Middleware in Laravel acts as a gatekeeper between incoming HTTP requests and the application’s response handling. 1. It filters, inspects, or modifies requests before they reach routes or controllers, and can alter responses before being sent back. 2. Common uses include authentication, authorization, CSRF protection, logging, and modifying request/response data. 3. Middleware works by processing requests through a stack, where each layer can allow passage, halt, or modify the request. 4. The three types are global (runs on every request), route-specific (applied to individual routes), and middleware groups (bundled under a single key like web or api). 5. Middleware can be assigned to routes or groups using the middleware() method. 6. Custom middleware can be created via php artisan make:middleware, with logic defined in the handle() method to control flow or modify data. Middleware provides a clean, reusable way to manage cross-cutting concerns across routes without cluttering controllers, making it a powerful feature when used effectively.
Middleware in Laravel is like a gatekeeper that sits between your incoming HTTP request and the actual handling of that request by your application. It allows you to filter, inspect, or modify requests before they reach your routes or controllers — and also lets you alter responses before they're sent back to the user.

Think of it as a series of layers that every request must pass through. For example, Laravel’s built-in auth
middleware checks if a user is logged in. If not, it redirects them to the login page instead of letting them access a protected route.
Common Uses of Middleware
- Authentication: Check if a user is logged in.
- Authorization: Verify if a user has permission to perform an action (e.g., admin-only routes).
- CSRF Protection: Laravel includes middleware to validate CSRF tokens for security.
- Logging: Log details about incoming requests for debugging or monitoring.
- Modify Request/Response: Add headers, sanitize input, or transform responses.
How Middleware Works
When a request comes in, Laravel pushes it through the defined middleware stack. Each middleware can:

- Let the request pass through to the next layer (
return $next($request)
), - Stop the request early (e.g., return a redirect or 403 response),
- Or modify the request object before passing it along.
Types of Middleware in Laravel
There are three main types:
-
Global Middleware: Runs on every request (e.g.,
StartSession
,VerifyCsrfToken
). -
Route Middleware: Assigned to specific routes or groups (e.g.,
auth
,admin
). -
Middleware Groups: Combine multiple middleware under a single key (like
web
orapi
).
For example, applying middleware to a route:

Route::get('/dashboard', function () { // })->middleware('auth');
Or using a group:
Route::middleware(['auth'])->group(function () { Route::get('/profile', function () { /* ... */ }); Route::get('/settings', function () { /* ... */ }); });
You can also create custom middleware using Artisan:
php artisan make:middleware EnsureUserIsAdmin
Then define your logic in the handle()
method:
public function handle($request, Closure $next) { if (! $request->user()->isAdmin()) { return redirect('home'); } return $next($request); }
Basically, middleware gives you a clean, reusable way to handle cross-cutting concerns across your app’s routes — without cluttering your controllers.
It’s not complicated, but it’s powerful when used right.
The above is the detailed content of What is middleware in Laravel?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

There are three main ways to set environment variables in PHP: 1. Global configuration through php.ini; 2. Passed through a web server (such as SetEnv of Apache or fastcgi_param of Nginx); 3. Use putenv() function in PHP scripts. Among them, php.ini is suitable for global and infrequently changing configurations, web server configuration is suitable for scenarios that need to be isolated, and putenv() is suitable for temporary variables. Persistence policies include configuration files (such as php.ini or web server configuration), .env files are loaded with dotenv library, and dynamic injection of variables in CI/CD processes. Security management sensitive information should be avoided hard-coded, and it is recommended to use.en

Laravel's configuration cache improves performance by merging all configuration files into a single cache file. Enabling configuration cache in a production environment can reduce I/O operations and file parsing on each request, thereby speeding up configuration loading; 1. It should be enabled when the application is deployed, the configuration is stable and no frequent changes are required; 2. After enabling, modify the configuration, you need to re-run phpartisanconfig:cache to take effect; 3. Avoid using dynamic logic or closures that depend on runtime conditions in the configuration file; 4. When troubleshooting problems, you should first clear the cache, check the .env variables and re-cache.

To enable PHP containers to support automatic construction, the core lies in configuring the continuous integration (CI) process. 1. Use Dockerfile to define the PHP environment, including basic image, extension installation, dependency management and permission settings; 2. Configure CI/CD tools such as GitLabCI, and define the build, test and deployment stages through the .gitlab-ci.yml file to achieve automatic construction, testing and deployment; 3. Integrate test frameworks such as PHPUnit to ensure that tests are automatically run after code changes; 4. Use automated deployment strategies such as Kubernetes to define deployment configuration through the deployment.yaml file; 5. Optimize Dockerfile and adopt multi-stage construction

Laravel's EloquentScopes is a tool that encapsulates common query logic, divided into local scope and global scope. 1. The local scope is defined with a method starting with scope and needs to be called explicitly, such as Post::published(); 2. The global scope is automatically applied to all queries, often used for soft deletion or multi-tenant systems, and the Scope interface needs to be implemented and registered in the model; 3. The scope can be equipped with parameters, such as filtering articles by year or month, and corresponding parameters are passed in when calling; 4. Pay attention to naming specifications, chain calls, temporary disabling and combination expansion when using to improve code clarity and reusability.

User permission management is the core mechanism for realizing product monetization in PHP development. It separates users, roles and permissions through a role-based access control (RBAC) model to achieve flexible permission allocation and management. The specific steps include: 1. Design three tables of users, roles, and permissions and two intermediate tables of user_roles and role_permissions; 2. Implement permission checking methods in the code such as $user->can('edit_post'); 3. Use cache to improve performance; 4. Use permission control to realize product function layering and differentiated services, thereby supporting membership system and pricing strategies; 5. Avoid the permission granularity is too coarse or too fine, and use "investment"

To build a PHP content payment platform, it is necessary to build a user management, content management, payment and permission control system. First, establish a user authentication system and use JWT to achieve lightweight authentication; second, design the backend management interface and database fields to manage paid content; third, integrate Alipay or WeChat payment and ensure process security; fourth, control user access rights through session or cookies. Choosing the Laravel framework can improve development efficiency, use watermarks and user management to prevent content theft, optimize performance requires coordinated improvement of code, database, cache and server configuration, and clear policies must be formulated and malicious behaviors must be prevented.

Select logging method: In the early stage, you can use the built-in error_log() for PHP. After the project is expanded, be sure to switch to mature libraries such as Monolog, support multiple handlers and log levels, and ensure that the log contains timestamps, levels, file line numbers and error details; 2. Design storage structure: A small amount of logs can be stored in files, and if there is a large number of logs, select a database if there is a large number of analysis. Use MySQL/PostgreSQL to structured data. Elasticsearch Kibana is recommended for semi-structured/unstructured. At the same time, it is formulated for backup and regular cleaning strategies; 3. Development and analysis interface: It should have search, filtering, aggregation, and visualization functions. It can be directly integrated into Kibana, or use the PHP framework chart library to develop self-development, focusing on the simplicity and ease of interface.

Createahelpers.phpfileinapp/HelperswithcustomfunctionslikeformatPrice,isActiveRoute,andisAdmin.2.Addthefiletothe"files"sectionofcomposer.jsonunderautoload.3.Runcomposerdump-autoloadtomakethefunctionsgloballyavailable.4.Usethehelperfunctions
