Laravel 9 REST API CRUD Tutorial Example

In this section, we will explore how to create a REST API CRUD application in Laravel 9. This tutorial will guide you through building a simple yet clean Laravel API CRUD using Requests for validation and Resources for displaying important and organized data. We will focus on creating a well-structured and maintainable Laravel 9 API CRUD application.

Step 1: Install Laravel & Connect Database

Installing a fresh new laravel 9 application, so head over to the terminal, type the command, and create a new laravel app.

composer create-project laravel/laravel crud

Now, you have to connect the laravel app to the database, hence open the .env configuration file and add the database credentials as suggested below.

.env

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=database_name
DB_USERNAME=database_user_name
DB_PASSWORD=database_password

Step 2: Create Model, Request, Resource, API Controller, and Route

Create Post Modal with migration.

php artisan make:model Post -m

Create Post Request for validation.

php artisan make:request StorePostRequest

Create Post Resource for show clean data.

php artisan make:resource PostResource

Create Post Api controller.

php artisan make:controller Api/PostController --model=Post

create_posts_table.php

<?php


use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;


return new class extends Migration
{
    /**
     * Run the migrations.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function up()
    {
        Schema::create('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->string('title');
            $table->text('description');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }


    /**
     * Reverse the migrations.
     *
     * @return void
     */
    public function down()
    {
        Schema::dropIfExists('posts');
    }
};

app/Http/Models/Post.php

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Post extends Model
{
    use HasFactory;
    protected $fillable = ['title', 'description'];
}

app/Http/Requests/StorePostRequest.php

<?php

namespace App\Http\Requests;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;

class StorePostRequest extends FormRequest
{
    /**
     * Determine if the user is authorized to make this request.
     *
     * @return bool
     */
    public function authorize()
    {
        return false;
    }

    /**
     * Get the validation rules that apply to the request.
     *
     * @return array
     */
    public function rules()
    {
        return [
            'title' => ['required', 'max:70'],
            'description'  => ['required']
        ];
    }
}

app/Http/Controllers/Api/PostController.php

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers\Api;

use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
use App\Http\Requests\StorePostRequest;
use App\Http\Resources\PostResource;
use App\Models\Post;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    /**
     * Display a listing of the resource.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function index()
    {
        $posts = Post::all();
        return PostResource::collection($posts);
    }

    /**
     * Show the form for creating a new resource.
     *
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function create()
    {
        //
    }

    /**
     * Store a newly created resource in storage.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function store(StorePostRequest $request)
    {
        $posts = Post::create($request->all());
        
        return new PostResource($posts);
    }

    /**
     * Display the specified resource.
     *
     * @param  \App\Models\Post  $post
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function show(Post $post)
    {
        //
    }

    /**
     * Show the form for editing the specified resource.
     *
     * @param  \App\Models\Post  $post
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function edit(Post $post)
    {
        //
    }

    /**
     * Update the specified resource in storage.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
     * @param  \App\Models\Post  $post
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function update(StorePostRequest $request, Post $post)
    {
        $post->update($request->all());
        
        return new PostResource($post);
    }

    /**
     * Remove the specified resource from storage.
     *
     * @param  \App\Models\Post  $post
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response
     */
    public function destroy(Post $post)
    {
        $post->delete();

        return response(null, 204);
    }
}

routes/api.php

<?php

use App\Http\Controllers\Api\PostController;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| API Routes
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Here is where you can register API routes for your application. These
| routes are loaded by the RouteServiceProvider within a group which
| is assigned the "api" middleware group. Enjoy building your API!
|
*/
 

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->get('/user', function (Request $request) {
    return $request->user();
});

Route::apiResource('posts',PostController::class);