Laravel Reverb: Complete Guide to Setting Up Laravel Reverb for Real-Time Applications

Introduction

Laravel Reverb is an official, first-party WebSocket server designed for Laravel applications. It enables real-time, two-way communication between the client and server, making it ideal for building applications like chat systems, live notifications, and interactive dashboards.

Before Laravel Reverb, developers relied on third-party services such as Pusher, Socket.io, and Ably for real-time broadcasting. However, with Reverb, Laravel now provides an in-house solution, allowing developers to host WebSocket broadcasting on their own server, eliminating third-party dependencies. This makes it a cost-effective, secure, and high-performance option for Laravel applications.

By using Laravel Reverb, developers gain full control over real-time broadcasting while improving speed and security. Whether you’re developing a chat app, live notifications, or a collaborative tool, Reverb simplifies the process within the Laravel ecosystem.

In this post, I’ll walk you through the easy steps to install Laravel Reverb in your Laravel app.

Step 1: Installing Laravel Reverb

To begin using Laravel Reverb, install it with the following command:

php artisan install:broadcasting

What Happens Behind the Scenes?

When you run this command, Laravel automatically configures WebSocket broadcasting by setting up essential files and dependencies, such as `echo.js` and `pusher`. Let’s break down some of the key files created during the setup:

1. routes/channels.php
   This file defines your broadcast channels and their authorization logic, ensuring only authenticated users can access private or presence channels.
2. config/broadcasting.php
   This configuration file manages different broadcasting drivers. After installation, Laravel automatically sets  Reverb as the default broadcaster.
3. config/reverb.php
   All Laravel Reverb settings are stored here. Laravel pre-configures this file, so you don’t have to manually modify anything initially.
4. resources/js/echo.js
   Laravel Echo is a lightweight JavaScript library that listens for broadcast events and plays a key role in enabling real-time interactions on the frontend.

Step 2: Configuring the .env File

By default, Laravel Reverb loads settings from the .env file. Make sure your .env file includes the following configurations:

BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverb
QUEUE_CONNECTION=sync

REVERB_APP_ID=
REVERB_APP_KEY=
REVERB_APP_SECRET=
REVERB_HOST="localhost"
REVERB_PORT=8080
REVERB_SCHEME=http

VITE_REVERB_APP_ID="${REVERB_APP_ID}"
VITE_REVERB_APP_KEY="${REVERB_APP_KEY}"
VITE_REVERB_APP_SECRET="${REVERB_APP_SECRET}"
VITE_REVERB_HOST="${REVERB_HOST}"
VITE_REVERB_SCHEME="${REVERB_SCHEME}"
VITE_REVERB_PORT="${REVERB_PORT}"

Key Configuration Notes

•  Set BROADCAST_CONNECTION to `reverb` to enable Laravel Reverb.
• For local development, keep QUEUE_CONNECTION=sync.
• In production, switch QUEUE_CONNECTION=database and ensure Laravel workers are running.

💡 Pro Tip: If REVERB_APP_ID, REVERB_APP_KEY, or REVERB_APP_SECRET are missing, generate them manually using:

echo "REVERB_APP_ID=$(openssl rand -hex 8)" >> .env
echo "REVERB_APP_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 16)" >> .env
echo "REVERB_APP_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" >> .env

Step 3: Creating an Event in Laravel

Events allow you to trigger actions within your application. For example, when a user registers, an event can be triggered to notify the admin.

Create an event using the following command:

php artisan make:event FirstEvent

This command generates an event file at app/Events/FirstEvent.php. Open the file and modify it as follows:

<?php

namespace App\Events;

use Illuminate\Broadcasting\Channel;
use Illuminate\Broadcasting\InteractsWithSockets;
use Illuminate\Broadcasting\PresenceChannel;
use Illuminate\Broadcasting\PrivateChannel;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Broadcasting\ShouldBroadcast;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Events\Dispatchable;
use Illuminate\Queue\SerializesModels;

class FirstEvent implements ShouldBroadcast
{
    use Dispatchable, InteractsWithSockets, SerializesModels;

    public $message = '';
    /**
     * Create a new event instance.
     */
    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->message = 'First Event';
    }

    /**
     * Get the channels the event should broadcast on.
     *
     * @return array<int, \Illuminate\Broadcasting\Channel>
     */
    public function broadcastOn(): array
    {
        return [
            new Channel('first-event'),
        ];
    }
}

Breaking Down the Code:

• FirstEvent : The event name.
• ShouldBroadcast : Ensures the event is sent via WebSockets.
• broadcastOn() : Specifies the WebSocket channel (`first-event`).

Step 4: Triggering the Event

After defining the event, you need to trigger it. You can dispatch events from routes, controllers, or commands.

Example: Triggering from Routes routes/web.php

<?php

use Illuminate\Foundation\Application;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
use Inertia\Inertia;
use App\Events\FirstEvent;

Route::get('/', function () {
    FirstEvent::dispatch();

    return Inertia::render('Welcome', [
        'canLogin' => Route::has('login'),
        'canRegister' => Route::has('register'),
        'laravelVersion' => Application::VERSION,
        'phpVersion' => PHP_VERSION,
    ]);
});


require __DIR__.'/auth.php';

This code triggers the FirstEvent whenever a user visits the homepage.

Step 5: Listening for Events on the Frontend

To listen for the event on the frontend, subscribe to the WebSocket channel using Laravel Echo.

1. Open resources/js/app.js.
2. Add the following code at the bottom:

window.Echo.channel("first-event").listen("FirstEvent", (e) => {
    console.log(e);
});

Here’s how it works:

• Laravel Echo subscribes to the “first-event” channel.
• When FirstEvent is broadcast, the browser logs the event data to the console.

Step 6: Running the Laravel Development Server

To start the Laravel web server, run:

php artisan serve

This will open the web server.

Step 7: Running the Laravel Reverb Server

To start the Laravel Reverb WebSocket server, run:

php artisan reverb:start

By default, Reverb runs on 0.0.0.0:8080, making it accessible from all network interfaces.

Custom Host and Port

To start the Reverb server on a custom host or port, use:

php artisan reverb:start --host=127.0.0.1 --port=9000

Step 8: Compiling Frontend Changes

To ensure that frontend changes are reflected, run:

npm run dev

This ensures that JavaScript files are recompiled whenever modifications are made.

Conclusion

Laravel Reverb provides a cost-effective, scalable, and secure way to integrate real-time WebSockets into your Laravel applications. With this setup, you can build live chat systems, interactive dashboards, and instant notifications with ease.

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