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Installation

Laravel Breeze API provides a minimal authentication implementation for Laravel applications that serve as the backend for Next.js frontends.

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Requirements

  • PHP 8.2 or higher
  • Composer
  • MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite database

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Install Dependencies

composer install

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Environment Configuration

Copy the example environment file and configure your application: 
cp .env.example .env

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Application Settings

.env
APP_NAME=Laravel
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_URL=http://localhost

APP_LOCALE=en
APP_FALLBACK_LOCALE=en
APP_FAKER_LOCALE=en_US

BCRYPT_ROUNDS=12
LOG_CHANNEL=stack
LOG_LEVEL=debug

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Database Configuration

Configure your database connection:
.env
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=backend
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

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Session Configuration

For API authentication with Sanctum, configure database sessions:
.env
SESSION_DRIVER=database
SESSION_LIFETIME=120
SESSION_ENCRYPT=false
SESSION_PATH=/
SESSION_DOMAIN=null

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Mail Configuration

Configure mail settings for password reset and email verification:
.env
MAIL_MAILER=log
MAIL_HOST=127.0.0.1
MAIL_PORT=2525
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="[email protected]"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

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Cache and Queue

.env
CACHE_STORE=database
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database
BROADCAST_CONNECTION=log
FILESYSTEM_DISK=local

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Laravel Sanctum Configuration

Sanctum provides the authentication layer for your API. Configure stateful domains for cookie-based authentication.

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Stateful Domains

Edit config/sanctum.php to allow your frontend domain:
config/sanctum.php
'stateful' => explode(',', env('SANCTUM_STATEFUL_DOMAINS', sprintf(
    '%s%s%s',
    'localhost,localhost:3000,127.0.0.1,127.0.0.1:3000,127.0.0.1:8000,::1',
    Sanctum::currentApplicationUrlWithPort(),
    env('FRONTEND_URL') ? ','.parse_url(env('FRONTEND_URL'), PHP_URL_HOST) : ''
))),
Add to your .env:
.env
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
SANCTUM_STATEFUL_DOMAINS=localhost:3000

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Authentication Guards

config/sanctum.php
'guard' => ['web'],

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Token Configuration

config/sanctum.php
'expiration' => null,
'token_prefix' => env('SANCTUM_TOKEN_PREFIX', ''),

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Middleware Configuration

config/sanctum.php
'middleware' => [
    'authenticate_session' => Laravel\Sanctum\Http\Middleware\AuthenticateSession::class,
    'encrypt_cookies' => Illuminate\Cookie\Middleware\EncryptCookies::class,
    'validate_csrf_token' => Illuminate\Foundation\Http\Middleware\ValidateCsrfToken::class,
],

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CORS Configuration

Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing to allow requests from your Next.js frontend.
config/cors.php
return [
    'paths' => ['*'],
    
    'allowed_methods' => ['*'],
    
    'allowed_origins' => [env('FRONTEND_URL', 'http://localhost:3000')],
    
    'allowed_origins_patterns' => [],
    
    'allowed_headers' => ['*'],
    
    'exposed_headers' => [],
    
    'max_age' => 0,
    
    'supports_credentials' => true,
];
The supports_credentials option must be true to allow cookie-based authentication.

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Database Setup

Generate your application key and run migrations: 
php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate

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Running the Application

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Development Server

Start the Laravel development server: 
php artisan serve
The API will be available at http://localhost:8000.

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With Queue Worker

Run the application with queue processing: 
composer run dev
This starts:
  • Laravel development server on port 8000
  • Queue worker for background jobs
  • Vite development server for asset compilation

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Automated Setup

Use the automated setup script: 
composer run setup
This script will:
  1. Install composer dependencies
  2. Copy .env.example to .env if it doesn’t exist
  3. Generate application key
  4. Run database migrations
  5. Install and build npm dependencies

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Verification

Test that your API is running correctly: 
curl http://localhost:8000/api/user
You should receive a 401 Unauthorized response, confirming the authentication middleware is working.

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Next Steps

API Routes

Learn about available API endpoints

Controllers

Understand controller structure

Database

Explore migrations and models

Testing

Set up and run tests

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