React Native Authentication with Laravel REST API | Expo Dev Client & Zustand

Learn how to build a full-stack authentication system using React Native (Expo Dev Client) and a Laravel REST API

We implement the entire authentication flow—from backend to frontend, focusing on real-world architecture, clean code, and scalable patterns used in production applications.

⚠️ Important: This tutorial uses Expo Dev Client (not Expo Go) and a real Laravel backend running on LAN, tested on physical devices.

🔐 What’s Covered
Backend (Laravel REST API)

Running Laravel on LAN for local network access

Authentication APIs (login, register, logout)

Custom password reset flow using token codes

Secure token handling

Clean, maintainable API structure

Production-grade authentication logic

Frontend (React Native + Expo Dev Client)

Client-side authentication architecture

Zustand for auth state management

Middleware-based API handling

Secure token storage

Clean and scalable project structure

Production-level UI & UX

Login and authentication guards

Social login UI integration

Error handling and edge cases

🧠 Why This Tutorial

No Expo Go limitations

No mock APIs

No skipped steps

No demo-only patterns

This video shows how authentication is actually built in real applications.

🛠 Tech Stack

React Native

Expo Dev Client

Zustand

Laravel

REST API

Token-based authentication

Custom password reset implementation

📎 Resources / Source Code

Backend (Laravel API)
https://github.com/Muswamba/laravel-d...

Frontend (React Native + Expo)
https://github.com/Muswamba/react-nat...

👨‍💻 Who This Is For

React Native developers

Expo users moving beyond Expo Go

Full-stack developers

Developers building real authentication systems

Anyone focused on clean, production-ready architecture

⏱️ Timestamps

0:05:43 Setup & create a Laravel API app

0:13:56 Create & test React Native app (Expo Dev Client)

0:17:30 Run native app (npx expo run:android) & fix Android SDK issues

0:34:47 Build authentication screens

1:08:59 Protected screens: middleware with Zustand

2:15:56 Build & design AuthLayout (Login, Register, Forgot Password)

4:01:15 Build API layer with Axios & Zustand store

4:36:01 Build backend (Laravel controllers & routes)

5:21:11 Testing & debugging

6:01:38 Forgot password flow using Laravel queues & email