Secure Markdown Processing with Laravel's inlineMarkdown Method

Laravel's string handling includes a powerful Markdown converter with the inlineMarkdown method, offering secure transformation of GitHub-flavored Markdown to inline HTML.

Basic Usage

Convert Markdown to inline HTML:

use Illuminate\Support\Str;

// Basic conversion
$html = Str::inlineMarkdown('**Laravel**');
// Result: <strong>Laravel</strong>

// Secure conversion with options
$html = Str::inlineMarkdown(
    'Inject: <script>alert("Hello XSS!");</script>',
    [
        'html_input' => 'strip',
        'allow_unsafe_links' => false,
    ]
);
// Result: Inject: alert("Hello XSS!");

Real-World Example

Here's how you might use it in a comment processing system:

class CommentProcessor
{
    protected $markdownOptions = [
        'html_input' => 'strip',
        'allow_unsafe_links' => false
    ];

    public function formatComment(string $content)
    {
        return Str::inlineMarkdown(
            $content, 
            $this->markdownOptions
        );
    }

    public function processUserMention(string $content)
    {
        // Convert @username to links while keeping other markdown
        $processed = preg_replace(
            '/@(\w+)/',
            '[@$1](/users/$1)',
            $content
        );

        return Str::inlineMarkdown(
            $processed,
            $this->markdownOptions
        );
    }

    public function formatNotification(string $template, array $vars)
    {
        $content = strtr($template, $vars);
        
        return Str::inlineMarkdown(
            $content,
            [
                'html_input' => 'escape',
                'allow_unsafe_links' => false
            ]
        );
    }
}

// Usage
$processor = new CommentProcessor();

$comment = $processor->formatComment('**Important** update!');
$mention = $processor->processUserMention('Hey @john, check this!');

The inlineMarkdown method ensures secure Markdown processing while maintaining clean, inline HTML output.

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