Add signed_route() and temporary_signed_route() global helpers (Laravel 12.x)

[robertogallea]

Hi! I’d like to propose adding two small global helpers to Laravel’s helper set to complement the existing route() helper when working with signed URLs.

Motivation

Laravel provides:

• route() — ergonomic global helper for standard named route URLs
• URL::signedRoute() / URL::temporarySignedRoute() — for signed URLs
• url()->signedRoute() / url()->temporarySignedRoute() — same APIs via the URL generator

In practice, when generating links in Blade/email templates, “plain” routes often use route(), while signed routes require switching to URL::... or url()->.... This is a small but frequent friction point.

A global helper would:

• Improve consistency with existing URL helpers (route(), url(), etc.)
• Improve discoverability (developers reach for route() first)
• Keep templates concise and readable, especially in Mailables/Notifications

Proposal

Add two additive, backward-compatible global helpers:

• signed_route() — creates a signed URL for a named route
• temporary_signed_route() — creates a signed URL with expiration

Both are thin wrappers around existing framework functionality.

Suggested signatures (Laravel 12.x)

signed_route(string $name, array $parameters = [], bool $absolute = true): string


temporary_signed_route(
    string $name,
    \DateTimeInterface|\DateInterval|int $expiration,
    array $parameters = [],
    bool $absolute = true
): string

Where:

• $name is the named route
• $parameters are the usual route parameters / query parameters
• $absolute matches the existing signed URL methods (allow relative signed URLs)
• $expiration matches URL::temporarySignedRoute() accepted types

Usage examples

Basic signed link

$link = signed_route('unsubscribe', ['user' => $user->id]);

Temporary signed link (30 minutes)

$link = temporary_signed_route('unsubscribe', now()->addMinutes(30), ['user' => $user->id]);

Relative signed link (useful behind proxies / varying hostnames)

$link = signed_route('unsubscribe', ['user' => $user->id], absolute: false);

Blade / email templates

<a href="{{ temporary_signed_route('verify.email', now()->addMinutes(60), ['id' => $user->id]) }}">
    Verify Email
</a>

Implementation notes

• Implementation would simply call URL::signedRoute() and URL::temporarySignedRoute() internally.
• Helpers should be defined only if not already defined (function_exists) to remain consistent with existing helpers.
• Placement: alongside the existing routing/URL helpers (near route()), to keep related helpers grouped.

Tests

I’m happy to include tests covering:

• signed_route() includes a valid signature
• temporary_signed_route() includes expires and a valid signature
• absolute: false produces a relative URL and validates correctly (relative signature validation path)
• Parameter tampering invalidates the signature

Docs

I can also update the URL generation / Signed URLs documentation to mention these helpers as convenience alternatives to the URL:: facade and url() generator.

Questions for maintainers

Are the helper names (signed_route, temporary_signed_route) acceptable, or would you prefer a different naming scheme for consistency?

Any preference on whether $absolute should be positional-only (like many helpers) vs named argument support?

If there’s interest, I’m ready to open a PR against 12.x with code + tests + docs.

[shaedrich]

Wouldn't it make more sense to change the route() helper to function like other helpers?

if (! function_exists('route')) {
    /**
     * Generate the URL to a named route.
     *
     * @param  \BackedEnum|string|null  $name
     * @param  mixed  $parameters
     * @param  bool  $absolute
     */
    function route($name = null, $parameters = [], $absolute = true): string
    {
        if ($name === null) {
            return new class {
                public function __construct(
                    private UrlGenerator $urlGenerator,
                ) {}

                /**
                 * Create a signed route URL for a named route.
                 *
                 * @param  string  $name
                 * @param  mixed  $parameters
                 * @param  \DateTimeInterface|\DateInterval|int|null  $expiration
                 * @param  bool  $absolute
                 * @return string
                 *
                 * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
                 */
                public function signed($name, $parameters = [], $expiration = null, $absolute = true)
                {
                    return $this->urlGenerator->signedRoute($name, $Parameters, $expiration, $absolute);
                }
            }
        }

        return app('url')->route($name, $parameters, $absolute);
    }
}

Of course, the anonymous class is for presentation purposes only.

[shaedrich]

Btw, you also have Uri::signedRoute() and Uri::temporarySignedRoute()

[HeathNaylor]

Yeah, it is easy enough to get signed routes as is and really isn't that common of a task. I'd say it's not worth it to add more to the global helpers, or even have it as behavior in the existing route helper.

[CWAscend]

I've actually written some of these helpers before for my own convenience, so I really do get where you are coming from. For actually having them in the laravel framework, where would you draw the line?

route() -> signed_route() -> temporary_signed_route()
to_route() -> to_signed_route() -> to_temporary_signed_route()
redirect()->route() -> redirect()->signedRoute() -> redirect()->temporarySignedRoute()

The list probably goes on.

As much as I'd like to say yes, I'd probably have to say we should stick with the URL facade when it comes to this :)