What is Auth Guard?
Auth Guard is a feature in web development frameworks, such as Angular, that provides a way to control access to certain parts of an application based on whether a user is authenticated or not. It is a security mechanism that allows developers to restrict access to pages, routes, or components of an application based on the user’s authentication status.
In Angular specifically, Auth Guard is a service that implements the CanActivate interface and is used to protect routes. It intercepts a user’s attempt to navigate to a protected route and checks whether the user is authenticated or not. If the user is authenticated, the guard allows the user to access the protected route. If the user is not authenticated, the guard redirects the user to a login page or displays an error message.
How to use Auth Guard in Laravel
Auth Guard is an essential tool for securing web applications and ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive information.
In Laravel, an Auth Guard is a system that controls user authentication and authorization. It is responsible for managing the user’s session and verifying their credentials. Laravel provides various Auth Guard drivers, such as session, token, and JWT.
Here are the steps to use Auth Guard in Laravel:
Step 1: Create a guard
Create a new guard in the config/auth.php file or modify an existing one to match your needs. For instance, you can create a api guard that uses token authentication by default:
Step 2: Define a provider
Define a provider that maps the user model to the guard. For instance, you can define a users provider that uses the EloquentUserProvider and the users table:
Step 3: Create a middleware
Create a middleware that checks if the user is authenticated and authorized to access the requested resource. For instance, you can create an auth:api middleware that uses the api guard:
In the handle method, you can check if the user is authenticated and authorized:
Step 4: Apply the middleware
Apply the middleware to the routes or controllers that require authentication and authorization. For instance, you can apply the auth:api middleware to the UserController:
This will protect the /users and /users/{id} routes from unauthorized access.
Note: If you’re using Laravel’s built-in authentication system, you can use the auth middleware to authenticate users. For instance:
This will protect the /dashboard route from unauthenticated users.