Laravel Sessions & Middleware

Priority: P1 (HIGH)

Structure

app/Http/
├── Middleware/         # Custom logic layers
└── Kernel.php          # Global/Group registration

Implementation Guidelines

Session Architecture

• Drivers: Set

  SESSION_DRIVER=redis

  in

  .env

  for production/scaled environments.
• Dependencies: Install

  predis/predis

  and avoid file driver due to I/O lock issues at scale.
• Security: Call

  $request->session()->regenerate()

  after successful authentication to prevent session fixation. Call

  $request->session()->invalidate()

  on logout.
• Access: Never access

  env('SESSION_DRIVER')

  directly in code; always use

  config('session.driver')

  . Clear caches via

  php artisan config:clear

  .

Middleware Pipeline

• Custom Middleware: Use

  php artisan make:middleware EnsureTokenIsValid

  . Implement

  handle(Request $request, Closure $next): Response

  .
• Registration: Register new middleware in

  bootstrap/app.php

  using

  withMiddleware()

  .
• Security Headers: Standardize HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options in dedicated security middleware. Register as global middleware.
• Priority: Use

  withMiddleware(fn($m) => $m->append(MyMiddleware::class))

  or

  prepend()

  for highest priority.
• Performance: Avoid heavy computation in global middleware; delegate these to domain services.

Anti-Patterns

• No file session driver in production: Use Redis or Memcached instead.
• No

  env()

  for session config: Use

  config('session.*')

  instead.
• No heavy logic in Middleware: Delegate complex logic to Services.
• No sensitive data in cookies: Store securely in server sessions only.

References

• Advanced Middleware Patterns