Solve the Mystery: “I’m getting 401 Unauthorized when accessing protected routes using http only cookies in Laravel with Axios”

Are you tired of banging your head against the wall, trying to figure out why your Laravel application is throwing a 401 Unauthorized error when accessing protected routes using HTTP-only cookies with Axios? You’re not alone! In this article, we’ll dive deep into the world of cookies, Laravel, and Axios to solve this pesky problem once and for all.

Understanding HTTP-only Cookies

Before we dive into the solution, it’s essential to understand what HTTP-only cookies are and how they work. HTTP-only cookies are cookies that can only be accessed by the server, not by client-side JavaScript. This is a security feature that helps prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

When you set a cookie as HTTP-only, it means that the browser will send the cookie with each request to the server, but JavaScript running on the client-side won’t be able to read or modify the cookie. This is exactly what we want when using Laravel and Axios: we want to authenticate users and send the authentication token as a HTTP-only cookie.

The Problem: 401 Unauthorized Error

So, what’s the problem? You’ve set up your Laravel application to use HTTP-only cookies for authentication, and you’re using Axios to make requests to your API. But, when you try to access a protected route, you get a 401 Unauthorized error.

This error occurs because Axios, by default, doesn’t send cookies with requests. Since our authentication token is stored in a HTTP-only cookie, Axios doesn’t include it in the request, resulting in the 401 Unauthorized error.

The Solution: Configuring Axios to Send Cookies

The solution is surprisingly simple. We need to configure Axios to send cookies with each request. We can do this by creating an instance of Axios with the `withCredentials` option set to `true`.

import axios from 'axios';

const axiosInstance = axios.create({
  withCredentials: true,
});

// use axiosInstance to make requests to your API
axiosInstance.get('/api/protected-route')
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response.data);
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.error(error);
  });

By setting `withCredentials` to `true`, Axios will include cookies in the request, including our HTTP-only authentication token. This should fix the 401 Unauthorized error and allow you to access protected routes.

Configuring Laravel to Use HTTP-only Cookies

But wait, there’s more! We also need to configure Laravel to use HTTP-only cookies for authentication. In your `config/session.php` file, set the `secure` and `http_only` options to `true`.

'secure' => env('SESSION_SECURE_COOKIE', true),

'http_only' => true,

This tells Laravel to use HTTP-only cookies for session management, including authentication.

laravel Cors and Cookie settings

In Laravel, you also need to set up CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) to allow Axios to make requests to your API from a different origin. In your `cors.php` file, add the following settings:

'paths' => ['*'],
'allowed_methods' => ['*'],
'allowed_origins' => ['*'],
'allowed_headers' => ['*'],
'exposed_headers' => [],
'max_age' => 0,
'supports_credentials' => true,

Notice the `supports_credentials` option is set to `true`. This allows Axios to send cookies with requests.

Cookie Domain and Path

Another important setting is the cookie domain and path. In your `session.php` file, set the `domain` and `path` options correctly:

'domain' => env('SESSION_DOMAIN', null),

'path' => '/',

Make sure the `domain` option is set to your application’s domain, and the `path` option is set to the root path (`/`).

Putting it all Together

Now that we’ve configured Axios to send cookies with requests and Laravel to use HTTP-only cookies for authentication, let’s put it all together.

Here’s an example of how you can use Axios to make a request to a protected route in your Laravel API:

import axios from 'axios';

const axiosInstance = axios.create({
  withCredentials: true,
});

axiosInstance.get('/api/protected-route')
  .then(response => {
    console.log(response.data);
  })
  .catch(error => {
    console.error(error);
  });

When you run this code, Axios should send the HTTP-only authentication token cookie with the request, and Laravel should authenticate the request correctly.

Troubleshooting Tips

Still getting the 401 Unauthorized error? Here are some troubleshooting tips to help you out:

• Check that you’ve set the `withCredentials` option to `true` in Axios.
• Verify that Laravel is using HTTP-only cookies for authentication by checking the `session.php` file.
• Make sure CORS is set up correctly in Laravel, including the `supports_credentials` option.
• Check the cookie domain and path settings in Laravel’s `session.php` file.
• Use a tool like Postman or Chrome DevTools to inspect the request and verify that the cookie is being sent.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve solved the mystery of the 401 Unauthorized error when accessing protected routes using HTTP-only cookies in Laravel with Axios. By configuring Axios to send cookies with requests and Laravel to use HTTP-only cookies for authentication, we can securely authenticate users and access protected routes.

Remember to troubleshooting tips to help you out if you’re still stuck, and happy coding!

Keyword	Description
I’m getting 401 Unauthorized when accessing protected routes using http only cookies in Laravel with axios	Solving the 401 Unauthorized error when accessing protected routes in Laravel using HTTP-only cookies with Axios
HTTP-only cookies	Cookies that can only be accessed by the server, not by client-side JavaScript
Axios	A popular JavaScript library for making HTTP requests
Laravel	A PHP web framework for building robust and scalable applications

Frequently Asked Question

Get answers to your most pressing questions about Laravel and Axios HTTP-only cookies