How To Create Rest API In Laravel With Authentication?

Creating a REST API in Laravel with authentication involves several steps, from setting up a new Laravel project to configuring authentication mechanisms. Below are the detailed steps to achieve this:

Step 1: Setting Up a New Laravel Project

1. Install Laravel via Composer:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravel-rest-api
cd laravel-rest-api

2. Configure the Environment:

Update the `.env` file with your database credentials:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_database_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password

3. Migrate the Database:

php artisan migrate

 Step 2: Installing and Setting Up Sanctum for Authentication

1. Install Laravel Sanctum:

composer require laravel/sanctum

2. Publish the Sanctum Configuration:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Sanctum\SanctumServiceProvider"

3. Run the Sanctum Migrations:

php artisan migrate

4. Add Sanctum Middleware:

Add `Sanctum`’s middleware to your `api` middleware group within your `app/Http/Kernel.php` file:

'api' => [
    \Laravel\Sanctum\Http\Middleware\EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful::class,
    'throttle:api',
    \Illuminate\Routing\Middleware\SubstituteBindings::class,
],

5. Configure Sanctum:

Ensure `Sanctum` is configured in `config/sanctum.php`.

 Step 3: Creating API Routes and Controllers

1. Create a Controller:

php artisan make:controller Api/AuthController

2. Define Routes:

Define the necessary routes in `routes/api.php`:

use App\Http\Controllers\Api\AuthController;

Route::post('register', [AuthController::class, 'register']);
Route::post('login', [AuthController::class, 'login']);

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->group(function () {
  Route::post('logout', [AuthController::class, 'logout']);
  Route::get('user', [AuthController::class, 'user']);
});

3. Implement Authentication Logic:

Add methods to the `AuthController`:

namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;

class AuthController extends Controller
{
    public function register(Request $request)
    {
       $request->validate([
           'name' => 'required|string|max:255',
           'email' => 'required|string|email|max:255|unique:users',
           'password' => 'required|string|min:8|confirmed',
       ]);

       $user = User::create([
           'name' => $request->name,
           'email' => $request->email,
           'password' => Hash::make($request->password),
       ]);

       $token = $user->createToken('auth_token')->plainTextToken;

       return response()->json(['access_token' => $token, 'token_type' => 'Bearer']);
    }

    public function login(Request $request)
    {
        $request->validate([
            'email' => 'required|string|email',
            'password' => 'required|string',
        ]);

        if (!Auth::attempt($request->only('email', 'password'))) {
          return response()->json(['message' => 'Invalid login details'], 401);
        }

        $user = User::where('email', $request->email)->firstOrFail();

        $token = $user->createToken('auth_token')->plainTextToken;

        return response()->json(['access_token' => $token, 'token_type' => 'Bearer']);
    }

    public function logout(Request $request)
    {
        $request->user()->tokens()->delete();

        return response()->json(['message' => 'Logged out successfully']);
    }

   public function user(Request $request)
   {
       return response()->json($request->user());
   }
 }

 Step 4: Testing the API

1. Register a New User:

curl -X POST http://your-domain/api/register -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com", "password": "password", "password_confirmation": "password"}'

2. Log In:

curl -X POST http://your-domain/api/login -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"email": "john@example.com", "password": "password"}'

3. Get User Information:

curl -X GET http://your-domain/api/user -H "Authorization: Bearer your_token"

4. Log Out:

curl -X POST http://your-domain/api/logout -H "Authorization: Bearer your_token"

This setup provides a basic REST API with authentication using Laravel Sanctum. You can expand this by adding more routes, controllers, and other features as needed.