name: Laravel API description: REST and JSON API standards for modern Laravel backends. Use when designing REST endpoints, API resources, or JSON API responses in Laravel. metadata: labels: [laravel, api, rest, json, sanctum] triggers: files: ['routes/api.php', 'app/Http/Resources/**/*.php'] keywords: [resource, collection, sanctum, passport, cors]

Laravel API

Priority: P1 (HIGH)

Structure

app/
└── Http/
    ├── Resources/      # Data transformation
    └── Controllers/
        └── Api/        # API specific logic

Implementation Guidelines

• API Resources: Always use Resources/Collections for JSON formatting.
• RESTful Actions: Follow standard naming (index, store, update).
• Auth: Use Sanctum for SPAs/Mobile or Passport for OAuth2.
• Status Codes: Return appropriate HTTP codes (201 Created, 422 Unprocessable).
• Versioning: Prefix routes with version tags (e.g., api/v1/...).
• Rate Limiting: Configure RateLimiter to protect public endpoints.

Anti-Patterns

• Raw Models: No raw model returns: Information leakage risk.
• Manual JSON: No response()->create(): Use API Resources.
• Session Auth: No sessions for APIs: Use Tokens (Sanctum).
• Hardcoded URLs: No static links in JSON: Use HATEOAS or route names.

References

• API Resource Patterns