Create rest API using Laravel 11

REST APIs (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interfaces) are a crucial part of modern web applications, allowing different software systems to communicate with each other. In this tutorial, we will explore how to create a REST API using Laravel 11, the latest version of the popular PHP framework known for its elegant syntax and powerful features.

Before diving in, ensure you have the following installed on your system

• PHP 8.2 or higher
• Composer
• MySQL or any other supported database
• Laravel 11 (we will install this)

Step 1: Setting Up the Laravel Project

First, install a fresh Laravel 11 application using Composer. Run the following command:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel RestApiDemo

Which will install laravel latest in  RestApiDemo directory. Now navigate to the project directory with `cd RestApiDemo`

Step 2: Configuring the Database

Open the .env file in the root of your project and configure your database settings

DB_CONNECTION=mysql

DB_HOST=localhost

DB_PORT=3306

DB_DATABASE=restapidemo

DB_USERNAME=*****

DB_PASSWORD=*****

Now make new tables as 'customers' for save customer data as below.

php artisan make:migration create_customers_table 

Which will create new db migration file `*create_customers_table.php` in `/database/migrations/` directory. open that file and create table schema in up() function as below.

 public function up(): void

{

    Schema::create('customers', function (Blueprint $table) {

        $table->increments('id');

        $table->string('name')->comment('Customer full name');

        $table->string('gender')->length(50)->nullable();

        $table->date('date_of_birth')->nullable();

        $table->string('email')->unique();

        $table->text('notes')->nullable();

        $table->timestamps();

    });

}

Now need create that table in database run db migration as `php artisan migrate` (verify new table customers created in database).

Step 3: Creating the Controller and Model

In laravel need to create controller with resource model use below command.

php artisan make:controller CustomersController --resource --model=Customer

Which will create new `CustomersController.php` in `app/Http/Controllers` directory with basic functions and `Customer.php` model in `app\Models` directory.

Update customer controller functions as below for basic CURD operation.

class CustomersController extends Controller

{

    /**

     * Display a listing of the resource.

     */

    public function index()

    {

        $customers = Customer::latest()->paginate(10);

        return [

            "status" => 1,

            "data" => $customers

        ];

    }

    /**

     * Store a newly created resource in storage.

     */

    public function store(Request $request)

    {

        $request->validate([

            'name' => 'required',

            'email' => 'required|email',

            'date_of_birth' => 'date_format:Y-m-d',

        ]);

        $customer = Customer::create($request->all());

        return [

            "status" => 1,

            "data" => $customer

        ];

    }

    /**

     * Display the specified resource.

     */

    public function show(Customer $customer)

    {

        return [

            "status" => 1,

            "data" =>$customer

        ];

    }

    /**

     * Update the specified resource in storage.

     */

    public function update(Request $request, Customer $customer)

    {

        $request->validate([

            'name' => 'required',

            'email' => 'required|email',

            'date_of_birth' => 'date_format:Y-m-d',

        ]);

        $customer->update($request->all());

        return [

            "status" => 1,

            "data" => $customer,

            "msg" => "Customer updated successfully"

        ];

    }

    /**

     * Remove the specified resource from storage.

     */

    public function destroy(Customer $customer)

    {

        $customer->delete();

        return [

            "status" => 1,

            "data" => $customer,

            "msg" => "Customer deleted successfully"

        ];

    }

}

Update customer model with define database columns which needs to add or update as below.

class Customer extends Model

{

    /**

     * The attributes that are mass assignable.

     */

    protected $fillable = [

        'name',

        'gender',

        'date_of_birth',

        'email',

        'notes'

    ];

    use HasFactory;

} 

Step 4: Creating the API Routes

Laravel 11 need to install the routes/api.php file for defining API routes with below command.

php artisan install:api

Open this file and define the routes for CRUD operations

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

use App\Http\Controllers\CustomersController;

Route::resource('customers', CustomersController::class);

Step 5: Testing the API 

To test the API, you can use tools like Postman or Insomnia by run `php artisan serve` (can open directly with directory URL). Here are some endpoints to test.

GET /api/customers - Fetch all customers.

POST /api/customers - Create a new customer.

GET /api/customers/{id} - Get a single customer.

PUT /api/customers/{id} - Update an existing customer.

DELETE /api/customers/{id} - Delete a customer.

For create and update customer details use below JSON format send in POST/PUT request.

{

    "name" : "John Doe",

    "gender": "Male",

    "date_of_birth": "2000-01-01",

    "email": "john@deo.com",

    "notes": "Test comment"

}

Creating a REST API in Laravel 11 is straightforward, thanks to its powerful built-in features. This guide covered the basics of setting up a Laravel project, configuring the database, creating models, controllers, and defining API routes. With this foundation, you can extend your API by adding more features like authentication, validation, and error handling.

For the complete source code of this project, you can visit the GitHub repository: Laravel API CRUD.