Adding Multi-Image Uploads to a Laravel CRUD (Step by Step)

Adding multi-image uploads to a Laravel CRUD looks simple but quickly turns hairy when you add edit-mode handling, reordering, and deletion. Here's the clean, production-ready pattern we use on every project at Dovio.

The Data Model

Two tables: a parent (e.g. blogs) and a child blog_images with FK + sort_order.

Schema::create('blog_images', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->foreignId('blog_id')->constrained()->cascadeOnDelete();
    $table->string('image_path');
    $table->unsignedInteger('sort_order')->default(0);
    $table->timestamps();
});

The Model

class Blog extends Model {
    public function images() {
        return $this->hasMany(BlogImage::class)->orderBy('sort_order');
    }
}

The Controller (Store)

if ($request->hasFile('images')) {
    foreach ($request->file('images') as $i => $file) {
        $path = $file->store('blogs/gallery', 'public');
        BlogImage::create([
            'blog_id'    => $blog->id,
            'image_path' => $path,
            'sort_order' => $i,
        ]);
    }
}

The Controller (Update — Append + Remove)

In edit mode you need to handle three cases: keeping existing, removing some, adding new.

The Blade Form

Standard <input type="file" name="images[]" multiple> for adding, then a list of existing images with checkbox-marked deletion.

Cleanup Hook

Add a deleting event on the parent model to remove files from disk on force-delete.