Attribute Json

The #[Json] attribute marks an action as a JSON endpoint, returning data directly to JavaScript. Validation errors trigger a promise rejection with structured error data. This is ideal for actions consumed by JavaScript rather than rendered in Blade.

Basic usage

Apply the #[Json] attribute to any action method that returns data for JavaScript consumption:

php

<?php // resources/views/components/⚡search.blade.php

use Livewire\Attributes\Json;
use Livewire\Component;
use App\Models\Post;

new class extends Component {
    #[Json] // [tl! highlight]
    public function search($query)
    {
        return Post::where('title', 'like', "%{$query}%")
            ->limit(10)
            ->get();
    }
};

blade

<div x-data="{ query: '', posts: [] }">
    <input
        type="text"
        x-model="query"
        x-on:input.debounce="$wire.search(query).then(data => posts = data)"
    >

    <ul>
        <template x-for="post in posts">
            <li x-text="post.title"></li>
        </template>
    </ul>
</div>

The search() method returns posts directly to Alpine, where they're stored in the posts array and rendered client-side.

Handling responses

JSON methods resolve with the return value on success, and reject on validation failure:

On success:

let data = await $wire.search('query')
// data = [ { id: 1, title: '...' }, ...]

On validation failure:

try {
    let data = await $wire.save()
} catch (e) {
    // e.status = 422
    // e.errors = { name: ['The name field is required.'] }
}

Or using .catch():

$wire.save()
    .then(data => {
        // Handle success
        console.log(data)
    })
    .catch(e => {
        if (e.status === 422) {
            // Handle validation errors
            console.log(e.errors)
        }
    })

Error rejection shape

When a promise is rejected, the error object has this structure:

{
    status: 422,    // HTTP status code (422 for validation errors)
    body: null,     // Raw response body (null for validation errors)
    json: null,     // Parsed JSON (null for validation errors)
    errors: {...}   // Validation errors object
}

For HTTP errors (500, etc.), the shape is the same but with the actual response data:

{
    status: 500,
    body: '<html>...</html>',
    json: null,
    errors: null
}

Behavior

The #[Json] attribute automatically applies two behaviors:

Skips rendering - The component doesn't re-render after the action completes, since the response is consumed by JavaScript
Runs asynchronously - The action executes in parallel without blocking other requests

These behaviors match what you'd expect from an API-style endpoint.

When to use

Use #[Json] when:

Building dynamic search/autocomplete - Fetching results for a dropdown or suggestion list
Loading data into JavaScript - Populating charts, maps, or other JS-driven UI
Submitting forms with JS handling - When you want to handle success/error states in JavaScript
Integrating with third-party libraries - Providing data to libraries that manage their own rendering

[!warning] Validation errors are isolated Validation errors from JSON methods are only returned via promise rejection. They don't appear in $wire.$errors or the component's error bag. This is intentional—JSON methods are self-contained and don't affect the component's rendered state.

Basic usage

Handling responses

Error rejection shape

Behavior

When to use

See also