Is this what you want? 1 - If during the edit, the user has changed their name, then include the unique validation 2 - If during the edit, the user has not changed their name, then don't include the unique validation

The document references an "except" on the unique validation. Would the following work?

public function update($id, Request $request) {
        $this->validate($request, [
            'name' => 'required|unique:customers,name,except,' . $id . '|min:3'
        ]);
        $customer = Customer::findOrFail($id);

        $customer->update($request->all());
        return redirect('customers/'.$id);
    }