In this episode, we take a practical approach to authentication middleware! First, we build a middleware class that checks if a user is signed in—if not, it redirects them to the login page. The idea is to secure pages that only authenticated users should see, like the dashboard. We even flash a message telling users they need to log in.
Then, we flip it and create another middleware: this one does exactly the opposite. If someone is already signed in and tries to access the login or registration pages, we redirect them back to the dashboard, since it doesn't make sense for them to access those routes.
Applying middleware to every route individually quickly gets messy, so we introduce route groups. Route groups let us organize related routes together and apply middleware to the whole group in one shot—so much cleaner! We walk through how you’d organize your register and login routes in a group protected by "redirect if authenticated," and dashboard or logout routes inside another group protected by "redirect if guest."
By the end of the episode, you'll see how to keep your code DRY and organized by grouping routes and using middleware smartly, making sure only the right users can access the right pages.