Custom alphabetic validator that allows spaces

validators.php

<?php
/* app/validators.php  */

Validator::extend('alpha_spaces', function($attribute, $value)
{
    return preg_match('/^[\pL\s]+$/u', $value);
});


/*
* add the validators.php file in start/global.php: require app_path().'/validators.php'
* and use it as usual:  $rules = array('name' => 'required|alpha_spaces',);
*/

Well this didn't worked for me.
So i did this way.

Just Paste this method in Validator.php

public function validateAlphaSpaces($attribute, $value, $params)
{
return preg_match('/^[\pL\s]+$/u', $value);
}

And your message in Validation.php

/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Custom Validation Attributes
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| The following language lines are used to swap attribute place-holders
| with something more reader friendly such as E-Mail Address instead
| of "email". This simply helps us make messages a little cleaner.
|
*/
"alpha_spaces" => "The :attribute may only contain letters and spaces.",

And Its all done :).

Now call it as usual

public function rules()
{
return [
'applicantName' => 'required|alpha_spaces',
];
}

According to 5.2 docs, do this way.

1. Make provider via Artican CLI
   " php artisan make:provider YourServiceProvider "
2. Register it in config/app.php file to providers array,
   " ........
   App\Providers\RouteServiceProvider::class,
   App\Providers\YourServiceProvider::class, "
3. Edit the code in App\YourServiceProvider.php
   <?php namespace App\Providers; use Validator; use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider; class YourServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider { public function boot() { Validator::extend('alpha_spaces', function($attribute, $value) { return preg_match('/^[\pL\s]+$/u', $value); }); } public function register() { // } }

4.Add custom message in language file : resources\lang\en\validaton.php
'alpha_num' => 'The :attribute may only contain letters and numbers.', 'alpha_spaces' => 'The :attribute may only contain letters and spaces.',