How to remove spaces from string in PHP?

Use trim($string) to remove spaces from both ends. For all spaces, use str_replace(' ', '', $string).

What is the difference between trim, ltrim and rtrim?

trim() removes from both ends, ltrim() removes from left (start) only, rtrim() removes from right (end) only.

Yes, pass characters as second parameter: trim($str, '#@') removes # and @ from both ends.

String Function PHP 4+

The trim() function removes whitespace (or other characters) from both ends of a string.

trim(string $string, string $characters = " \n\r\t\v\x00"): string

Parameter	Type	Description
`$string`	string	The string to trim
`$characters`	string	Characters to remove (optional)

Returns the trimmed string.

Output

Click Run to execute your code

<?php
$str = "  Hello World  ";
echo "[" . trim($str) . "]";
// "[Hello World]"
?>

<?php
$str = "  Hello  ";
echo ltrim($str);  // "Hello  " (left only)
echo rtrim($str);  // "  Hello" (right only)
?>

<?php
$str = "###Hello###";
echo trim($str, "#");  // "Hello"
?>

Tip: Always trim user input before storing or comparing to avoid whitespace issues.