How to Build a REST API with Laravel and Node.js (Step-by-Step Guide)

Building a REST API with Laravel (PHP) and Node.js (JavaScript) can help you develop scalable and high-performance web applications. This step-by-step guide will show you how to set up both frameworks, build APIs, and integrate them efficiently.

📌 Step 1: Setting Up the Development Environment

Before building the API, install the necessary tools:

✅ Install Laravel (PHP Framework):

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel LaravelAPI

✅ Install Node.js & Express.js (JavaScript Framework):

mkdir NodeAPI && cd NodeAPI
npm init -y
npm install express cors body-parser dotenv mongoose

✅ Database Setup: Use MySQL for Laravel and MongoDB for Node.js.

🔹 Why? Laravel works well with relational databases, while Node.js integrates seamlessly with NoSQL databases.

📌 Step 2: Creating a REST API in Laravel

🔹 1. Configure Database in .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_DATABASE=laravel_api
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

🔹 2. Create a Model & Migration for users:

php artisan make:model User -m

🔹 3. Define Schema in Migration File (database/migrations/xxxx_xx_xx_create_users_table.php):

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('email')->unique();
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

Run Migration:

php artisan migrate

🔹 4. Create API Routes (routes/api.php):

Route::get('/users', [UserController::class, 'index']);
Route::post('/users', [UserController::class, 'store']);

🔹 5. Build Controller for CRUD Operations (app/Http/Controllers/UserController.php):

public function index() {
    return response()->json(User::all(), 200);
}

public function store(Request $request) {
    $user = User::create($request->all());
    return response()->json($user, 201);
}

📌 Step 3: Creating a REST API in Node.js with Express.js

🔹 1. Setup Express Server (server.js):

const express = require('express');
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
require('dotenv').config();

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGO_URI, { useNewUrlParser: true, useUnifiedTopology: true });

app.listen(5000, () => console.log('Server running on port 5000'));

🔹 2. Define User Schema (models/User.js):

const mongoose = require('mongoose');

const UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
    name: String,
    email: { type: String, unique: true }
});

module.exports = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);

🔹 3. Create API Routes (routes/userRoutes.js):

const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const User = require('../models/User');

router.get('/users', async (req, res) => {
    const users = await User.find();
    res.json(users);
});

router.post('/users', async (req, res) => {
    const user = new User(req.body);
    await user.save();
    res.status(201).json(user);
});

module.exports = router;

🔹 4. Connect Routes to Server (server.js):

const userRoutes = require('./routes/userRoutes');
app.use('/api', userRoutes);

📌 Step 4: Testing the REST API

✅ Use Postman or cURL to test the endpoints:

🔹 Test Laravel API:

curl -X GET http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/users

🔹 Test Node.js API:

curl -X GET http://localhost:5000/api/users

📌 Step 5: Connecting Laravel with Node.js API

Laravel can consume Node.js APIs using Http::get().

🔹 Example (UserController.php):

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

public function fetchFromNodeAPI() {
    $response = Http::get('http://localhost:5000/api/users');
    return response()->json($response->json());
}

📌 Conclusion 🎯

In this guide, we covered how to:

✅ Set up Laravel and Node.js
✅ Create RESTful APIs using both frameworks
✅ Perform CRUD operations
✅ Test the APIs with Postman
✅ Connect Laravel to Node.js API