Manual Authentication in Laravel 12: Step-by-Step Guide

Authentication is a fundamental part of any web application, ensuring that users can securely log in and access protected content. While Laravel provides built-in authentication scaffolding, sometimes developers prefer manual authentication for better control and customization.

In this guide, we will implement manual authentication in Laravel 12 without using packages like laravel/ui or breeze. We'll cover:
✔ User registration
✔ User login
✔ Session handling
✔ Logout functionality
✔ Middleware for access control

By the end, you’ll have a fully functional authentication system in Laravel 12. Let's get started! 🚀

Step 1: Install Laravel 12

First, install a fresh Laravel 12 project via Composer:

composer create-project laravel/laravel AuthApp

Move into the project directory:

cd AuthApp

Step 2: Configure Database

Open the .env file and set up your database connection:

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

Run migrations to create the default users table:

php artisan migrate

Step 3: Create Authentication Routes

Open routes/web.php and define login, register, and logout routes.

use App\Http\Controllers\AuthController;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::get('/register', [AuthController::class, 'showRegister'])->name('register');
Route::post('/register', [AuthController::class, 'register']);

Route::get('/login', [AuthController::class, 'showLogin'])->name('login');
Route::post('/login', [AuthController::class, 'login']);

Route::get('/dashboard', [AuthController::class, 'dashboard'])->middleware('auth')->name('dashboard');

Route::post('/logout', [AuthController::class, 'logout'])->name('logout');

Step 4: Create Authentication Controller

Run the command:

php artisan make:controller AuthController

Now, open app/Http/Controllers/AuthController.php and add the following code:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

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

class AuthController extends Controller
{
    // Show register form
    public function showRegister()
    {
        return view('auth.register');
    }

    // Handle registration
    public function register(Request $request)
    {
        $request->validate([
            'name' => 'required|string|max:255',
            'email' => 'required|email|unique:users|max:255',
            'password' => 'required|min:6|confirmed',
        ]);

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

        Auth::login($user);

        return redirect()->route('dashboard');
    }

    // Show login form
    public function showLogin()
    {
        return view('auth.login');
    }

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

        if (Auth::attempt($credentials)) {
            return redirect()->route('dashboard');
        }

        return back()->withErrors(['email' => 'Invalid login credentials']);
    }

    // Show dashboard (protected)
    public function dashboard()
    {
        return view('dashboard');
    }

    // Handle logout
    public function logout()
    {
        Auth::logout();
        return redirect()->route('login');
    }
}

Step 5: Create Blade Views

Create the auth views inside resources/views/auth/:

1️⃣ Register Page (resources/views/auth/register.blade.php)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Register</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Register</h2>
    <form action="{{ route('register') }}" method="POST">
        @csrf
        <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Name" required><br>
        <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" required><br>
        <input type="password" name="password" placeholder="Password" required><br>
        <input type="password" name="password_confirmation" placeholder="Confirm Password" required><br>
        <button type="submit">Register</button>
    </form>
    <a href="{{ route('login') }}">Already have an account? Login</a>
</body>
</html>

2️⃣ Login Page (`resources/views/auth/login.blade.php`)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Login</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Login</h2>
    <form action="{{ route('login') }}" method="POST">
        @csrf
        <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" required><br>
        <input type="password" name="password" placeholder="Password" required><br>
        <button type="submit">Login</button>
    </form>
    <a href="{{ route('register') }}">Create an account</a>
</body>
</html>

3️⃣ Dashboard Page (resources/views/dashboard.blade.php)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Dashboard</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Welcome, {{ Auth::user()->name }}</h2>
    <form action="{{ route('logout') }}" method="POST">
        @csrf
        <button type="submit">Logout</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

Step 6: Create Authentication Middleware

php artisan make:middleware AuthMiddleware

Modify app/Http/Middleware/AuthMiddleware.php:

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;

class AuthMiddleware
{
    public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next)
    {
        if (!Auth::check()) {
            return redirect()->route('login');
        }
        return $next($request);
    }
}

'auth' => \App\Http\Middleware\AuthMiddleware::class,

Step 7: Test the Authentication

php artisan serve

Conclusion

✅ We manually built authentication in Laravel 12.
✅ It includes registration, login, logout, session handling, and middleware.
✅ This method provides full control over authentication logic.

Let me know if you need additional features like password reset! 🚀

Manual Authentication in Laravel 12: Step-by-Step Guide

2️⃣ Login Page (resources/views/auth/login.blade.php)

Conclusion

Related Tutorials

2️⃣ Login Page (`resources/views/auth/login.blade.php`)