API authentication with Sanctum in Laravel - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is Laravel Sanctum used for?

Laravel Sanctum provides a simple way to authenticate Single Page Applications (SPAs), mobile apps, and simple token-based APIs securely.

beginner

How does Sanctum authenticate API requests?

Sanctum uses API tokens or cookie-based session authentication to verify the identity of the user making the request.

intermediate

What is the purpose of the 'sanctum' middleware in Laravel?

The 'sanctum' middleware protects routes by ensuring only authenticated users with valid tokens or sessions can access them.

intermediate

How do you create an API token for a user with Sanctum?

You call the createToken method on the user model, like: $token = $user->createToken('token-name')->plainTextToken;

advanced

What is the difference between Sanctum's token abilities and scopes?

Abilities (or scopes) define what actions a token can perform, allowing fine-grained control over API access.

Which Laravel package provides simple API token authentication for SPAs and mobile apps?

A Jetstream

B Passport

C Breeze

D Sanctum

Sanctum is designed for simple token-based authentication, especially for SPAs and mobile apps.

What method do you use to generate a new API token for a user in Sanctum?

A createToken()

B generateToken()

C makeToken()

D newToken()

The createToken() method on the user model generates a new API token.

Which middleware should you apply to routes to protect them with Sanctum authentication?

A auth:api

B auth:sanctum

C web

D guest

The auth:sanctum middleware ensures routes are accessible only to authenticated users via Sanctum.

Sanctum tokens can have abilities. What do these abilities control?

A What actions the token can perform

B The token's expiration time

C The user's password

D The database connection

Abilities define permissions or scopes for what the token is allowed to do.

Which of these is NOT a typical use case for Sanctum?

A Authenticating Single Page Applications

B Authenticating mobile apps

C OAuth2 server implementation

D Simple token-based API authentication

OAuth2 server implementation is handled by Laravel Passport, not Sanctum.

Explain how Laravel Sanctum secures API routes and how you would protect a route using it.

Think about middleware and token validation.

Describe the process to generate and use an API token with Sanctum for a user.

Focus on token creation and usage in requests.