This package provides an implementation of Sentry 2 for Laravel. By default it uses Bootstrap 3.0, but you can make use of whatever UI you want. It is intended to be a very simple way to get up and running with User access control very quickly. For simple projects you shouldn't need to do much more than drop it in and dial in the configuration.

Important There are two PHP packages named "Sentinel". This is rydurham/sentinel, not cartalyst/sentinel. The key difference is that this package is intended to be an implementation of Sentry v2, whereas Cartalyst released what would have been Sentry v3 under the name cartalyst/sentinel. The instructions below are specifically for rydurham/sentinel, make sure you are using the right package before proceeding.

If you are looking for a quick way to get up and running with cartalyst/sentinel. I have created a bridge package that may be helpful.

Releases There are several versions of this package, each intended for different versions of the laravel framework.

Install the Package Via Composer:

$ composer require rydurham/sentinel

Make sure you have configured your application's Database and Mail settings.

Add the Service Provider to your config/app.php file:

'providers' => array(
    ...
    Sentinel\SentinelServiceProvider::class, 
    ...
)

Register the Middleware in your app/Http/Kernel.php file:

protected $routeMiddleware = [
    // ..
    'sentry.auth' => \Sentinel\Middleware\SentryAuth::class,
    'sentry.admin' => \Sentinel\Middleware\SentryAdminAccess::class,
    'sentry.member' => \Sentinel\Middleware\SentryMember::class,
    'sentry.guest' => \Sentinel\Middleware\SentryGuest::class,
];

Publish the Views, Assets, Config files and migrations:

php artisan sentinel:publish

You can specify a "theme" option to publish the views and assets for a specific theme:

php artisan sentinel:publish --theme="foundation"

Run php artisan sentinel:publish --list to see the currently available themes.

Run the Migrations Be sure to set the appropriate DB connection details in your .env file.

Note that you may want to remove the create_users_table and create_password_resets_table migrations that are provided with a new Laravel 5 application.

php artisan migrate

Seed the Database:

php artisan db:seed --class=SentinelDatabaseSeeder

More details about the default usernames and passwords can be found here.

Set a "Home" Route.

Sentinel requires that you have a route named 'home' in your routes.php file:

// app/routes.php
 Route::get('/', array('as' => 'home', function()
{
    return View::make('home');
}));

Once installed and seeded, you can make immediate use of the package via these routes:

• yoursite.com/login
• yoursite.com/logout
• yoursite.com/register
• yoursite.com/users - For user management. Only available to admins
• yoursite.com/groups - For group management. Only available to admins.

Sentinel also provides these middlewares which you can use to prevent unauthorized access to your application's routes & methods.

• Sentinel\Middleware\SentryAuth - Require users to have an active session
• Sentinel\Middleware\SentryAdminAccess - Block access for everyone except users who have the 'admin' permission.
• Sentinel\Middleware\SentryMember - Limit access to members of a certain group. The group name is case sensitive. For example:

// app\Http\Controllers\ExampleController.php
public function __construct()
{
    $this->middleware('sentry.member:Admins');
}

• Sentinel\Middleware\SentryGuest - Redirect users who have an active session

This package is intended for simple sites but it is possible to integrate into a larger application on a deeper level:

• Turn off the default routes (via the config) and manually specify routes that make more sense for your application
• Create a new User model that extends the default Sentinel User Model Sentinel\Models\User. Be sure to publish the Sentinel and Sentry config files (using the sentinel:publish command) and change the User Model setting in the Sentry config file to point to your new user model.
• Inject the SentryUserRepository and/or the SentryGroupRepository classes into your controllers to have direct access to user and group manipulation. You may also consider creating custom repositories that extend the repositories that come with Sentinel.

It is not advisable to extend the Sentinel controller classes; you will be better off in the long run creating your own controllers from scratch.

Check the Wiki for more information about the package:

• Config Options
• Events & Listeners
• Seed & Migration Details
• Default Routes

Any questions about this package should be posted on the package website.

Sentinel has been translated into several other languages, and new translations are always welcome! Check out the Sentinel Page on CrowdIn for more details.