Simplify Complex Array Access in Laravel with data_get()

Laravel’s data_get() helper makes working with complex and nested data structures effortless. This article shows practical patterns to extract values cleanly using dot notation and wildcards—without repetitive checks.

Example 1: Extracting Values from Variant-Based Data

$products = [
    'desk' => [
        ['sku' => 'D-1', 'stock' => 10],
        ['sku' => 'D-2', 'stock' => 0],
    ],
    'chair' => [
        ['sku' => 'C-1', 'stock' => 5],
    ],
];
$stocks = data_get($products, 'desk.*.stock');

Result:

[10, 0]

✔ Clean

✔ No loops

✔ No conditions

Example 2: Reading a Specific Position in a Sequence

$journey = [
    'stops' => [
        ['city' => 'Delhi', 'time' => '08:00'],
        ['city' => 'Dubai', 'time' => '13:30'],
        ['city' => 'London', 'time' => '18:45'],
    ],
];
$finalStop = data_get($journey, 'stops.2.city');

You get exactly what you want, without checking array indexes manually.

Example 3: Mixing Wildcards with Defaults

$orders = [
    ['id' => 1, 'total' => 250],
    ['id' => 2],
    ['id' => 3, 'total' => 400],
];
$totals = data_get($orders, '*.total', 0);

Result:

[250, 0, 400]

This is extremely useful when working with partially filled API responses.