What is Laravel Passport?

Laravel Passport is a full OAuth2 server implementation for Laravel. It is used when you need OAuth2 capabilities: issuing access tokens for third-party applications, supporting multiple grant types (Authorization Code, Client Credentials, Password, Implicit, Refresh Token), and building a platform where external developers authenticate via your API. Install: composer require laravel/passport, then php artisan passport:install (creates encryption keys and default clients). Issue tokens: $user->createToken("MyApp")->accessToken. Compared to Sanctum: Passport is heavier and appropriate for OAuth2 scenarios where you want to be an OAuth provider (like Google, Facebook). Sanctum is lighter and better for first-party SPAs and mobile apps where you control both the client and server. Most applications should start with Sanctum and add Passport only if they need OAuth2.