ordinary successful result. When you need a specific status or header, build the response yourself:

return response()->json(['accepted' => true], 202);

A command that has completed without a response body can return:

return response()->noContent();

For a browser workflow, a redirect is also valid:

return redirect('/orders');

Choose the response based on what actually happened. For example, use 202 when work was accepted for later processing, not simply because the request was a POST.

Middleware sees the converted response

An action returning an array does not require every middleware to understand arrays. Exert converts the handler result before it returns through action middleware, so middleware can add headers or inspect the status.

An early return from middleware skips that destination. Such middleware should return a response object itself. See Action middleware.

Keep private data out of the response

Return the fields the caller needs. If you return models, Laravel's serialization rules still apply. Exert does not strip secrets or enforce resource policies for you.