laravel/framework · error · InvalidArgumentException

Array value for key [ ] must be an array, found.

Error message

Array value for key [%s] must be an array, %s found.

What it means

Thrown by Arr::array() when the value resolved from Arr::get() (dot-notation lookup) is not an array. Like the Cache equivalent, a missing key with no default yields null and fails.

Solutions

1. Pass an array default: Arr::array($data, 'key', []).
2. Validate the structure before reading with Arr::has() / is_array().
3. Normalize the source (json_decode with true to force arrays).

Example fix

// before
$list = Arr::array($payload, 'items'); // throws if missing
// after
$list = Arr::array($payload, 'items', []);

// Pass an array default; or check structure first.
if (Arr::has($data, 'items') && is_array(Arr::get($data, 'items'))) {
    $items = Arr::array($data, 'items');
} else {
    $items = [];
}

function isArrayOf(mixed $value): bool { return is_array($value); }

try {
    $items = Arr::array($payload, 'items');
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    $items = [];
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Arr::array($data, 'nested.key') where nested.key is a scalar, null, or absent and $default is null.

Common situations: Decoding JSON config and assuming nested arrays; third-party API responses where a field is sometimes scalar; missing keys in user-supplied input.

Related errors

• Array value for key [ ] must be a boolean, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be a float, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be a string, found.
• Array value for key [ ] must be an integer, found.
• Items cannot be represented by a scalar value.

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@e0f6eb3518 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7a23830f98eab860. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Collections/Arr.php:87

    {
        if (is_null(static::get($array, $key))) {
            static::set($array, $key, $value);
        }

        return $array;
    }

    /**
     * Get an array item from an array using "dot" notation.
     *
     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
     */
    public static function array(ArrayAccess|array $array, string|int|null $key, ?array $default = null): array
    {
        $value = Arr::get($array, $key, $default);

        if (! is_array($value)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException(
                sprintf('Array value for key [%s] must be an array, %s found.', $key, gettype($value))
            );
        }

        return $value;
    }

    /**
     * Get a boolean item from an array using "dot" notation.
     *
     * @throws \InvalidArgumentException
     */
    public static function boolean(ArrayAccess|array $array, string|int|null $key, ?bool $default = null): bool
    {
        $value = Arr::get($array, $key, $default);

        if (! is_bool($value)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException(

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