User Authentication and Authorization – Laravel Tutorial Part 6

Welcome back to our Laravel tutorial series! In Part 5, we learned about form validation and error handling in Laravel applications. Now, in Part 6, we’ll focus on user authentication and authorization. Authentication allows users to register, log in, and log out of our application, while authorization controls access to specific resources or actions based on user roles and permissions. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll understand how to implement user authentication and authorization in Laravel.

Tutorial Part 6: User Authentication and Authorization

Step 1: Install Laravel UI Package

• If you’re starting a new Laravel project, run the following command to install the Laravel UI package:

composer require laravel/ui

• If you’re working on an existing project, skip this step.

Step 2: Generate Authentication Views

• Run the following command to generate the authentication scaffolding:

php artisan ui vue --auth

• This command will create the necessary views, routes, and controllers for user authentication.

Step 3: Migrate Database Tables

• If you haven’t already done so, run the migration command to create the required database tables:

php artisan migrate

Step 4: Protect Routes

• Use Laravel’s built-in middleware to protect routes that require authentication or authorization.
• In your routes file (e.g., web.php), use the auth middleware to protect routes:

Route::get('/dashboard', 'DashboardController@index')->middleware('auth');

Step 5: User Registration and Login

• With the authentication scaffolding in place, users can now register and log in to your application using the provided views.

Step 6: Authorization Policies (Optional)

• Laravel provides authorization policies to define access control rules for specific actions or resources.
• Define authorization policies in the app/Policies directory and register them in the AuthServiceProvider.

Conclusion:

In Part 6 of our Laravel tutorial series, we’ve covered user authentication and authorization. By implementing user authentication, we allow users to register, log in, and access protected areas of our application. Authorization policies provide fine-grained control over who can perform specific actions or access certain resources. With these features in place, our Laravel application is more secure and user-friendly. In the next part of the series, we’ll explore additional advanced features and best practices for building robust web applications. Stay tuned for more!