REST Api Development in Laravel 8 with JWT Authentication

Inside this article we will one more important concept of laravel i.e REST api development in laravel 8 with JWT authentication. This will be step by step guide to create restful services from scratch.

We will create a secure set of rest apis using laravel. JWT is a laravel composer package.

What we will do in this article –

• User Register API
• Login API
• User Profile API
• Refresh Token API
• Logout API

Above are the apis, we will create using json web token (jwt) authentication. This will be very interesting to learn.

• To Learn API development in Laravel 8 Using Passport, Click here.
• REST APIs in Laravel 8 Using Sanctum Authentication, Click here.

Let’s get started.

Installation of Laravel Application

Laravel Installation can be done in two ways.

• Laravel Installer
• By using composer

Laravel Installer

To install Laravel via Laravel installer, we need to install it’s installer first. We need to make use of composer for that.

$ composer global require laravel/installer

This command will install laravel installer at system. This installation is at global scope, so you type command from any directory at terminal. To verify type the given command –

$ laravel

This command will open a command palette of Laravel Installer.

To create ad install laravel project in system,

$ laravel new blog

With the name of blog a laravel project will be created at your specified path.

By using composer

Alternatively, we can also install Laravel by Composer command create-project.

If your system doesn’t has composer Installed, Learn Composer Installation Steps.

Here is the complete command to create a laravel project-

$ composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel blog

After following these steps we can install a Laravel application into system.

To start the development server of Laravel –

$ php artisan serve

This command outputs –

Starting Laravel development server: http://127.0.0.1:8000

Assuming laravel already installed at system.

Create Database & Connect

To create a database, either we can create via Manual tool of PhpMyadmin or by means of a mysql command.

CREATE DATABASE laravel_app;

To connect database with application, Open .env file from application root. Search for DB_ and update your details.

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_app
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=root

Install And Configure Laravel JWT Auth

JSON Web Token (JWT) is an open standard (RFC 7519), and it represents a compact and self-contained method for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object.

Open project into terminal and run this command.

$ composer require tymon/jwt-auth

Next, we need to migrate file.

$ php artisan migrate

Update app.php File

Open app.php from /config folder.

Search for providers, add this line into array.

'providers' => [
   ...

    Tymon\JWTAuth\Providers\LaravelServiceProvider::class,

   ...
],

Search for aliases, add these lines into array.

'aliases' => [

    ...
    
    'JWTAuth' => Tymon\JWTAuth\Facades\JWTAuth::class,
   'JWTFactory' => Tymon\JWTAuth\Facades\JWTFactory::class,

    ...

],

Open project into terminal and run this command.

$ php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Tymon\JWTAuth\Providers\LaravelServiceProvider"

JWT Configuration

To generate secret key, back to terminal and run this command.

$ php artisan jwt:secret

When we run this command, it will generate secret key and add into .env file. It will be something like this –

JWT_SECRET=<JWT-SECRET-KEY>

Setup User Model

Open User.php from /app/Models and write this following code into it.

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;

use Tymon\JWTAuth\Contracts\JWTSubject; // Add this line

class User extends Authenticatable implements JWTSubject // Added here
{
    use HasFactory, Notifiable;

    /**
     * The attributes that are mass assignable.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
        'password',
    ];

    /**
     * The attributes that should be hidden for arrays.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $hidden = [
        'password',
        'remember_token',
    ];

    /**
     * The attributes that should be cast to native types.
     *
     * @var array
     */
    protected $casts = [
        'email_verified_at' => 'datetime',
    ];

  	// Add this method
    public function getJWTIdentifier()
    {
        return $this->getKey();
    }

    // Add this method
    /**
     * Return a key value array, containing any custom claims to be added to the JWT.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function getJWTCustomClaims()
    {
        return [];
    }
}

Configure Auth guard

Open auth.php from /config folder. Update file according to this code.

//...

'defaults' => [
  'guard' => 'api', // update here
  'passwords' => 'users',
],


'guards' => [
  'web' => [
    'driver' => 'session',
    'provider' => 'users',
  ],

  'api' => [ // update here
    'driver' => 'jwt',
    'provider' => 'users',
    'hash' => false,
  ],
],

//...

Create Authentication Controller

Open project into terminal and run this artisan command.

$ php artisan make:controller AuthController

It will create a file AuthController.php at /app/Http/Controllers folder.

Open AuthController.php file and write this following code into it.

