Customizing Middleware in Laravel 11

With Laravel 11, new projects benefit from a more streamlined setup, which includes removing several default middleware classes. So, how do you now customize middleware? It’s simple: adjustments can be made directly in bootstrap/app.php. Let’s walk through the most common customizations.

Common Middleware Customizations

• Redirecting Guests to a Custom Page
To set a specific redirect for guests, you can use the redirectGuestsTo() method in bootstrap/app.php:

->withMiddleware(function (Middleware $middleware) {
    $middleware->redirectGuestsTo('/admin/login');
})

In earlier versions, this redirection was handled within the Authenticated.php middleware file.

• Custom Redirects for Users and Guests
For managing where both users and guests are redirected, utilize the redirectTo() method in bootstrap/app.php:

->withMiddleware(function (Middleware $middleware) {
    $middleware->redirectTo(
        guests: '/admin/login',
        users: '/dashboard'
    );
})

Previously, this setup was handled in Authenticated.php and RedirectIfAuthenticated.php.

• Exempting Specific Cookies from Encryption
To configure which cookies should not be…