Laravel 5.5 API Boilerplate Starter

This boilerplate project is created as a starting point for a pure API backend that requires authentication. It was created with a Vue.js SPA in mind but would work with any front end framework/technology.

You can find the Vue.js SPA sister project at Vue-SPA-Boilerplate-Starter

Environment

This starter project was created using Vessel; a simple Docker environment even those with little or no Docker experience can use. For more information head over to https://vessel.shippingdocker.com

Note: This project is not tied to Vessel, it will run on Homestead or Valet equally as well, however the installation notes below are geared towards running on Vessel.

Installation

Clone the project onto your system and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Initialise Vessel and Run

bash vessel init

./vessel start

Head to http://localhost:8001 in your browser and check the site is running. You can access mySQL on the 3001 port.

Step 2: Install Laravel & Define Environment Variables

./vessel composer install

Once composer has installed Laravel and its dependencies copy the variables from the .env.example file across to your .env file.

Step 3: Run Migrations

./vessel artisan migrate

This will setup the database.

Step 4: Run Database Seeder

./vessel artisan db:seed

This will add a default user to the database with the following credentials.

Name: Example User
Email: example@example.com
Password: password

If you wish to change this before running then simply edit the seed data located in the /database/seeds/UserTableSeeder.php file.

Step 5: Install Passport

./vessel artisan passport:install

That’s it.

You now have a fully working Laravel 5.5 project with authentication ready to use as a backend. I have included a Paw file in the repository that contains the endpoints for obtaining the key and testing an authenticated endpoint.

If you haven’t used Paw I highly recommend it for API development on the Mac. https://paw.cloud

shealan / Laravel-SPA-Boilerplate-Starter