Laravel Folio Routing Guide

Laravel Folio brings file-based routing to Laravel, inspired by Next.js and Nuxt. Create pages by adding Blade files to a directory. At ZIRA Software, Folio accelerates development for content-heavy applications.

Installation

composer require laravel/folio

php artisan folio:install

This creates a resources/views/pages directory for your page files.

Basic Page Routing

resources/views/pages/
├── index.blade.php          → /
├── about.blade.php          → /about
├── contact.blade.php        → /contact
└── blog/
    ├── index.blade.php      → /blog
    └── archive.blade.php    → /blog/archive

{{-- resources/views/pages/about.blade.php --}}
<x-app-layout>
    <h1>About Us</h1>
    <p>Welcome to our company.</p>
</x-app-layout>

Dynamic Routes

resources/views/pages/
├── users/
│   └── [id].blade.php       → /users/{id}
├── posts/
│   └── [slug].blade.php     → /posts/{slug}
└── blog/
    └── [...path].blade.php  → /blog/* (catch-all)

{{-- resources/views/pages/users/[id].blade.php --}}
<?php
use App\Models\User;
use function Laravel\Folio\render;

render(function ($id) {
    return view('pages.users.[id]', [
        'user' => User::findOrFail($id),
    ]);
});
?>

<x-app-layout>
    <h1>{{ $user->name }}</h1>
    <p>{{ $user->email }}</p>
</x-app-layout>

Route Model Binding

{{-- resources/views/pages/posts/[Post:slug].blade.php --}}
<?php
use App\Models\Post;
?>

<x-app-layout>
    <article>
        <h1>{{ $post->title }}</h1>
        <div>{{ $post->content }}</div>
    </article>
</x-app-layout>

{{-- Soft deleted models --}}
{{-- resources/views/pages/posts/[Post:slug].blade.php --}}
<?php
use App\Models\Post;
use function Laravel\Folio\withTrashed;

withTrashed();
?>

Middleware

{{-- resources/views/pages/dashboard/index.blade.php --}}
<?php
use function Laravel\Folio\middleware;

middleware(['auth', 'verified']);
?>

<x-app-layout>
    <h1>Dashboard</h1>
    <p>Welcome back, {{ auth()->user()->name }}!</p>
</x-app-layout>

// Apply middleware to directory in FolioServiceProvider
use Laravel\Folio\Folio;

Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages/admin'))
    ->middleware(['auth', 'admin'])
    ->uri('/admin');

Page Names for URL Generation

{{-- resources/views/pages/users/[id].blade.php --}}
<?php
use function Laravel\Folio\name;

name('users.show');
?>

{{-- In other templates --}}
<a href="{{ route('users.show', ['id' => $user->id]) }}">
    View Profile
</a>

Multiple Page Directories

// app/Providers/FolioServiceProvider.php
use Laravel\Folio\Folio;

public function boot(): void
{
    Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages'))
        ->uri('/');

    Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages/admin'))
        ->uri('/admin')
        ->middleware(['auth', 'admin']);

    Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages/api-docs'))
        ->uri('/docs');
}

Data Loading Patterns

{{-- resources/views/pages/blog/index.blade.php --}}
<?php
use App\Models\Post;
use function Laravel\Folio\render;

render(function () {
    $posts = Post::published()
        ->with('author')
        ->latest()
        ->paginate(10);

    return view('pages.blog.index', compact('posts'));
});
?>

<x-app-layout>
    <h1>Blog</h1>

    @foreach($posts as $post)
        <article>
            <h2>
                <a href="/posts/{{ $post->slug }}">
                    {{ $post->title }}
                </a>
            </h2>
            <p>By {{ $post->author->name }}</p>
        </article>
    @endforeach

    {{ $posts->links() }}
</x-app-layout>

When to Use Folio

Good for:

• Marketing sites
• Documentation
• Content-heavy apps
• Simple CRUD pages
• Rapid prototyping

Better with traditional routing:

• Complex API endpoints
• Heavy business logic
• Resource controllers
• Nested relationships

// Hybrid approach - use both
// routes/web.php for complex routes
Route::resource('orders', OrderController::class);

// Folio for simple pages
// resources/views/pages/about.blade.php

Comparison with Next.js

| Feature | Folio | Next.js | |---------|-------|---------| | Dynamic routes | [id].blade.php | [id].tsx | | Catch-all | [...path].blade.php | [...path].tsx | | Layouts | Blade components | layout.tsx | | Middleware | PHP function | middleware.ts | | Data fetching | render() function | Server Components |

Conclusion

Laravel Folio simplifies routing for content-focused applications. File-based routing reduces boilerplate while maintaining Laravel's powerful features.

Building content sites? Contact ZIRA Software for Laravel Folio development.