Bouncer: a Laravel Package for Role and Ability Authorization

Published on by

Bouncer: a Laravel Package for Role and Ability Authorization image

Bouncer is an authorization package by Joseph Silber which allows role and ability checks at Laravel’s authorization gate. The package is described as follows:

Bouncer provides a mechanism to handle roles and abilities in Laravel’s ACL. With an expressive and fluent syntax, it stays out of your way as much as possible: use it when you want, ignore it when you don’t.

Bouncer makes it trivial to quickly create roles and abilities with a fluent API that creates them automatically.

Bouncer::allow('admin')->to('ban-users');

You can optionally add the HasRolesAndAbilities trait to the User model. This trait allows you to assign roles and abilities, and check them with in the model.

use Silber\Bouncer\Database\HasRolesAndAbilities;
 
class User extends Authenticatable
{
use Notifiable,
HasRolesAndAbilities;
}

When you assign a role that hasn’t been created yet, Bouncer will do it automatically.

$user->assign('admin');

As a quick example, imagine a database seeder that creates a few roles with Bouncer and assigns users to a role using the HasRolesAndAbilities trait.

public function run()
{
\Bouncer::allow('admin')->toManage(Post::class);
\Bouncer::allow('editor')->to('update', \App\Post::class);
 
$admin = factory(App\User::class)->create([
'email' => 'admin@example.com'
]);
 
$admin->assign('admin');
 
$editor = factory(App\User::class)->create([
'email' => 'editor@example.com'
]);
 
$editor->assign('editor');
 
factory(App\User::class)->create([
'email' => 'user@example.com'
]);
}

The database seeder conveniently creates two roles: admin and editor. The admin will have permission to all post abilities on the App\Post model. The editor role only has the update ability.

With the above roles, abilities, and users, we can define a route and protect updating a Post using Laravel’s Authorize middleware.

Route::get('/posts/{post}', 'PostsController@show')
->name('post.update')
->middleware('can:update,post');

Both authenticated administrators and editors will be able to see a post, guests will be redirected to login, and authenticated users lacking the update ability will get a 403 Forbidden response.

In the view, you can use Laravel’s @can directive to check for abilities and Bouncer will intercept the check and authorize it if an ability has been granted to the user.

@can ('update', $post)
<a href="{{ route('post.update', $post) }}">Edit Post</a>
@endcan

Not only can you grant user abilities through roles, but you can also assign an ability directly to a user.

$post = \App\Post::first();
$normalUser = \App\User::find('email', 'user@example.com')->first();
 
// Only update a specific post, perhaps one this user submitted.
$normalUser->allow('update', $post)
 
// Ability to update all posts directly on a user
$normalUser->allow('update', \App\Post::class);

Bouncer provides methods for checking user roles, but the Bouncer documentation warns against role checking directly:

Generally speaking, you should not have a need to check roles directly. It is better to allow a role certain abilities, then check for those abilities instead. If what you need is very general, you can create very broad abilities. For example, an access-dashboard ability is always better than checking for admin or editor roles directly.

Last, if you want to get a user’s abilities, call $user->getAbilities(), which returns a database collection:

Check out the package’s readme to learn how to install and use Bouncer. The cheat sheet is handy for a quick overview of the package’s API and capabilities.

Paul Redmond photo

Staff writer at Laravel News. Full stack web developer and author.

Cube

Laravel Newsletter

Join 40k+ other developers and never miss out on new tips, tutorials, and more.

Laravel Forge logo

Laravel Forge

Easily create and manage your servers and deploy your Laravel applications in seconds.

Laravel Forge
Tinkerwell logo

Tinkerwell

The must-have code runner for Laravel developers. Tinker with AI, autocompletion and instant feedback on local and production environments.

Tinkerwell
No Compromises logo

No Compromises

Joel and Aaron, the two seasoned devs from the No Compromises podcast, are now available to hire for your Laravel project. ⬧ Flat rate of $7500/mo. ⬧ No lengthy sales process. ⬧ No contracts. ⬧ 100% money back guarantee.

No Compromises
Kirschbaum logo

Kirschbaum

Providing innovation and stability to ensure your web application succeeds.

Kirschbaum
Shift logo

Shift

Running an old Laravel version? Instant, automated Laravel upgrades and code modernization to keep your applications fresh.

Shift
Bacancy logo

Bacancy

Supercharge your project with a seasoned Laravel developer with 4-6 years of experience for just $2500/month. Get 160 hours of dedicated expertise & a risk-free 15-day trial. Schedule a call now!

Bacancy
Lucky Media logo

Lucky Media

Get Lucky Now - the ideal choice for Laravel Development, with over a decade of experience!

Lucky Media
Lunar: Laravel E-Commerce logo

Lunar: Laravel E-Commerce

E-Commerce for Laravel. An open-source package that brings the power of modern headless e-commerce functionality to Laravel.

Lunar: Laravel E-Commerce
LaraJobs logo

LaraJobs

The official Laravel job board

LaraJobs
SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit logo

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit

SaaSykit is a Multi-tenant Laravel SaaS Starter Kit that comes with all features required to run a modern SaaS. Payments, Beautiful Checkout, Admin Panel, User dashboard, Auth, Ready Components, Stats, Blog, Docs and more.

SaaSykit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit
Rector logo

Rector

Your partner for seamless Laravel upgrades, cutting costs, and accelerating innovation for successful companies

Rector
MongoDB logo

MongoDB

Enhance your PHP applications with the powerful integration of MongoDB and Laravel, empowering developers to build applications with ease and efficiency. Support transactional, search, analytics and mobile use cases while using the familiar Eloquent APIs. Discover how MongoDB's flexible, modern database can transform your Laravel applications.

MongoDB

The latest

View all →
The Inertia.js v2 Beta is Here image

The Inertia.js v2 Beta is Here

Read article
Mastering Laravel, No Compromises, and SourceDive with Joel Clermont image

Mastering Laravel, No Compromises, and SourceDive with Joel Clermont

Read article
Now you can install PHP and the Laravel installer with a single command image

Now you can install PHP and the Laravel installer with a single command

Read article
WireSpy is a Sleek New Debug Bar for Laravel Livewire image

WireSpy is a Sleek New Debug Bar for Laravel Livewire

Read article
The Laracon AU schedule is now live image

The Laracon AU schedule is now live

Read article
Supercharge PhpStorm with Laravel Idea image

Supercharge PhpStorm with Laravel Idea

Read article