Laravel Folio

Learn how to implement file-based routing with Laravel Folio, from installation to route model binding.

Introduction

Laravel Folio is a page-based router that lets you define routes just by placing Blade files. Unlike the traditional routes/web.php-centric approach, it reflects your file system structure directly in your URLs.

It’s especially useful for content-focused sites and admin panels where you want to quickly add pages screen by screen. For areas that need fine-grained HTTP control like APIs, it’s practical to combine Folio with regular routing.

Installation

First, add Folio via Composer.

composer require laravel/folio
php artisan folio:install

folio:install registers Folio’s service provider. By default, resources/views/pages/ is the pages directory. When using multiple page directories or base URIs, configure them with Folio::path() and uri() in your service provider’s boot method.

use Laravel\Folio\Folio;

Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages/guest'))->uri('/');

Folio::path(resource_path('views/pages/admin'))
    ->uri('/admin');

Creating routes

Folio automatically generates URLs from the Blade file names under the mounted directory.

resources/views/pages/schedule.blade.php -> /schedule

php artisan folio:list

Nested routes

When you nest directories, the URLs are nested with the same structure.

php artisan folio:page user/profile
# pages/user/profile.blade.php -> /user/profile

Index routes

index.blade.php is mapped to the root of that directory.

php artisan folio:page index
# pages/index.blade.php -> /

php artisan folio:page users/index
# pages/users/index.blade.php -> /users

Route parameters

You can capture URL segments using [] in the file name.

php artisan folio:page "users/[id]"
# pages/users/[id].blade.php -> /users/1

<div>User {{ $id }}</div>

To capture multiple segments, use ....

php artisan folio:page "users/[...ids]"
# pages/users/[...ids].blade.php -> /users/1/2/3

@foreach ($ids as $id)
    <li>User {{ $id }}</li>
@endforeach

Route model binding

If you use a model name like [User].blade.php, the model is resolved automatically.

php artisan folio:page "users/[User]"
# pages/users/[User].blade.php -> /users/1

<div>User {{ $user->id }}</div>

To also handle soft-deleted models, call withTrashed() inside the page.

<?php

use function Laravel\Folio\withTrashed;

withTrashed();

With a file name like [Post:slug].blade.php, you can resolve models by keys other than id (for example, slug).

Middleware

To apply middleware only to a specific page, use middleware() inside the page template.

<?php

use function Laravel\Folio\middleware;

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

To apply middleware to multiple pages at once, use Folio::path(...)->middleware().

<?php

use Laravel\Folio\Folio;

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

Named routes

You can name a Folio page with name() as well.

<?php

use function Laravel\Folio\name;

name('users.index');

If you define name('users.show') on a page like users/[User].blade.php, you can generate parameterized URLs with route('users.show', ['user' => $user]).

You can generate URLs with the assigned route name using the route() helper.

route('users.index');
route('users.show', ['user' => $user]);

Mapping between files and URLs

Comparison with traditional routing

Feature	Regular routing	Folio
Route definition	routes/web.php	Automatic via file name
Controllers	Required (or a closure)	Not required (write directly in Blade)
Well-suited for	APIs, SPAs, complex HTTP control	Content sites, admin panels

Even when using Folio, enabling the route cache with php artisan route:cache optimizes production performance.