Defining Middleware

To create a new middleware, use the make:middleware Artisan command:

php artisan make:middleware CheckAge

This command will place a new CheckAge class within your app/Http/Middleware directory. In this middleware, we will only allow access to the route if the supplied age is greater than 200. Otherwise, we will redirect the users back to the home URI:

<?php

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;

class CheckAge
{
    /**
     * Handle an incoming request.
     *
     * @param  \Illuminate\Http\Request  $request
     * @param  \Closure  $next
     * @return mixed
     */
    public function handle($request, Closure $next)
    {
        if ($request->age <= 200) {
            return redirect('home');
        }

        return $next($request);
    }
}

As you can see, if the given age is less than or equal to 200, the middleware will return an HTTP redirect to the client; otherwise, the request will be passed further into the application. To pass the request deeper into the application (allowing the middleware to "pass"), call the $next callback with the $request.

It's best to envision middleware as a series of "layers" HTTP requests must pass through before they hit your application. Each layer can examine the request and even reject it entirely.

Middleware

• Introduction
• Defining Middleware