Laravel Microservices Example

A practical example of implementing microservices architecture using Laravel, demonstrating service isolation, API communication, and containerized deployment.

Architecture Overview

This project implements a simple microservices architecture with two independent services:

• Auth Service: Handles user authentication, registration, and profile management
• Posts Service: Manages post CRUD operations with token verification

Each service runs as a separate Laravel application with its own database, following true microservice principles of isolation and independence.

Key Features

• 🔐 Secure Authentication: Token-based authentication using Laravel Sanctum
• 🔄 Cross-Service Communication: Services communicate via REST APIs
• 📦 Containerized Deployment: Docker configuration for easy deployment
• 🌐 API Gateway: Nginx as a unified entry point for clients
• 🛡️ Independent Databases: Each service maintains its own data store
• 🚀 Scalable Architecture: Services can be scaled independently

Services

Auth Service

The Auth Service is responsible for:

• User registration
• User login/logout
• Token generation
• User profile management

Posts Service

The Posts Service is responsible for:

• Creating posts
• Retrieving posts (with user data)
• Updating posts
• Deleting posts
• Filtering posts by authenticated user

Technical Implementation

Token Verification

The Posts Service verifies tokens with the Auth Service using a custom middleware that makes API calls to validate the token and retrieve user data.

Service Communication

Services communicate via HTTP REST APIs, maintaining loose coupling and independence:

private function getUserData($token)
{
    try {
        $response = Http::withHeaders([
            'Authorization' => 'Bearer ' . $token,
            'Accept' => 'application/json',
        ])->get(config('services.auth_service.url') . '/api/profile');
        
        if ($response->successful()) {
            return $response->json();
        }
        
        return null;
    } catch (\Exception $e) {
        return null;
    }
}

Docker Configuration

The project includes Docker Compose configuration for containerized deployment:

version: '3'

services:
  auth-service:
    build:
      context: ./auth-service
    # ...configuration

  posts-service:
    build:
      context: ./posts-service
    # ...configuration

  # Database containers
  auth-db:
    # ...configuration
    
  posts-db:
    # ...configuration
    
  # API Gateway
  nginx:
    # ...configuration

When to Use Microservices

This architecture is suitable when:

• Your application has clearly separable business domains
• Different components have different scaling needs
• You need independent deployment of features
• You have multiple teams working on different components
• Your domain is complex and better managed in smaller parts

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Composer

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/laravel-microservices-example.git
   cd laravel-microservices-example
   

2. Start the services:

   docker-compose up -d
   

3. The services will be available at:

   • Auth Service: http://localhost:8001
   • Posts Service: http://localhost:8002
   • phpmyadmin GUI: http://localhost:8085

API Endpoints

Auth Service

• POST /auth/register - Register a new user
• POST /auth/login - Login a user
• POST /auth/logout - Logout a user (requires authentication)
• GET /auth/profile - Get user profile (requires authentication)

Posts Service

• GET /posts - Get all posts for authenticated user
• POST /posts - Create a new post (requires authentication)
• GET /posts/{id} - Get a specific post (requires authentication)
• PUT /posts/{id} - Update a post (requires authentication)
• DELETE /posts/{id} - Delete a post (requires authentication)

License

This project is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.