How to use JWT Token in Laravel

In this tutorial we will learn how to use JWT token in Laravel.

JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) are a popular way of securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. Laravel makes it easy to work with JWTs by providing a package called "tymon/jwt-auth" that handles the creation, signing, and verification of tokens.

How to use JWT token in Laravel

Here are the steps to use JWT tokens in Laravel:

Step 1 - Install the tymon/jwt-auth package via Composer:

composer require tymon/jwt-auth

Step 2 - Run the package's installation command:

php artisan jwt:secret

Step 3 - Update the `config/auth.php` file to use JWT as the default driver:

'defaults' => [
    'guard' => 'api',
    'passwords' => 'users',
],

'guards' => [
    'api' => [
        'driver' => 'jwt',
        'provider' => 'users',
    ],
],

Step 4 - Create a new authentication controller using the make:auth command:

php artisan make:controller AuthController

Step 5 - Define a method for generating a JWT token in the AuthController:

use JWTAuth;
use Tymon\JWTAuth\Exceptions\JWTException;

public function authenticate(Request $request)
{
    $credentials = $request->only('email', 'password');

    try {
        if (!$token = JWTAuth::attempt($credentials)) {
            return response()->json(['error' => 'Invalid credentials'], 401);
        }
    } catch (JWTException $e) {
        return response()->json(['error' => 'Could not create token'], 500);
    }

    return response()->json(compact('token'));
}

Step 6 - Protect your routes with the `jwt.auth` middleware:

Route::group(['middleware' => 'jwt.auth'], function () {
    Route::get('protected', function () {
        return response()->json(['foo' => 'bar']);
    });
});

Step 7 - Send the JWT token with each request in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer {your-token-here}

That's it! You can now use JWT tokens in your Laravel application.