Laravel API Development: Building Professional REST & GraphQL APIs

Laravel API Development: Building Professional REST & GraphQL APIs

Laravel API Development: Building Professional REST & GraphQL APIs

Expert Guide by Alaa Amer – Professional Web Developer & Applications Designer

Laravel provides powerful tools for API development. Master REST APIs, GraphQL implementation, authentication strategies, and enterprise-level API architecture patterns.

2️⃣ Advanced API Validation & Requests

Comprehensive API Request Validation:

<?php
// app/Http/Requests/Api/BaseApiRequest.php
namespace App\Http\Requests\Api;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Validator;
use Illuminate\Http\Exceptions\HttpResponseException;

class BaseApiRequest extends FormRequest
{
    protected function failedValidation(Validator $validator)
    {
        throw new HttpResponseException(
            response()->json([
                'success' => false,
                'message' => 'Validation failed',
                'errors' => $validator->errors(),
                'timestamp' => now()->toISOString()
            ], 422)
        );
    }

    protected function failedAuthorization()
    {
        throw new HttpResponseException(
            response()->json([
                'success' => false,
                'message' => 'This action is unauthorized',
                'timestamp' => now()->toISOString()
            ], 403)
        );
    }
}

// app/Http/Requests/Api/StorePostRequest.php
namespace App\Http\Requests\Api;

class StorePostRequest extends BaseApiRequest
{
    public function authorize(): bool
    {
        return auth()->check() && auth()->user()->can('create-posts');
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            'title' => 'required|string|min:5|max:255|unique:posts,title',
            'slug' => 'nullable|string|max:255|unique:posts,slug',
            'excerpt' => 'nullable|string|max:500',
            'content' => 'required|string|min:100',
            'status' => 'required|in:draft,published,scheduled',
            'published_at' => 'nullable|date|after:now',
            'category_id' => 'required|exists:categories,id',
            'tags' => 'nullable|array|max:10',
            'tags.*' => 'string|max:50',
            'featured_image' => 'nullable|image|mimes:jpeg,png,webp|max:2048',
            'settings' => 'nullable|array',
            'settings.allow_comments' => 'boolean',
            'settings.is_featured' => 'boolean',
            'meta_title' => 'nullable|string|max:60',
            'meta_description' => 'nullable|string|max:160'
        ];
    }

    public function messages(): array
    {
        return [
            'title.required' => 'Post title is required',
            'title.min' => 'Post title must be at least 5 characters',
            'title.unique' => 'A post with this title already exists',
            'content.required' => 'Post content is required',
            'content.min' => 'Post content must be at least 100 characters',
            'category_id.required' => 'Please select a category',
            'category_id.exists' => 'Selected category does not exist',
            'featured_image.image' => 'Featured image must be a valid image file',
            'featured_image.max' => 'Featured image size cannot exceed 2MB'
        ];
    }

    public function attributes(): array
    {
        return [
            'category_id' => 'category',
            'published_at' => 'publication date'
        ];
    }

    protected function prepareForValidation(): void
    {
        // Auto-generate slug if not provided
        if (!$this->has('slug') && $this->has('title')) {
            $this->merge([
                'slug' => \Str::slug($this->title)
            ]);
        }

        // Set default published_at for scheduled posts
        if ($this->status === 'scheduled' && !$this->has('published_at')) {
            $this->merge([
                'published_at' => now()->addHour()->toISOString()
            ]);
        }
    }

    public function withValidator($validator): void
    {
        $validator->after(function ($validator) {
            // Custom validation: scheduled posts must have future date
            if ($this->status === 'scheduled') {
                if (!$this->published_at || $this->published_at <= now()) {
                    $validator->errors()->add('published_at', 'Scheduled posts must have a future publication date');
                }
            }

            // Custom validation: featured posts need image
            if ($this->input('settings.is_featured') && !$this->hasFile('featured_image')) {
                $validator->errors()->add('featured_image', 'Featured posts require an image');
            }
        });
    }
}

// app/Rules/UniqueSlugForUser.php - Custom Validation Rule
namespace App\Rules;

use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Rule;
use App\Models\Post;

class UniqueSlugForUser implements Rule
{
    protected $userId;
    protected $excludeId;

    public function __construct($userId, $excludeId = null)
    {
        $this->userId = $userId;
        $this->excludeId = $excludeId;
    }

    public function passes($attribute, $value): bool
    {
        $query = Post::where('user_id', $this->userId)
                    ->where('slug', $value);

        if ($this->excludeId) {
            $query->where('id', '!=', $this->excludeId);
        }

        return !$query->exists();
    }

    public function message(): string
    {
        return 'You already have a post with this slug.';
    }
}

4️⃣ GraphQL API Implementation

Laravel GraphQL Setup:

<?php
// Install lighthouse-php/lighthouse
// composer require pusher/pusher-php-server lighthouse/lighthouse

// config/lighthouse.php
return [
    'route' => [
        'uri' => '/graphql',
        'middleware' => [
            'api',
            \Nuwave\Lighthouse\Support\Http\Middleware\AcceptJson::class,
        ],
        'prefix' => '',
        'name' => 'lighthouse',
    ],
    'schema' => [
        'register' => base_path('graphql/schema.graphql'),
    ],
    'namespaces' => [
        'models' => 'App\\Models',
        'queries' => 'App\\GraphQL\\Queries',
        'mutations' => 'App\\GraphQL\\Mutations',
    ],
];

