When you run laravel new in Laravel 12, the installer asks which starter kit you want. Each one gives you the same auth features, but the frontend technology is different.

1. Create the project with a starter kit

   Run the installer (see Installation if you haven't installed it yet) and answer the prompts.

   
             laravel new blog
           

   
             Which starter kit would you like to install?
               None
               React
               Vue
             › Livewire
   
             Which authentication provider do you prefer?
             › Laravel's built-in authentication
               WorkOS (Requires WorkOS account)
           

   Pick Laravel's built-in authentication. WorkOS is a hosted service that adds social login and passkeys, but you don't need it while you're learning.

2. Look at what was generated

   The exact files depend on the kit. This is the rough shape of a Livewire kit:

   app/
   ├── Http/Controllers/Auth/     ← e.g. VerifyEmailController
   ├── Livewire/Actions/Logout.php
   └── Models/User.php            ← already existed
   resources/views/
   ├── livewire/auth/             ← login, register, forgot-password…
   ├── livewire/settings/         ← profile, password, appearance
   └── dashboard.blade.php
   routes/
   ├── web.php                    ← home + dashboard
   ├── auth.php                   ← all login/register routes
   └── settings.php               ← profile settings routes
   tests/Feature/Auth/            ← ready-made tests for every screen

   React and Vue kits put their pages in resources/js/pages/auth/ and use controllers in app/Http/Controllers/Auth/ instead of Livewire components.

3. Migrate the users table

   Every new Laravel app ships with a migration that creates three tables: users, password_reset_tokens and sessions. The installer usually runs it for you on SQLite. If you changed your database in .env, run it yourself:

   
             php artisan migrate
           

   
             Schema::create('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
                 $table->id();
                 $table->string('name');
                 $table->string('email')->unique();
                 $table->timestamp('email_verified_at')->nullable();
                 $table->string('password');
                 $table->rememberToken();
                 $table->timestamps();
             });
           

   Need extra columns, like username? Add a new migration (see Migrations), then add the field to the register form and to $fillable.

4. Build the frontend and run it

   The kits use Vite to compile CSS and JavaScript. composer run dev starts the PHP server, the Vite dev server and the queue worker together.

   
             npm install
             npm run build
             composer run dev
           

   Visit http://localhost:8000/register, create an account and you'll land on /dashboard. You're logged in.

5. The classic option: Breeze

   Many tutorials (and older projects) use Laravel Breeze. It still works and its plain Blade views are very readable. Install it into a project created without a starter kit:

   
             composer require laravel/breeze --dev
             php artisan breeze:install blade
             php artisan migrate
             npm install && npm run dev
           

   ℹ️ Which should I choose?

   For new Laravel 12 apps, the official kits are the recommended path. Choose Livewire if you want to stay in PHP and Blade, and React/Vue if you already know them. Breeze is fine for learning and for maintaining existing apps.

• laravel new offers React, Vue and Livewire starter kits in Laravel 12.
• Breeze is the classic minimal kit, and it's still useful for learning and older apps.
• Kits copy real files into your app: controllers or components, views, routes/auth.php and tests.
• The users, password_reset_tokens and sessions tables come from the default migration. Run php artisan migrate.
• Install a kit at the start of a project, never on top of a mature one.