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Validator;

class AuthController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Create a new AuthController instance.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->middleware('auth:api', ['except' => ['login', 'register']]);
    }

    /**
     * Get a JWT via given credentials.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function login(Request $request)
    {
        $validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
            'email' => 'required|email',
            'password' => 'required|string|min:6',
        ]);

        if ($validator->fails()) {
            return response()->json($validator->errors(), 422);
        }

        if (!$token = auth()->attempt($validator->validated())) {
            return response()->json(['error' => 'Unauthorized'], 401);
        }

        return $this->createNewToken($token);
    }

    /**
     * Register a User.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function register(Request $request)
    {
        $validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
            'name' => 'required|string|between:2,100',
            'email' => 'required|string|email|max:100|unique:users',
            'password' => 'required|string|confirmed|min:6',
        ]);

        if ($validator->fails()) {
            return response()->json(array(
                "status" => false,
                "errors" => $validator->errors()
            ), 400);
        }

        $user = User::create(array_merge(
            $validator->validated(),
            ['password' => bcrypt($request->password)]
        ));

        return response()->json([
            'status' => true,
            'message' => 'User successfully registered',
            'user' => $user
        ], 201);
    }


    /**
     * Log the user out (Invalidate the token).
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function logout()
    {
        auth()->logout();

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

    /**
     * Refresh a token.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function refresh()
    {
        return $this->createNewToken(auth()->refresh());
    }

    /**
     * Get the authenticated User.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function userProfile()
    {
        return response()->json(auth()->user());
    }

    /**
     * Get the token array structure.
     *
     * @param  string $token
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    protected function createNewToken($token)
    {
        return response()->json([
            'access_token' => $token,
            'token_type' => 'bearer',
            'expires_in' => auth()->factory()->getTTL() * 60,
            'user' => auth()->user()
        ]);
    }
}

Create Authentication Routes

Open api.php from /routes folder.

# Add to header
use App\Http\Controllers\AuthController;

Route::group([
    'middleware' => 'api',
    'prefix' => 'auth'

], function () {
    Route::post('login', [AuthController::class, 'login']);
    Route::post('register', [AuthController::class, 'register']);
    Route::post('logout', [AuthController::class, 'logout']);
    Route::post('refresh', [AuthController::class, 'refresh']);
    Route::get('user-profile', [AuthController::class, 'userProfile']);
});

Application Testing

Open project to terminal and type the command to start development server

$ php artisan serve

Register API – http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/register

Method – POST

Body

{
"name": "Sanjay Kumar",
"email": "sanjay@gmail.com",
"password": "12345678",
"password_confirmation": "12345678"
}

Header

Content-Type:application/json
Accept:application/json

Login API – http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/login

Method – POST

Body

{
"email": "sanjay@gmail.com",
"password": "12345678"
}

Header

Content-Type:application/json
Accept:application/json

User Profile API – http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/user-profile

Method – GET

Header

Content-Type:application/json
Accept:application/json
Authorization: Bearer <Token>

Refresh Token API – http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/refresh

Method – POST

Header

Content-Type:application/json
Accept:application/json
Authorization: Bearer <Token>

Logout API – http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/auth/logout

Method – POST

Header

Content-Type:application/json
Accept:application/json
Authorization: Bearer <Token>

We hope this article helped you to learn about REST Api Development in Laravel 8 with JWT authentication in a very detailed way.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for PHP & it’s framework, WordPress, Node Js video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Find More on Laravel 8 Articles here

• How to Create Multi Language Website in Laravel 8
• How To Read XML File in Laravel 8 – Example
• How To Upload And Save XML Data in Laravel 8
• Laravel 8 Ajax Post Request Tutorial
• Laravel 8 Authentication using Jetstream with Inertia Js
• Laravel 8 Authentication using Jetstream with Livewire
• Laravel 8 Authentication with Breeze Tutorial
• Laravel 8 Clear Cache of Route, View & Config
• Laravel 8 Cron Job Task Scheduling Tutorial
• Laravel 8 DataTable Ajax Pagination with Search And Sort
• Laravel 8 Firebase Push Notification Tutorial
• Laravel 8 Form Validation Methods
• Laravel 8 Installation Guide – PHP Framework
• Laravel 8 Layouts And Views Complete Guide
• Laravel 8 Routing Tutorial Step by Step Guide
• Laravel 8 Send Mail using Gmail SMTP Server
• Laravel 8 Send Push Notification to Android Using Firebase
• Laravel 8 Send Push Notification to IOS Using Firebase
• Laravel 8 Stub Customization