Laravel 12 Multi-Auth System: Admin & User Login

Step 1: Install Laravel 12

Make sure Composer is installed, then create a new Laravel project:

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel12-multiauth
cd laravel12-multiauth

Run the Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Step 2: Configure Database

Update the .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=multiauth_db
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Run migrations:

php artisan migrate

Step 3: Install Laravel Breeze for Authentication

Laravel Breeze provides a simple authentication system:

composer require laravel/breeze --dev
php artisan breeze:install

Now, compile frontend assets:

npm install && npm run dev

Run migrations again:

php artisan migrate

Step 4: Add Role Column to Users Table

Run the migration command to add a role column:

php artisan make:migration add_role_to_users_table --table=users

Update the migration file:

public function up()
{
    Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->string('role')->default('user'); // Default role: 'user'
    });
}

Run the migration:

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use HasFactory;

    protected $fillable = ['name', 'email', 'password', 'role'];
}

Step 5: Create Middleware for Admin Authentication

Generate middleware for admin access:

php artisan make:middleware AdminMiddleware

Modify app/Http/Middleware/AdminMiddleware.php:

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Auth;

class AdminMiddleware
{
    public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next)
    {
        if (Auth::check() && Auth::user()->role === 'admin') {
            return $next($request);
        }

        return redirect('/'); // Redirect unauthorized users
    }
}

protected $routeMiddleware = [
    'admin' => \App\Http\Middleware\AdminMiddleware::class,
];

Step 6: Define Routes in `web.php`

Modify routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\AuthController;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

// Home Page
Route::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

// User Dashboard
Route::middleware(['auth'])->group(function () {
    Route::get('/user/dashboard', function () {
        return view('user.dashboard');
    })->name('user.dashboard');
});

// Admin Dashboard (Protected by Middleware)
Route::middleware(['auth', 'admin'])->group(function () {
    Route::get('/admin/dashboard', function () {
        return view('admin.dashboard');
    })->name('admin.dashboard');
});

// Authentication Routes
Route::get('/login', [AuthController::class, 'login'])->name('login');
Route::post('/login', [AuthController::class, 'authenticate']);
Route::post('/logout', [AuthController::class, 'logout'])->name('logout');

Step 7: Modify Login Controller for Multi-Auth

Modify app/Http/Controllers/AuthController.php:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;

class AuthController extends Controller
{
    public function login()
    {
        return view('auth.login');
    }

    public function authenticate(Request $request)
    {
        $credentials = $request->validate([
            'email' => 'required|email',
            'password' => 'required',
        ]);

        if (Auth::attempt($credentials)) {
            $request->session()->regenerate();

            if (Auth::user()->role === 'admin') {
                return redirect()->route('admin.dashboard');
            }

            return redirect()->route('user.dashboard');
        }

        return back()->withErrors(['email' => 'Invalid login details']);
    }

    public function logout(Request $request)
    {
        Auth::logout();
        $request->session()->invalidate();
        $request->session()->regenerateToken();

        return redirect('/');
    }
}

Step 8: Create Admin & User Dashboards

User Dashboard (`resources/views/user/dashboard.blade.php`)

<h2>Welcome, User!</h2>
<a href="{{ route('logout') }}" onclick="event.preventDefault(); document.getElementById('logout-form').submit();">Logout</a>
<form id="logout-form" action="{{ route('logout') }}" method="POST" style="display: none;">
    @csrf
</form>

Admin Dashboard (`resources/views/admin/dashboard.blade.php`)

<h2>Welcome, Admin!</h2>
<a href="{{ route('logout') }}" onclick="event.preventDefault(); document.getElementById('logout-form').submit();">Logout</a>
<form id="logout-form" action="{{ route('logout') }}" method="POST" style="display: none;">
    @csrf
</form>

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we successfully implemented a multi-authentication system in Laravel 12. We covered:
✅ Setting up authentication with Laravel Breeze
✅ Adding a role column for user and admin authentication
✅ Creating an admin middleware to restrict access
✅ Redirecting users based on their roles

Now, you can extend this system by adding permissions, role-based access control (RBAC), and API authentication. 🚀