Laravel File Upload with Nested Form-Data Returns Empty Files Array in Request [POSTMAN]

I’m working on a Laravel API that allows users to upload files as part of a nested form-data request. However, the files are not being detected properly in the request. Below is my current setup:

Request Structure:

The request is submitted as form-data using Postman. Here’s the structure:

• skill_type (string): required
• skill_description (string): required
• portfolios (array): optional

Each portfolio includes:

• description (string): optional

• files (array of file uploads): optional

Laravel Form Request Validation Rules:

public function rules(): array
{
    return [
        'skill_type' => 'required|string|max:255',
        'skill_description' => 'required|string|max:2000',
        'portfolios' => 'nullable|array',
        'portfolios.*.files' => 'nullable|array',
        'portfolios.*.files.*' => 'file|mimes:jpg,jpeg,png,pdf|max:2048',
    ];
}

Controller Logic:

public function register(StoreWorkerRequest $request): JsonResponse
{
    $validatedData = $request->validated();

    return response()->json([
        'all_inputs' => $request->all(),
        'file_inputs' => $request->file('portfolios'),
    ]);
}

Files are attached as form-data in Postman, with the field names set as:

1. portfolios[0][files][] for the first file in the first portfolio, and
2. portfolios[1][files][] for the first file in the second portfolio.

Problem:

Despite attaching files correctly in Postman, the file_inputs response in Laravel shows empty arrays for files. The response looks like this:

{
    "all_inputs": {
        "skill_type": "Compete",
        "skill_description": "Insane designer",
        "portfolios": [
            {
                "description": "Portfolio 1 description",
                "files": [{}]
            },
            {
                "description": "Portfolio 2 description",
                "files": [{}]
            }
        ]
    },
    "file_inputs": [
        {
            "files": [{}]
        },
        {
            "files": [{}]
        }
    ]
}

What I’ve Tried:

1. Ensured the Content-Type header is not manually set in Postman (Postman automatically sets it to multipart/form-data).
2. Verified that files are being correctly attached in the form-data section of Postman.
3. Used $request->all() and $request->file() to inspect the inputs in Laravel.
4. As suggested by @C3roe I also dumped the $_FILE and I got the array of files selected in the postman as:

"file": {
       "portfolios": {
           "name": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       "c-sm.jpg"
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       "c-sm.jpg"
                   ]
               }
           ],
           "full_path": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       "c-sm.jpg"
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       "c-sm.jpg"
                   ]
               }
           ],
           "type": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       "image/jpeg"
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       "image/jpeg"
                   ]
               }
           ],
           "tmp_name": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       "C:\\Users\\...\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\phpE252.tmp"
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       "C:\\Users\\...\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\phpE253.tmp"
                   ]
               }
           ],
           "error": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       0
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       0
                   ]
               }
           ],
           "size": [
               {
                   "files": [
                       2701
                   ]
               },
               {
                   "files": [
                       2701
                   ]
               }
           ]
       }
   },

VALIDATION FOR THE FILES

'portfolios' => 'nullable|array',
 'portfolios.*.files' => 'nullable|array',
 'portfolios.*.files.*' => 'file|mimes:jpg,jpeg,png,pdf|max:2048',

Expected Behavior: The file_inputs array should contain the uploaded file details (e.g., original_name, mime_type, size, etc.) for each attached file.

Question: Why are the files in my nested form-data request not being detected by Laravel, and how can I fix this to properly handle file uploads with a nested array structure?