What is the request object in Laravel?

The Request object in Laravel (Illuminate\Http\Request) wraps the current HTTP request and provides a clean API for accessing all request data. Inject it in a controller: public function store(Request $request). Access input: $request->input("name"), $request->get("name"), $request->post("name"). Check if input exists: $request->has("name"), $request->filled("name") (exists and not empty). Get all input: $request->all(). Only specific fields: $request->only(["name", "email"]). Except fields: $request->except(["password"]). File uploads: $request->file("avatar"). Check request type: $request->isJson(), $request->expectsJson(). Get headers: $request->header("Accept").