Reader Stacks
Laravel

Getting the Current URL in Laravel, With and Without Query Parameters

url()->current() and url()->full() differ by exactly one thing — whether the query string is included — a distinction that matters the moment a "highlight the active filter" or "preserve search params" feature needs it.

Published
Oct 24, 2022
Updated
Jun 1, 2026
By
Reader Stacks Editorial
Getting the Current URL in Laravel, With and Without Query Parameters

Laravel provides several closely related ways to get the current request's URL — the specific difference between them (whether query parameters are included, whether it's a full URL or just a path) matters for getting an "active nav link" or "preserve current filters" feature exactly right.

The current URL without query parameters

url()->current()
// or
$request->url()
// For https://example.com/products?category=electronics&sort=price
// Returns: https://example.com/products

The full current URL, including query parameters

url()->full()
// or
$request->fullUrl()
// Returns: https://example.com/products?category=electronics&sort=price

Just the path, without domain or query string

$request->path()
// Returns: products (no leading slash, no domain, no query string)

Highlighting the active navigation link

Products

request()->is() checks the current path against a pattern, supporting a trailing * wildcard — request()->is('products*') would also match /products/123, useful for keeping a parent nav item highlighted while on any of its sub-pages.

Checking the current route by name, rather than by URL pattern

Products

routeIs() checking the route's registered name (rather than the literal URL string) is generally the more robust choice — it keeps working correctly even if the actual URL pattern changes later, as long as the route's name itself stays the same.

Preserving the current query string when generating a link


    Sort by price

array_merge() with request()->query() preserves every other currently active query parameter while changing just the one being updated — without this merge, changing the sort order would silently drop any other active filter (like a category selection) from the URL.

Getting a specific query parameter's value

$search = request()->query('search');
$search = $request->input('search'); // also checks POST body, not just query string

Redirecting back to the current URL after an action

return redirect(url()->current());
// or, more commonly, simply:
return back();

back() is generally preferable to manually reconstructing url()->current() — it uses the HTTP referer header (or a configured fallback) and correctly preserves any query string or form input the user had, which is exactly the behavior wanted after handling a form submission that should return to where the user came from.

Getting the current URL from within a Blade template directly

This is genuinely useful for setting a canonical URL tag for SEO purposes — deliberately using current() (without query parameters) rather than full() here is usually correct, since a canonical tag typically shouldn't vary based on tracking or filter query parameters that don't represent meaningfully different content.