Laravel 11 REST API with MySQL, Image Upload, CORS & Clean URLs

In this step-by-step tutorial, we will build a Laravel 11 REST API with MySQL, including image upload, CORS support, and clean routing. Perfect for frontend apps built in Angular, React, Vue, or Flutter.

🛠 Step 1: Create Laravel Project

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel-rest-api

⚙️ Step 2: Setup MySQL Database

Update your .env file with DB config:

DB_DATABASE=user_api
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=yourpassword

📁 Step 3: Create Migration and Model

php artisan make:model User -m

Edit the generated migration:

Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->string('first_name');
    $table->string('last_name');
    $table->string('email')->unique();
    $table->string('password');
    $table->string('image')->nullable();
    $table->timestamps();
});

Run the migration:

php artisan migrate

🌐 Step 4: Enable CORS

In app/Http/Middleware/HandleCors.php (or config/cors.php):

'paths' => ['api/*'],
'allowed_methods' => ['*'],
'allowed_origins' => ['*'],

📦 Step 5: Create API Controller

php artisan make:controller Api/UserController

user.create – Store User with Image

public function store(Request $request)
{
    $request->validate([
        'first_name' => 'required',
        'last_name' => 'required',
        'email' => 'required|email|unique:users',
        'password' => 'required',
        'image' => 'nullable|image'
    ]);

    $imagePath = null;
    if ($request->hasFile('image')) {
        $imagePath = $request->file('image')->store('uploads', 'public');
    }

    $user = User::create([
        'first_name' => $request->first_name,
        'last_name' => $request->last_name,
        'email' => $request->email,
        'password' => Hash::make($request->password),
        'image' => $imagePath
    ]);

    return response()->json(['message' => 'User created successfully']);
}

user.index – Get All Users

public function index()
{
    return response()->json(User::all());
}

user.show – Get Single User

public function show($id)
{
    $user = User::find($id);
    return $user ? response()->json($user) : response()->json(['error' => 'User not found'], 404);
}

user.update – Update User

public function update(Request $request, $id)
{
    $user = User::find($id);
    if (!$user) return response()->json(['error' => 'User not found'], 404);

    $user->update($request->only('first_name', 'last_name', 'email'));

    if ($request->password) {
        $user->password = Hash::make($request->password);
        $user->save();
    }

    return response()->json(['message' => 'User updated']);
}

user.destroy – Delete User

public function destroy($id)
{
    $user = User::find($id);
    if (!$user) return response()->json(['error' => 'User not found'], 404);

    if ($user->image && Storage::disk('public')->exists($user->image)) {
        Storage::disk('public')->delete($user->image);
    }

    $user->delete();
    return response()->json(['message' => 'User deleted']);
}

🧭 Step 6: Define API Routes

In routes/api.php:

Route::apiResource('users', App\Http\Controllers\Api\UserController::class);

✅ Step 7: Sample API Requests

• GET /api/users – List all users
• GET /api/users/{id} – Get user by ID
• POST /api/users – Create new user (multipart form)
• PUT /api/users/{id} – Update user
• DELETE /api/users/{id} – Delete user

📦 Step 8: Use with Any Frontend

Now your Laravel REST API is ready to connect with any frontend: Angular, React, Vue, Flutter, or Postman.

🎉 Conclusion

You’ve just built a full-featured Laravel 11 REST API with CRUD operations, image upload, CORS, and clean API structure. This backend is ready to serve any modern frontend app.