// graphql/schema.graphql
"""
Main GraphQL Schema
"""

type Query {
    posts(
        first: Int = 15
        page: Int = 1
        orderBy: [PostOrderByClause!]
        filter: PostFilter
    ): PostPaginator! @paginate(defaultCount: 15, maxCount: 100)

    post(id: ID! @eq): Post @find

    categories: [Category!]! @all

    me: User @auth
}

type Mutation {
    createPost(input: CreatePostInput! @spread): Post
        @create
        @can(ability: "create", model: "App\\Models\\Post")

    updatePost(id: ID!, input: UpdatePostInput! @spread): Post
        @update
        @can(ability: "update", find: "id")

    deletePost(id: ID!): Post
        @delete
        @can(ability: "delete", find: "id")

    login(input: LoginInput! @spread): AuthPayload
        @field(resolver: "App\\GraphQL\\Mutations\\Auth@login")

    logout: LogoutResponse
        @field(resolver: "App\\GraphQL\\Mutations\\Auth@logout")
        @guard
}

type Post {
    id: ID!
    title: String!
    slug: String!
    excerpt: String
    content: String!
    status: PostStatus!
    published_at: DateTime
    created_at: DateTime!
    updated_at: DateTime!

    # Relationships
    author: User! @belongsTo(relation: "user")
    category: Category! @belongsTo
    tags: [Tag!]! @belongsToMany
    comments: [Comment!]! @hasMany

    # Computed fields
    reading_time: Int @method(name: "getReadingTimeAttribute")
    can_edit: Boolean @method(name: "userCanEdit")
}

type User {
    id: ID!
    name: String!
    email: String!
    avatar: String
    created_at: DateTime!

    posts: [Post!]! @hasMany
}

type Category {
    id: ID!
    name: String!
    slug: String!
    description: String
    posts_count: Int @count(relation: "posts")
}

enum PostStatus {
    DRAFT @enum(value: "draft")
    PUBLISHED @enum(value: "published")
    SCHEDULED @enum(value: "scheduled")
}

input PostFilter {
    title: String @where(operator: "like")
    status: PostStatus @eq
    category_id: ID @eq
    published_at: DateRange @whereBetween
}

input CreatePostInput {
    title: String! @rules(apply: ["required", "min:5", "max:255"])
    slug: String @rules(apply: ["nullable", "unique:posts,slug"])
    excerpt: String @rules(apply: ["nullable", "max:500"])
    content: String! @rules(apply: ["required", "min:100"])
    status: PostStatus! @rules(apply: ["required"])
    category_id: ID! @rules(apply: ["required", "exists:categories,id"])
    tags: [ID!] @rules(apply: ["nullable", "array"])
    published_at: DateTime
}

# GraphQL Mutations
// app/GraphQL/Mutations/Auth.php
namespace App\GraphQL\Mutations;

use App\Models\User;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use GraphQL\Type\Definition\ResolveInfo;
use Nuwave\Lighthouse\Support\Contracts\GraphQLContext;

class Auth
{
    public function login($root, array $args, GraphQLContext $context, ResolveInfo $info)
    {
        $credentials = $args['input'];

        $user = User::where('email', $credentials['email'])->first();

        if (!$user || !Hash::check($credentials['password'], $user->password)) {
            throw new \Exception('Invalid credentials');
        }

        if ($user->isLocked()) {
            throw new \Exception('Account temporarily locked');
        }

        $token = $user->createApiToken('GraphQL API');
        $user->recordSuccessfulLogin();

        return [
            'user' => $user,
            'access_token' => $token,
            'token_type' => 'Bearer'
        ];
    }

    public function logout($root, array $args, GraphQLContext $context, ResolveInfo $info)
    {
        $user = auth()->user();
        $user->currentAccessToken()->delete();

        return [
            'message' => 'Successfully logged out'
        ];
    }
}

Advanced GraphQL Features:

<?php
// app/GraphQL/Queries/PostQueries.php
namespace App\GraphQL\Queries;

use App\Models\Post;
use GraphQL\Type\Definition\ResolveInfo;
use Nuwave\Lighthouse\Support\Contracts\GraphQLContext;

class PostQueries
{
    public function trending($root, array $args, GraphQLContext $context, ResolveInfo $info)
    {
        $days = $args['days'] ?? 7;

        return Post::published()
            ->where('published_at', '>=', now()->subDays($days))
            ->withCount(['comments', 'likes'])
            ->orderByDesc('likes_count')
            ->limit($args['limit'] ?? 10)
            ->get();
    }

    public function search($root, array $args, GraphQLContext $context, ResolveInfo $info)
    {
        $query = $args['query'];

        return Post::published()
            ->where(function ($q) use ($query) {
                $q->where('title', 'LIKE', "%{$query}%")
                  ->orWhere('content', 'LIKE', "%{$query}%")
                  ->orWhereFullText(['title', 'content'], $query);
            })
            ->with(['user', 'category'])
            ->paginate($args['first'] ?? 15);
    }
}

// app/GraphQL/Scalars/Upload.php - File Upload Support
namespace App\GraphQL\Scalars;

use GraphQL\Type\Definition\ScalarType;
use Illuminate\Http\UploadedFile;

class Upload extends ScalarType
{
    public function serialize($value)
    {
        return $value;
    }

    public function parseValue($value)
    {
        if ($value instanceof UploadedFile) {
            return $value;
        }

        throw new \Exception('Value must be an uploaded file');
    }

    public function parseLiteral($valueNode, array $variables = null)
    {
        throw new \Exception('Upload scalar can only parse variables');
    }
}

Next Steps

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