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In web applications, it is crucial to ensure the security and validity of user email addresses. Email verification with activation codes is a common practice to confirm the authenticity of user-provided email addresses. In this tutorial, we will guide you through implementing email verification with activation codes in a Laravel application.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed:

1. Laravel Framework
2. Composer (dependency manager for PHP)
3. Mailtrap account (for testing emails)

Step 1: Create a new Laravel project

Open your terminal and run the following command to create a new Laravel project:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel EmailVerification

Navigate to the newly created project directory:

cd EmailVerification

Step 2: Set up Database

Configure your database credentials in the .env file. Then, run the migration command to create the necessary tables for user management:

php artisan migrate

Step 3: Create User Model and Migration

Generate the User model along with the migration file using Artisan command:

php artisan make:model User -m

Open the generated migration file (database/migrations/yyyy_mm_dd_create_users_table.php) and modify the up method to include the necessary columns:

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('email')->unique();
        $table->timestamp('email_verified_at')->nullable();
        $table->string('activation_code')->nullable();
        $table->rememberToken();
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

Run the migration again to apply the changes:

php artisan migrate

Step 4: Modify User Model

Open the User model (app/Models/User.php) and add the sendEmailVerificationNotification method:

use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

class User extends Authenticatable implements MustVerifyEmail
{
    use Notifiable;

    protected $fillable = [
        'name', 'email', 'password', 'activation_code',
    ];

    protected $hidden = [
        'password', 'remember_token',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'email_verified_at' => 'datetime',
    ];

    public function sendEmailVerificationNotification()
    {
        $this->notify(new \App\Notifications\VerifyEmail);
    }
}

Step 5: Create Email Verification Notification

Generate a new notification class using the following command:

php artisan make:notification VerifyEmail

This will create a new notification class at app/Notifications/VerifyEmail.php. Open this file and modify the toMail method to include the activation code:

public function toMail($notifiable)
{
    $url = url("/verify/{$notifiable->activation_code}");

    return (new MailMessage)
        ->line('Please click the button below to verify your email address.')
        ->action('Verify Email Address', $url)
        ->line('If you did not create an account, no further action is required.');
}

Step 6: Create Email Verification Route

Open the web.php file in the routes directory and add the following route:

Route::get('/verify/{activation_code}', 'App\Http\Controllers\Auth\VerificationController@verify')->name('verification.verify');

Step 7: Create Email Verification Controller

Generate a new controller for email verification:

php artisan make:controller Auth/VerificationController

Open the generated controller (app/Http/Controllers/Auth/VerificationController.php) and add the verify method:

use App\Models\User;

public function verify($activation_code)
{
    $user = User::where('activation_code', $activation_code)->first();

    if (!$user) {
        return redirect('/login')->with('error', 'Invalid activation code.');
    }

    $user->email_verified_at = now();
    $user->activation_code = null;
    $user->save();

    return redirect('/login')->with('success', 'Email verified successfully. You can now login.');
}

Step 8: Update User Registration Process

In your registration controller (app/Http/Controllers/Auth/RegisterController.php), override the registered method to send the email verification notification:

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Auth\Events\Registered;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\RegistersUsers;

protected function registered(Request $request, $user)
{
    $user->sendEmailVerificationNotification();
    return redirect($this->redirectPath());
}

Step 9: Configure Email

Update your .env file with the necessary mail configuration, including your Mailtrap credentials:

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailtrap.io
MAIL_PORT=2525
MAIL_USERNAME=your_mailtrap_username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_mailtrap_password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=your_verified_email_address
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"

Step 10: Test the Application

Run your Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Visit http://localhost:8000/register in your browser, register a new user, and check your Mailtrap inbox for the email verification message.

Congratulations! You have successfully implemented email verification with activation codes in a Laravel application. This adds an extra layer of security to ensure that user-provided email addresses are valid and belong to the actual users.

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