**Course Title:** Mastering Laravel Framework: Building Scalable Modern Web Applications **Section Title:** RESTful API Development with Laravel **Topic:** API Authentication with Passport or Sanctum **Overview** ------------ In this topic, we will explore two of the most popular authentication libraries in the Laravel ecosystem: Passport and Sanctum. We will delve into the world of API authentication and discuss how these libraries can help secure your Laravel APIs. **What is API Authentication?** ----------------------------- API authentication is the process of verifying the identity of clients making requests to your API. This is crucial to ensure that only authorized clients can access your API and perform the desired actions. **Laravel Passport** ------------------- Laravel Passport provides a complete OAuth 2.0 server implementation for your Laravel application. It allows you to authenticate your API using access tokens, which are obtained by clients through various grant types. ### Installing Laravel Passport To install Laravel Passport, you can run the following command in your terminal: ```bash composer require laravel/passport ``` ### Configuring Laravel Passport After installation, you need to publish the Passport migration and migrate the database: ```bash php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Passport\PassportServiceProvider" php artisan migrate ``` ### Creating an Access Token To create an access token, you can use the `CreatePersonalAccessToken` method provided by Passport: ```php use Laravel\Passport\Http\Controllers\PersonalAccessTokenController; $accessToken = app(PersonalAccessTokenController::class)->store([ 'name' => 'My API Client', ]); ``` ### Making an Authenticated Request To make an authenticated request to your API, you can add the `Authorization` header with the access token: ```bash curl -X GET \ http://example.com/api/posts \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer your_access_token' ``` **Laravel Sanctum** ------------------- Laravel Sanctum provides a simple authentication system for your Laravel APIs. It uses API tokens to authenticate requests, allowing you to verify the identity of clients making requests. ### Installing Laravel Sanctum To install Laravel Sanctum, you can run the following command in your terminal: ```bash composer require laravel/sanctum ``` ### Configuring Laravel Sanctum After installation, you need to publish the Sanctum migration and migrate the database: ```bash php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Sanctum\SanctumServiceProvider" php artisan migrate ``` ### Creating an API Token To create an API token, you can use the `HasApiTokens` trait provided by Sanctum: ```php use Laravel\Sanctum\HasApiTokens; class User extends Authenticatable { use HasApiTokens; } $user = User::find(1); $token = $user->createToken('my/token')->plainTextToken; ``` ### Making an Authenticated Request To make an authenticated request to your API, you can add the `Authorization` header with the API token: ```bash curl -X GET \ http://example.com/api/posts \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer your_api_token' ``` **Choosing Between Passport and Sanctum** ----------------------------------------- Both Passport and Sanctum are suitable for API authentication in Laravel. However, the choice between them depends on your specific requirements: * Use Passport if you need to implement OAuth 2.0 and have complex authentication requirements. * Use Sanctum if you need a simple and lightweight authentication system for your Laravel APIs. **Conclusion** ---------- In this topic, we explored API authentication with Laravel Passport and Sanctum. Both libraries provide powerful tools for securing your APIs and authenticating clients. Remember to choose the library that best fits your specific requirements. **What's Next?** -------------- In the next topic, we will cover **Versioning and Securing APIs**. You will learn how to version your APIs and implement security measures to protect against common attacks. **Leave a Comment/Ask for Help** ------------------------------ Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or need help with implementing API authentication in your Laravel application. Additional Resources: * [Laravel Passport Documentation](https://laravel.com/docs/passport) * [Laravel Sanctum Documentation](https://laravel.com/docs/sanctum)