Laravel - Authentication

Laravel Authentication

Authentication is an essential part of modern web applications. Laravel makes implementing authentication simple and efficient with built-in features. This guide will walk you through setting up authentication in Laravel 10/11.

1. What is Laravel Authentication?

Laravel provides a robust authentication system out of the box, including:

User login & registration
Password reset functionality
Email verification
Role-based authentication

2. Setting Up Authentication in Laravel

Step 1: Install Laravel

If you haven't already installed Laravel, create a new project:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel my-auth-app
cd my-auth-app

Step 2: Install Laravel Breeze (Simple Authentication Starter Kit)

Laravel Breeze provides authentication scaffolding, including login, registration, password reset, and email verification.

Run the following command to install Breeze:

composer require laravel/breeze --dev

Then, install the authentication scaffolding:

php artisan breeze:install

This command will ask you to select a frontend stack (Blade, Vue, React, etc.). Choose the one that suits your project.

Run migrations to set up the database:

php artisan migrate

Now, install dependencies and build assets:

npm install && npm run dev

Finally, start the server:

php artisan serve

Now, visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/register to see the registration page.

3. Authentication Routes in Laravel

Laravel provides pre-built authentication routes, defined in routes/auth.php. You can check available routes by running:

php artisan route:list

This will show routes for login, registration, password reset, and email verification.

4. Customizing Authentication Logic

Changing the Authentication Model

By default, Laravel uses the App\Models\User model for authentication. You can modify it to add additional fields like roles or permissions.

Example: Adding a role field in User.php:

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use HasFactory, Notifiable;

    protected $fillable = [
        'name', 'email', 'password', 'role'
    ];
}

5. Middleware for Authentication and Authorization

Protecting Routes with Middleware

To protect routes from unauthenticated users, use the auth middleware in routes/web.php:

Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
    return view('dashboard');
})->middleware('auth');

If an unauthenticated user tries to access this route, they will be redirected to the login page.

Role-Based Authorization

You can restrict access based on user roles:

Route::middleware(['auth', 'admin'])->group(function () {
    Route::get('/admin', function () {
        return view('admin.dashboard');
    });
});

Create the AdminMiddleware file:

php artisan make:middleware AdminMiddleware

Modify app/Http/Middleware/AdminMiddleware.php:

public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next)
{
    if (auth()->user()->role !== 'admin') {
        return redirect('/');
    }
    return $next($request);
}

protected $routeMiddleware = [
    'admin' => \App\Http\Middleware\AdminMiddleware::class,
];

6. Email Verification in Laravel

Laravel includes built-in support for email verification. To enable it, ensure your User model implements MustVerifyEmail:

use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail;

class User extends Authenticatable implements MustVerifyEmail
{
    // Model content
}

Then, update your routes:

Route::middleware(['auth', 'verified'])->group(function () {
    Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
        return view('dashboard');
    });
});

This ensures that only verified users can access the dashboard.

7. Resetting Passwords

Laravel provides an easy way to handle password resets. After installing Breeze, you’ll already have routes for resetting the password.

To modify password reset logic, update:

Email template: resources/views/auth/passwords/email.blade.php
Controller logic: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/ForgotPasswordController.php

Conclusion

🎉 Congratulations! You now have a fully functional authentication system in Laravel. Your application is now secure and user-friendly with authentication, role-based access, and email verification.

💬 Have any questions? Let us know in the comments!

Souy Soeng

Laravel - Authentication