---
title: "Typed reactions — Likes for Laravel | Roundly"
description: "Turn plain likes into typed reactions — love, wow, laugh or your own set — guarded by a config allowlist."
url: https://roundly-consulting.com/open-source/docs/likes-for-laravel/typed-reactions
language: en
---

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# Typed reactions

By default a single implicit like reaction is configured, so the package behaves as plain likes. Add more reaction types to config/likes.php to enable typed reactions:

```php
// config/likes.php
'reactions' => ['like', 'love', 'wow', 'laugh'],
'default_reaction' => 'like',
```

Then pick a type with as() on the facade, or pass it to any trait verb, check, count or scope:

```php
Likes::as('love')->like($post);
Likes::for($post)->likedBy($user, 'love');
Likes::for($post)->count('love');
Post::orderByLikesDesc('love')->get();

$user->like($post, 'love');        // the trait shorthand
$post->isLikedBy($user, 'love');
```

## Several reactions per actor

like() lets typed reactions co-exist — one row per actor, likeable and type:

```php
Likes::actor($user)->as('love')->like($post);
Likes::actor($user)->as('wow')->like($post);     // both reactions now co-exist
Likes::actor($user)->as('wow')->unlike($post);   // removes only the "wow"
```

Use react() instead when an actor should hold exactly one reaction per item (see Switching reactions).

## The allowlist

A type outside reactions throws InvalidReactionTypeException — and so does every untyped call if default\_reaction is missing from the list:

```php
use RoundlyConsulting\Likes\Exceptions\InvalidReactionTypeException;
use RoundlyConsulting\Likes\Facades\Likes;

try {
    Likes::actor($user)->as('angry')->like($post);
} catch (InvalidReactionTypeException $e) {
    // The reaction type [angry] is not allowed. Allowed types: [like, love, wow, laugh].
}
```

Validate user input against the same list before it reaches the package:

```php
use Illuminate\Validation\Rule;

$data = $request->validate([
    'reaction' => ['required', 'string', Rule::in(config('likes.reactions'))],
]);

Likes::actor($request->user())->as($data['reaction'])->react($post);
```

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