Laravel Passport vs. Sanctum: A Comprehensive Comparison

A Deep Dive into Laravel Passport and Laravel Sanctum: A Comprehensive Comparison

Laravel, a robust PHP framework, offers a myriad of tools for building modern web applications. Among these tools, Laravel Passport and Laravel Sanctum stand out as leading solutions for API authentication. While they may serve similar purposes, each package has distinct features, advantages, and ideal use cases. This article explores their architectures, functionalities, implementations, and security considerations in detail.

Laravel Passport

Laravel Passport provides a full OAuth2 server implementation for your Laravel application. It allows for complex authentication flows, enabling the creation of secure APIs that adhere to the OAuth2 specification. This makes Passport suitable for applications requiring third-party integrations or complex authorization scenarios.

Features

• Full OAuth2 Support: Implements various OAuth2 flows (Authorization Code, Implicit, Resource Owner Password Credentials, and Client Credentials).
• Access Tokens: Issues short-lived access tokens for API authentication.
• Refresh Tokens: Supports refresh tokens for long-lived access, allowing users to maintain sessions without re-authentication.
• Personal Access Tokens: Simple method for users to generate tokens for their account.
• Token Revocation: Easily revoke tokens for enhanced security.
• Scopes: Fine-grained access control by defining scopes for tokens.

Architecture

Passport is built around the OAuth2 specification, making it more complex than Sanctum. Here’s a breakdown of its architecture:

• OAuth2 Flows: Passport supports various flows (Authorization Code, Client Credentials, etc.), allowing diverse types of clients to interact with the API.
• Token Storage: Passport stores tokens in the database, allowing for easy management and revocation.
• Scopes and Permissions: Developers can define scopes that restrict what actions can be performed with a given token.
• Middleware: Uses middleware for route protection, ensuring that only authenticated requests can access certain routes.

Security

The OAuth2 specification, while powerful, can introduce performance overhead due to:

• Token Validation: Each request requires validating the access token against the database.
• Complexity of Scopes: Evaluating scopes adds additional processing for each request.

For applications requiring high throughput and low latency, careful consideration should be given to the implementation and usage patterns of Passport.

Use Case

• Third-Party Applications: If you need to allow third-party applications to authenticate with your API, Passport's OAuth2 capabilities are essential.
• Complex Applications: For applications with various user roles, permissions, and complex access control, Passport's scopes and token management provide necessary granularity.
• Mobile Applications: For mobile apps requiring secure, long-lived access tokens, Passport’s refresh tokens are highly beneficial.

Implementation

• Step 1: Installation

Install Passport via composer

composer require laravel/passport

• Step 2: Migration

Publish the migrations and run them:

php artisan migrate
php artisan passport:install

This command generates the necessary encryption keys and the default client records.

• Step 3: Service Provider

Register the Passport service provider in config/app.php:

'providers' => [
    // Other Service Providers
    Laravel\Passport\PassportServiceProvider::class,
],

• Step 4: User Model Configuration

Implement the HasApiTokens trait in your User model:

use Laravel\Passport\HasApiTokens;

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use HasApiTokens, Notifiable;
}

• Step 5: Registering Routes

In your AuthServiceProvider, register Passport's routes:

public function boot()
{
    $this->registerPolicies();

    Passport::routes(); // Don't forget to import the class
}

• Step 6: Protecting Routes

Use the auth:api middleware to protect your routes:

Route::middleware('auth:api')->get('/user', function (Request $request) {
    return $request->user();
});

Laravel Sanctum

Laravel Sanctum is a simpler authentication solution designed for single-page applications (SPAs) and lightweight APIs. It is particularly useful for projects that require basic token authentication without the complexities of OAuth2.

Features

• API Tokens: Simple and straightforward API token issuance for user authentication.
• Session-Based Authentication: Provides stateful authentication for SPAs, making it easy to integrate with Laravel's session management.
• CSRF Protection: Offers CSRF protection for stateful sessions, enhancing security.
• Multiple Token Types: Allows users to have multiple tokens, each with different abilities.
• Lightweight Implementation: Easy to set up with minimal configuration required.

Architecture

Sanctum's architecture is simpler and focuses on two main types of authentication:

• API Token Authentication: Users can generate tokens to authenticate requests. Tokens are stored in the database, allowing for easy management.
• Session-Based Authentication: Sanctum uses Laravel’s built-in session management for stateful authentication, providing a seamless experience for SPAs.
• CSRF Protection: When using stateful authentication, Sanctum automatically protects against CSRF attacks, a critical consideration for security.

Security

Sanctum simplifies security by offering essential protections, such as:

• CSRF Protection: Automatically manages CSRF tokens for stateful authentication, essential for SPAs.
• Token Expiration: Tokens can be set to expire after a certain period, requiring re-authentication.
• Simple Management: The straightforward nature of token issuance and management reduces the risk of misconfiguration.

Performance

Sanctum is designed for performance, offering:

• Low Overhead: The straightforward token management means less processing per request.
• Session-Based Authentication: Using Laravel’s native session management is generally faster for stateful interactions, especially in SPAs.

For applications focused on speed and responsiveness, Sanctum is often the preferable choice.

Use Case

• Simple APIs: If you are building a straightforward API that does not require OAuth2, Sanctum provides a lightweight solution.
• Single-Page Applications: Sanctum is particularly suitable for SPAs that require stateful session management alongside API access.
• Microservices: For small services that require basic token authentication without the overhead of full OAuth2, Sanctum is the ideal choice.

Implementation

• Step 1: Installation

Install Sanctum via composer

composer require laravel/sanctum

• Step 2: Migration

Publish the Sanctum configuration file and run the migrations:

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Laravel\Sanctum\SanctumServiceProvider"
php artisan migrate

• Step 3: Middleware Setup

Add Sanctum's middleware to your api middleware group in app/Http/Kernel.php:

'api' => [
    \Laravel\Sanctum\Http\Middleware\EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful::class,
    'throttle:api',
    \Illuminate\Routing\Middleware\SubstituteBindings::class,
],

• Step 4: User Model Configuration

Similar to Passport, implement the HasApiTokens trait:

use Laravel\Passport\HasApiTokens;

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use HasApiTokens, Notifiable;
}

• Step 5: Token Creation

To create a token for a user:

$user = User::find(1);
$token = $user->createToken('token-name')->plainTextToken;

• Step 6: Protecting Routes

Use the auth:sanctum middleware to protect your routes:

Route::middleware('auth:sanctum')->get('/user', function (Request $request) {
    return $request->user();
});

Conclusion

When deciding between Laravel Passport and Laravel Sanctum, the choice hinges on the specific needs of your application:

Choose Laravel Passport if you require a full-fledged OAuth2 implementation, need to support multiple third-party applications, or require granular access control with scopes.

Choose Laravel Sanctum for simpler use cases, particularly if you’re building a single-page application or a lightweight API without the need for complex authorization flows.

Both solutions have their unique strengths and trade-offs, making them valuable tools in the Laravel ecosystem. By understanding the intricacies of each package, developers can effectively implement secure and efficient authentication solutions tailored to their project requirements.