How to Create a Rest Api in Laravel in 2025?

Creating a REST API in Laravel is easier than ever with the 2025 updates, thanks to enhanced features and simplified processes. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to create a robust and efficient REST API in Laravel, providing best practices and techniques to ensure scalability and performance.

Setting Up Laravel

Before you begin, ensure you have the latest version of Laravel installed. You can do this by running:

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composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel rest-api-2025

Once setup is complete, navigate into your project directory:

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cd rest-api-2025

Database Configuration

Laravel provides a simple way to configure your database. Open the .env file and update the following settings:

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DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

Make sure your database is created beforehand.

Creating the API Routes

API routes in Laravel are defined in the routes/api.php file. By default, this file is included in your application bootstrap file and is specifically designated for API routing.

Here’s a simple example:

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Route::middleware('api')->get('/products', [ProductController::class, 'index']);

Building the Controller

You’ll need a controller to handle the endpoints. Let’s create a ProductController for our products endpoint:

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php artisan make:controller ProductController

In app/Http/Controllers/ProductController.php, add the logic for retrieving products:

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namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Models\Product;

class ProductController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        return response()->json(Product::all());
    }
}

Creating the Model

Run the following command to create a Product model:

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php artisan make:model Product

Database Migration

Create a migration file for the products table:

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php artisan make:migration create_products_table --create=products

Edit the migration file in database/migrations/ to define your table structure:

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public function up()
{
    Schema::create('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->text('description');
        $table->decimal('price', 8, 2);
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

After setting up your migration, apply it with:

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php artisan migrate

Validating and Formatting Data

When dealing with requests, always validate and sanitize input data. Laravel’s request validation makes this straightforward:

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use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Validator;

Validator::make($request->all(), [
    'name' => 'required|max:255',
    'description' => 'required',
    'price' => 'required|numeric',
]);

To learn more about formatting your date fields in Laravel, check this guide.

Implementing Advanced Features

Redirecting in Laravel

For advanced routing, consider implementing redirects within your API architecture. Explore more in this article.

Integrating Excel

If your application requires handling Excel files, Laravel provides seamless Excel integration. Understand more about validating and handling Excel with this tutorial.

Conclusion

Laravel in 2025 makes building REST APIs remarkably intuitive with its efficient routing and model management. By following the steps outlined, you’ll be able to create a REST API that is secure, easy to maintain, and scalable. Continue exploring more of Laravel’s capabilities to augment your API applications further.