Language Switcher

A switcher uses Route::localizedSwitcherUrl() so each link points to the current page in the target locale. Click triggers a normal navigation: the URL carries the new locale, SetLocale reads it on the next request and persists it to session/cookie.

Why a different helper than localizedUrl()?

localizedUrl() returns canonical URLs (no prefix for the hidden default), correct for hreflang and sitemaps.

A switcher needs the prefix even for the default locale - it's the only way the URL itself can tell SetLocale which language to switch to. localizedSwitcherUrl() always emits the prefixed form; RedirectLocale strips it on the follow-up, so the user lands on the canonical URL anyway, with one invisible 302 hop.

Blade

{{-- resources/views/components/language-switcher.blade.php --}}
@foreach (config('localizer.supported_locales') as $locale)
    <a href="{{ Route::localizedSwitcherUrl($locale) }}"
       @class(['active' => app()->getLocale() === $locale])>
        {{ strtoupper($locale) }}
    </a>
@endforeach

<x-language-switcher />

Inertia (Vue / React)

Render per-locale URLs server-side and ship them as shared props:

// app/Http/Middleware/HandleInertiaRequests.php
public function share(Request $request): array
{
    return array_merge(parent::share($request), [
        'locale'        => app()->getLocale(),
        'localizedUrls' => fn () => collect(config('localizer.supported_locales'))
            ->mapWithKeys(fn ($l) => [$l => Route::localizedSwitcherUrl($l)])
            ->all(),
    ]);
}

Then build a SPA component (Vue example, React analogous):

<!-- resources/js/Components/LanguageSwitcher.vue -->
<script setup>
import { usePage } from '@inertiajs/vue3';
const { localizedUrls, locale } = usePage().props;
</script>

<template>
  <a v-for="(url, code) in localizedUrls" :key="code"
     :href="url" :class="{ active: code === locale }">
    {{ code.toUpperCase() }}
  </a>
</template>

A plain <a> triggers a full reload, which is what you usually want when switching languages: the HTML lang, shared props and cached translations all need to refresh.

Caveats

For routes with per-locale model bindings (translated slugs), some links may build URLs that 404 on follow. Render switcher items conditionally or add a fallback in resolveRouteBinding(). See Caveats.