Ilya Beliaev

Posted on Apr 15

Laravel has no native WebDAV server — so I built one

#laravel #opensource #php #showdev

🚀 I’ve just released the first alpha version of my Laravel WebDAV server:

👉 https://github.com/N3XT0R/laravel-webdav-server/releases/tag/1.0.0-alpha.1

⚠️ Disclaimer

This is an early alpha prototype.

It is:

not stable
not production-ready
subject to breaking changes at any time

The current focus is on architecture and extensibility, not completeness.

The problem

In the Laravel ecosystem, there is currently no truly native WebDAV server solution.

Most existing approaches fall into one of two categories:

Thin wrappers around SabreDAV with limited Laravel integration
WebDAV client adapters (e.g. for Storage::disk()), not actual servers

What’s missing is a solution that:

integrates cleanly into Laravel’s architecture
respects existing auth and authorization concepts
works naturally with Laravel’s filesystem abstraction (Flysystem)

The idea

This package aims to bridge the gap between the WebDAV protocol and Laravel’s filesystem abstraction.

Instead of exposing raw filesystem paths, it maps WebDAV nodes directly to Laravel disks.

That means you can expose:

local storage
S3 buckets
or any Flysystem-backed disk

through a WebDAV endpoint.

What makes this different

1. Native Laravel integration

This is not a standalone WebDAV server bolted onto Laravel.

It is designed to feel like a first-class Laravel component.

2. Explicit request pipeline (no magic)

Every request follows a clearly defined flow:

Controller → Factory → Credential Validation → Space Resolution → Authorization → Storage

There is:

no hidden magic
no black box
no implicit behavior

Every step is transparent and replaceable.

3. Clear separation of concerns

The architecture strictly separates:

WebDAV transport (SabreDAV)
Application logic (Laravel)
Storage (Flysystem)

4. Pluggable architecture

Core components are abstracted via interfaces:

Credential validation
Storage space resolution
Path-level authorization

All bindings use bindIf(), so you can override them without modifying package code.

5. Policy-native authorization

Authorization integrates directly with Laravel’s Gate and Policies.

6. Dynamic storage mapping

Storage is resolved at runtime based on:

user (principal)
route parameter {space}

What this package is (and is not)

✔ WebDAV server for Laravel (HTTP endpoint)

✖ Not a Storage::disk('webdav') client driver

Current feature set

WebDAV server powered by SabreDAV
Mapping of WebDAV nodes to Laravel filesystem disks
Pluggable authentication (Basic Auth by default)
Flexible storage space resolution
Extensible authorization layer
Clean extension points via interfaces

Supported operations

PROPFIND
GET
PUT
DELETE
MKCOL

What’s missing

Stability
Edge case handling
Production readiness

Why release this early?

Because the architecture is the most important part.

Feedback welcome

I’d really appreciate:

architectural feedback
edge cases I haven’t considered
ideas for real-world use

GitHub