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Overview

Controllers in Laravel Breeze API handle the business logic for authentication operations. All authentication controllers are located in app/Http/Controllers/Auth/.

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Controller Structure

Each controller extends the base Controller class and implements specific authentication functionality.
app/Http/Controllers/Controller.php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;

abstract class Controller
{
    // Base controller logic
}

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Authentication Controllers

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RegisteredUserController

Handles user registration. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/RegisteredUserController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Auth\Events\Registered;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Http\Response;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use Illuminate\Validation\Rules;

class RegisteredUserController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming registration request.
     *
     * @throws \Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException
     */
    public function store(Request $request): Response
    {
        $request->validate([
            'name' => ['required', 'string', 'max:255'],
            'email' => ['required', 'string', 'lowercase', 'email', 'max:255', 'unique:'.User::class],
            'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Rules\Password::defaults()],
        ]);

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

        event(new Registered($user));

        Auth::login($user);

        return response()->noContent();
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Validates name, email, and password
  • Enforces email uniqueness
  • Hashes password with Hash::make()
  • Fires Registered event (triggers email verification)
  • Automatically logs in the new user
  • Returns 204 No Content response

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AuthenticatedSessionController

Handles user login and logout. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/AuthenticatedSessionController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\Http\Requests\Auth\LoginRequest;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Http\Response;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;

class AuthenticatedSessionController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming authentication request.
     */
    public function store(LoginRequest $request): Response
    {
        $request->authenticate();

        $request->session()->regenerate();

        return response()->noContent();
    }

    /**
     * Destroy an authenticated session.
     */
    public function destroy(Request $request): Response
    {
        Auth::guard('web')->logout();

        $request->session()->invalidate();

        $request->session()->regenerateToken();

        return response()->noContent();
    }
}
Store Method (Login):
  • Uses custom LoginRequest for validation and authentication
  • Regenerates session ID (prevents session fixation)
  • Returns 204 No Content
Destroy Method (Logout):
  • Logs out user from web guard
  • Invalidates session
  • Regenerates CSRF token
  • Returns 204 No Content

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PasswordResetLinkController

Handles password reset link requests. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/PasswordResetLinkController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Password;
use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;

class PasswordResetLinkController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming password reset link request.
     *
     * @throws \Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException
     */
    public function store(Request $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $request->validate([
            'email' => ['required', 'email'],
        ]);

        // We will send the password reset link to this user. Once we have attempted
        // to send the link, we will examine the response then see the message we
        // need to show to the user. Finally, we'll send out a proper response.
        $status = Password::sendResetLink(
            $request->only('email')
        );

        if ($status != Password::RESET_LINK_SENT) {
            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
                'email' => [__($status)],
            ]);
        }

        return response()->json(['status' => __($status)]);
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Validates email format
  • Uses Laravel’s Password facade to send reset link
  • Returns JSON response with status message
  • Throws validation exception on failure

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NewPasswordController

Handles password reset. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/NewPasswordController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Auth\Events\PasswordReset;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Password;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Validation\Rules;
use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;

class NewPasswordController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming new password request.
     *
     * @throws \Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException
     */
    public function store(Request $request): JsonResponse
    {
        $request->validate([
            'token' => ['required'],
            'email' => ['required', 'email'],
            'password' => ['required', 'confirmed', Rules\Password::defaults()],
        ]);

        // Here we will attempt to reset the user's password. If it is successful we
        // will update the password on an actual user model and persist it to the
        // database. Otherwise we will parse the error and return the response.
        $status = Password::reset(
            $request->only('email', 'password', 'password_confirmation', 'token'),
            function ($user) use ($request) {
                $user->forceFill([
                    'password' => Hash::make($request->string('password')),
                    'remember_token' => Str::random(60),
                ])->save();

                event(new PasswordReset($user));
            }
        );

        if ($status != Password::PASSWORD_RESET) {
            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
                'email' => [__($status)],
            ]);
        }

        return response()->json(['status' => __($status)]);
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Validates token, email, and password
  • Uses Password::reset() to verify token
  • Updates password and remember token
  • Fires PasswordReset event
  • Returns JSON response with status

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VerifyEmailController

Handles email verification. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/VerifyEmailController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Auth\Events\Verified;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\EmailVerificationRequest;
use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;

class VerifyEmailController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Mark the authenticated user's email address as verified.
     */
    public function __invoke(EmailVerificationRequest $request): RedirectResponse
    {
        if ($request->user()->hasVerifiedEmail()) {
            return redirect()->intended(
                config('app.frontend_url').'/dashboard?verified=1'
            );
        }

        if ($request->user()->markEmailAsVerified()) {
            event(new Verified($request->user()));
        }

        return redirect()->intended(
            config('app.frontend_url').'/dashboard?verified=1'
        );
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Single action controller (uses __invoke)
  • Checks if email is already verified
  • Marks email as verified
  • Fires Verified event
  • Redirects to frontend with verification status

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EmailVerificationNotificationController

Resends email verification notification. Location: app/Http/Controllers/Auth/EmailVerificationNotificationController.php 
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Auth;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\RedirectResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class EmailVerificationNotificationController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Send a new email verification notification.
     */
    public function store(Request $request): JsonResponse|RedirectResponse
    {
        if ($request->user()->hasVerifiedEmail()) {
            return redirect()->intended('/dashboard');
        }

        $request->user()->sendEmailVerificationNotification();

        return response()->json(['status' => 'verification-link-sent']);
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Checks if email is already verified
  • Sends verification notification
  • Returns JSON response with status

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Form Request

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LoginRequest

Custom form request with authentication logic. Location: app/Http/Requests/Auth/LoginRequest.php 
namespace App\Http\Requests\Auth;

use Illuminate\Auth\Events\Lockout;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\RateLimiter;
use Illuminate\Support\Str;
use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;

class LoginRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return true;
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'email' => ['required', 'string', 'email'],
            'password' => ['required', 'string'],
        ];
    }

    public function authenticate(): void
    {
        $this->ensureIsNotRateLimited();

        if (! Auth::attempt($this->only('email', 'password'), $this->boolean('remember'))) {
            RateLimiter::hit($this->throttleKey());

            throw ValidationException::withMessages([
                'email' => __('auth.failed'),
            ]);
        }

        RateLimiter::clear($this->throttleKey());
    }

    public function ensureIsNotRateLimited(): void
    {
        if (! RateLimiter::tooManyAttempts($this->throttleKey(), 5)) {
            return;
        }

        event(new Lockout($this));

        $seconds = RateLimiter::availableIn($this->throttleKey());

        throw ValidationException::withMessages([
            'email' => trans('auth.throttle', [
                'seconds' => $seconds,
                'minutes' => ceil($seconds / 60),
            ]),
        ]);
    }

    public function throttleKey(): string
    {
        return Str::transliterate(Str::lower($this->input('email')).'|'.$this->ip());
    }
}
Key Features:
  • Validates email and password
  • Implements rate limiting (5 attempts per minute)
  • Handles authentication logic
  • Fires Lockout event when rate limited
  • Custom throttle key based on email and IP

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Response Types

Controllers use different response types based on their purpose:

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No Content Response

Used for successful mutations without response body: 
return response()->noContent(); // 204

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JSON Response

Used for status messages: 
return response()->json(['status' => 'verification-link-sent']);

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Redirect Response

Used for email verification: 
return redirect()->intended(
    config('app.frontend_url').'/dashboard?verified=1'
);

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Next Steps

API Routes

Learn about route configuration

Database

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