DEV Community: Neeraj Saini

🚀 Clean Laravel URLs & Force HTTPS (Apache + Nginx Guide) — By HaxNeeraj

Neeraj Saini — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 07:13:54 +0000

When you deploy a fresh Laravel project, it serves your application through the /public directory. This leads to URLs like:

https://yourdomain.com/public/login

Such URLs don’t look professional, can negatively impact SEO, and may reduce user confidence.

In this revised guide, you’ll learn how to hide the public directory and enforce HTTPS redirection on both Apache and Nginx servers.
To simplify everything, I’ve also prepared a full configuration repository you can directly use:

👉 GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/haxneeraj/how-to-remove-public-from-laravel-urls-and-redirect-to-https-using-htaccess

⭐ Advantages of Removing “public” From Laravel URLs

More polished and professional-looking URLs
Better SEO visibility
Enhanced trust and credibility
Prevents exposing internal directory structure
Helps avoid asset and routing issues

🔐 Why Enforce HTTPS Redirection?

Running a production-grade application without HTTPS is not recommended. Here’s why HTTPS is important:

Protects user data using encryption
Improves Google search ranking
Required by many modern APIs
Ensures browser compatibility
Builds trust and reliability

🏗️ Apache Setup: Remove /public & Enable HTTPS

✔️ Step 1: Add `.htaccess` in the Laravel Root Directory

Paste the following rules in the .htaccess file located in Laravel’s main folder:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On

    # Redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS
    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on
    RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

    # Route requests to public folder without showing it in the URL
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/public/
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /public/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

✔️ Step 2: Allow Overrides in Apache Config

Open your virtual host file:

/etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

Inside the directory block, enable:

AllowOverride All

Then activate mod_rewrite:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

🚀 Nginx Setup: Redirect to HTTPS & Hide /public

Nginx doesn’t use .htaccess, so everything is configured inside the server block.

✔️ Step 1: Set Document Root to Laravel’s Public Folder

Edit your Nginx site config:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-site.conf

Use the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    # Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/your-project/public;
    index index.php index.html;

    # Laravel routes
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    # PHP processing
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

    # Prevent access to hidden files
    location ~ /\.(?!well-known).* {
        deny all;
    }
}

✔️ Step 2: Apply & Reload

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Your Laravel app will now run without /public and will automatically switch to HTTPS.

🎯 Apache vs Nginx — Quick Comparison

Feature	Apache	Nginx
Supports `.htaccess`	✔️	❌
Per-directory config	✔️	❌
High performance	Good	Excellent
Lightweight	❌	✔️
Laravel compatible	✔️	✔️

📈 SEO & Performance Improvements

After applying these configurations:

URLs become cleaner and more indexable
HTTPS helps boost rankings
Faster routing and asset delivery
Better overall user experience
A more secure and optimized environment

Track improvements using:

Google Search Console
PageSpeed Insights
Ahrefs / Semrush

Target keywords such as:

Laravel remove public directory
Laravel Nginx HTTPS redirect
Laravel deployment best practices

📁 Download the Ready-Made Files

Grab all configuration files directly from my GitHub repository:

👉 https://github.com/haxneeraj/how-to-remove-public-from-laravel-urls-and-redirect-to-https-using-htaccess

Don’t forget to ⭐ star the repo if it saves you time — it motivates me to create more developer tools and guides.

🚀 Final Words

Hiding Laravel’s /public directory and enforcing HTTPS are essential steps when deploying your application on any production server. These small tweaks greatly improve SEO, security, and overall professionalism.

Use this guide for both Apache and Nginx, or simply download the ready-made configs from the GitHub repo:

👉 https://github.com/haxneeraj/how-to-remove-public-from-laravel-urls-and-redirect-to-https-using-htaccess

Happy coding & smooth deployments! ⚡🔥

How I Built a Laravel Virtual Wallet (And Why You Might Need One Too)

Neeraj Saini — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 06:59:57 +0000

How I Built a Laravel Virtual Wallet (And Why You Might Need One Too)

Managing user balances, transactions, and wallets can get messy — especially if you're building products where users deal with digital assets, in-app credits, rewards, or any kind of financial flow.

In this post, I want to share the story behind building the Laravel Virtual Wallet, how it evolved from a small use case into a flexible package, and why it might be the tool you're missing in your Laravel stack.

🔥 The Real-World Frustration
While working on a foreign project, I had to implement a wallet system where each user needed more than one wallet. There were additional needs like locking transactions temporarily, tracking wallet history, and ensuring the system was both extendable and secure.

That challenge sparked the idea — but the more I talked to devs, the more I realized this was a common problem across many apps:

Fintech apps needing wallet logs and multi-currency
SaaS tools with customer credits or bonuses
Gaming and reward platforms with custom wallet logic
Marketplaces with internal balances

💡 From Idea to Package
I didn’t want to just solve one use case. I wanted a developer-friendly wallet system that could adapt to any project. So I designed a package with:

⚙️ Multiple wallets per user (or any model)
💸 Simple credit/debit API
🔐 Support for freezing transactions
🧠 Metadata on transactions for logging & audit
🚀 Clean architecture using Laravel standards

It's called: haxneeraj/laravel-virtual-wallet

📦 Installation

composer require haxneeraj/laravel-virtual-wallet
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Haxneeraj\LaravelVirtualWallet\LaravelVirtualWalletServiceProvider"
php artisan migrate

🔧 Configuration

After publishing the config file, you can modify config/laravel-virtual-wallet.php to override models, table names, and enums if needed.

