In this episode, we focus on implementing the logout functionality in our site. Logging out is super important—not just because users need to sign out, but also since it ties closely with some fundamental security practices, like CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) protection. While we won’t deal with CSRF in detail just yet, you'll get a preview of why these two features often go hand in hand.
We start by creating a logout route and controller. Instead of providing a simple GET link that instantly logs a user out (which can be a security risk!), we'll make a POST request to the logout route. That way, we can later add a CSRF token to prevent malicious sites from tricking people into logging themselves out without their consent.
You’ll see how to add a logout form in our navigation—don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect yet, because we can always style the button to appear more like a regular link later.
Lastly, we walk through the backend logic: just calling the logout method on the auth system, then redirecting the user to the homepage. As always, we test it out to make sure everything's working, and confirm that users can log in and out smoothly.