Middleware in PHP
From the Laravel cheat sheet · Controllers · verified Jul 2026
Middleware
Creating and using middleware
php
// Apply middleware to routes
Route::get('/admin', function () {
//
})->middleware('auth', 'admin');
// Middleware groups
Route::middleware(['auth', 'verified'])->group(function () {
Route::get('/dashboard', [DashboardController::class, 'index']);
});
// Controller middleware
class UserController extends Controller
{
public function __construct()
{
$this->middleware('auth');
$this->middleware('log')->only('index');
}
}💡 Middleware can run before and/or after request handling
⚡ Use terminable middleware for logging/cleanup after response
📌 Group middleware for applying to multiple routes
🔥 Rate limiting prevents abuse and protects APIs