📥 Setup in Your Model

Add the trait and implement the interface in your User (or any Eloquent model):

use Haxneeraj\LaravelVirtualWallet\Interfaces\WalletInterface;
use Haxneeraj\LaravelVirtualWallet\Traits\HasVirtualWallet;

class User extends Authenticatable implements WalletInterface
{
    use HasVirtualWallet;
}

💡 Usage

Create Wallets

$user->wallets()->create([
    'wallet_type' => 'main', // Type of wallet (e.g., 'main', 'bonus', 'savings'). Define these in your WalletType enum.
    'currency' => 'usd', // ISO currency code. Ensure 'usd' or your required currencies are defined in your Currency enum.
    'balance' => 100, // Initial wallet balance. Usually set to 0 or default starting value.
    'currency_type' => 'fiat_currency', // Define whether the currency is fiat, crypto, token, etc. Set values in CurrencyType enum.
    'status' => 'active' // Current status of wallet (e.g., 'active', 'frozen', 'closed'). Defined in WalletStatus enum.
]);

Deposit

$paymentData = new PaymentData([
    'owner_type' => User::class,
    'owner_id' => $this->user->id,
    'txid' => 'test-txid',
    'amount' => 100,
    'description' => 'Test deposit',
    'wallet_type' => 'wallet1',
    'method' => 'automatic',
    'transaction_type' => 'deposit',
    'status' => 'approved',
    'currency' => 'usd',
    'currency_type' => 'fiat_currency'
]);
$user->deposit($paymentData);

Withdraw

$paymentData = new PaymentData([
    'owner_type' => User::class,
    'owner_id' => $this->user->id,
    'txid' => 'test-txid-withdraw1',
    'amount' => 50,
    'description' => 'Test withdrawal',
    'wallet_type' => 'wallet1',
    'method' => 'automatic',
    'transaction_type' => 'withdraw',
    'status' => 'approved',
    'currency' => 'usd',
    'currency_type' => 'fiat_currency'
]);
$user->pay($paymentData);

Get Balance

$balance = $user->getBalance('main');

Check Balance

$user->hasSufficientBalance(50, 'main');

Available Methods

Wallet Management

Method	Parameters	Returns	Description
`wallets()`	`string $walletType = null`	`MorphMany`	Get all wallets or filter by type
`getBalance()`	`string $walletType = null`	`int	float`
`hasBalance()`	`string $walletType = null`	`bool`	Check if wallet has positive balance
`hasSufficientBalance()`	`int	float $amount, string $walletType = null`	`bool`

Payment Processing

Method	Parameters	Returns	Description
`pay()`	`PaymentData $paymentData`	`void`	Process payment from wallet(s)

Deposit Handling

Method	Parameters	Returns	Description
`deposit()`	`PaymentData $paymentData`	`void`	Deposit funds into wallet

Data Objects

PaymentData

The PaymentData object is used for both payments and deposits. It accepts the following parameters:

owner_type: Owner model type
owner_id: Owner model ID
amount: The amount to process
wallet_type: Type of wallet (optional)
description: Transaction description
status: Transaction status
method: Payment method
transaction_type: Type of transaction
txid: Transaction ID

Exceptions

The package throws the following exceptions:

InvalidWalletException: When wallet type is invalid or wallet not found
InsufficientBalanceException: When wallet balance is insufficient

⚙️ Testing

This package comes with feature and unit tests to ensure everything works smoothly.

🏃 Run Tests

composer test

📦 Key Features

Create any number of wallets per user
Multi-currency wallet support
Clean API for deposits, withdrawals, locking
Track wallet history & transaction metadata
Built with Laravel Service Container for flexibility

🚀 What’s Next?
I'm working on a Pro version of the package with:

🪙 Cryptocurrency support
🔐 Transaction-level 2FA
❄️ Transaction freezing/unfreezing
🧾 Admin panel (via Nova/Filament integration)

💬 Final Thoughts
This project started from a small need but grew into something powerful because the developer community kept asking for more. Whether you’re building a small cashback app or a full-on financial platform, a good wallet system is essential.

I hope this package saves you time and gives your users the reliability they deserve. If it helps you — give it a ⭐ on GitHub and let me know how you're using it!

Repo: github.com/haxneeraj/laravel-virtual-wallet

Thanks for reading — and happy coding! 🚀

DEV Community: Neeraj Saini

🚀 Clean Laravel URLs & Force HTTPS (Apache + Nginx Guide) — By HaxNeeraj

⭐ Advantages of Removing “public” From Laravel URLs

🔐 Why Enforce HTTPS Redirection?

🏗️ Apache Setup: Remove /public & Enable HTTPS

✔️ Step 1: Add .htaccess in the Laravel Root Directory

✔️ Step 2: Allow Overrides in Apache Config

🚀 Nginx Setup: Redirect to HTTPS & Hide /public

✔️ Step 1: Set Document Root to Laravel’s Public Folder

✔️ Step 2: Apply & Reload

🎯 Apache vs Nginx — Quick Comparison

📈 SEO & Performance Improvements

📁 Download the Ready-Made Files

🚀 Final Words

How I Built a Laravel Virtual Wallet (And Why You Might Need One Too)

✔️ Step 1: Add `.htaccess` in the Laravel Root Directory