What's the difference between Laravel Blade's `@yield` and `@include`?

Stefan Bogdanescu

Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29

Laravel Company
Title: Clarifying the Difference Between Laravel Blade's `@yield` and `@include` Directives Body: Laravel, a powerful PHP framework, offers an impressive range of features to streamline your development process. Among these features are Blade templates, which offer more flexibility than other template engines. As you progress with your Laravel journey, you may stumble upon the two directives `@yield` and `@include`. If you're wondering what the key differences between these two commands are or when to use them, keep reading for a comprehensive explanation. First, let's dive into each of these directives: 1) `@yield`: This command is used inside a layout (typically found in `app/views/layouts`) and facilitates the inclusion of content from different sections or pages. When you have multiple views that need to share some common parts, such as the header, footer, sidebar, or navigation menu, you can use `@yield` inside these shared layouts. In a nutshell, it allows you to define and reuse specific sections across your application. To illustrate this, let's assume you have an index page with content, which should be included in the master layout: ```php My Index Page @yield('content') ``` Now, when you want to render this page, simply pass the content of your index page through the `content` section: ```php @extends('layouts.master') @section('content')

Welcome to My App!

@endsection ``` 2) `@include`: This directive is used mainly for including external files or rendering template fragments inside your application. It allows you to separate the different functionalities of your application into smaller parts, making them easier to maintain and reuse. For example, if you have a complex form with multiple input fields and want it rendered within other views, use `@include`: ```php
@include('components.input', [ 'type' => 'text', 'name' => 'email', 'label' => 'Email Address' ])
``` Above, you are including a custom component called "input" from a file named "components/input.blade.php", which is used to render input fields in a consistent manner across the application. Additionally, `@include` can also inject the parent's variables and even send other variables into the included template. When should I use `@yield`? - Use `@yield` when you need to define and reuse specific sections of your layouts or views. This way, you can share common parts like headers, footers, sidebars, etc., across multiple pages and maintain a consistent design. When should I use `@include`? - Use `@include` for rendering template fragments or external files within your application to manage and reuse smaller pieces of code. This practice allows you to focus on the specific functionality at hand and maintain better organization in your project. In conclusion, Laravel's Blade framework offers two powerful directives, `@yield` and `@include`, that can be used to structure and organize your application. By understanding their differences, as well as when and how to use them, you can efficiently enhance the quality of your code and optimize your development process.