PHP API Development
Build production-quality REST APIs with PHP — Laravel API resources, versioning, authentication, rate limiting, and documentation.
55 min•By Priygop Team•Last updated: Feb 2026
REST API Best Practices
- API Resources: Laravel API Resources transform models to JSON — consistent response format. UserResource wraps User model, collection pagination handled automatically
- Authentication: Laravel Sanctum for SPA/mobile auth (token-based), Passport for full OAuth2. JWT tokens for stateless APIs. Always use HTTPS in production
- Versioning: URL versioning (/api/v1/users) or header versioning (Accept: application/vnd.api.v1+json). Version when breaking changes are needed. Maintain old versions during migration period
- Rate Limiting: Laravel's ThrottleRequests middleware — 60 requests/minute per IP by default. Configure per route/user. Return 429 Too Many Requests with Retry-After header
- Error Handling: Consistent error response format — { 'error': { 'code': 'VALIDATION_ERROR', 'message': '...', 'details': [...] } }. HTTP status codes: 200 OK, 201 Created, 400 Bad Request, 401/403, 404, 422, 500
- API Documentation: OpenAPI/Swagger specification — auto-generated from annotations or code. Scribe (Laravel) generates docs from routes and controllers. Interactive API playground for testing