laravel/framework · error · InvalidArgumentException

Auth driver [ ] for guard [ ] is not defined.

Error message

Auth driver [{$config['driver']}] for guard [{$name}] is not defined.

What it means

Thrown by AuthManager::resolve() when a guard's config exists but its 'driver' value matches neither a registered custom creator nor a create{Driver}Driver method on the manager. The driver name is the strategy used to build the guard (session, token, sanctum, etc.), and unknown values cannot be resolved to a guard implementation.

Solutions

1. Use a built-in driver that exists (session for web guards, token for API token guards).
2. Install/enable the package that provides the driver (e.g. composer require laravel/sanctum and ensure its ServiceProvider is registered).
3. Register a custom driver with Auth::extend('mydriver', fn (...) => new MyGuard(...)) before the guard is resolved.
4. Fix the typo in the 'driver' key of the guard config.
5. Run php artisan config:clear to drop a stale cached config.

Example fix

// before
'guards' => [
    'api' => ['driver' => 'sanctum', 'provider' => 'users'], // Sanctum not installed
],

// after — install and register the package, or switch driver
'guards' => [
    'api' => ['driver' => 'session', 'provider' => 'users'],
],
// then: composer require laravel/sanctum && php artisan install:api

// PHP — confirm the driver is resolvable
$name = 'api';
$cfg = config("auth.guards.{$name}");
$driver = $cfg['driver'] ?? null;
$method = 'create' . ucfirst((string) $driver) . 'Driver';
$builtIn = in_array($driver, ['session','token'], true);
$resolvable = $builtIn || method_exists(app(\Illuminate\Auth\AuthManager::class), $method) || app(\Illuminate\Auth\AuthManager::class)->hasCustomCreator($driver);
if (! $resolvable) abort(500, "Auth driver [{$driver}] is not supported.");

function authDriverIsResolvable(string $driver): bool {
    return in_array($driver, ['session','token'], true)
        || method_exists(app(\Illuminate\Auth\AuthManager::class), 'create' . ucfirst($driver) . 'Driver');
}

try {
    Auth::guard('api');
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    report('Auth driver not resolvable: '.$e->getMessage());
    throw $e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Defining a guard in auth.php with a 'driver' value that is not one of the built-ins (session/token) and is not registered via Auth::extend(); misspelling a driver like 'sesion'; using a package (e.g. Sanctum/Passport) that is not installed or booted.

Common situations: Removing Laravel Sanctum without updating guards still set to driver 'sanctum'; a typo in the driver string; referencing a custom driver before Auth::extend() runs in a service provider; config cache predating the package installation.

Related errors

• Auth guard [ ] is not defined.
• A driver must be specified.
• Authentication user provider
• Driver [ ] is not supported.
• Password resetter [ ] is not defined.

AI-assisted analysis of laravel/framework@e0f6eb3518 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4df788966fde45f2. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Illuminate/Auth/AuthManager.php:103

    protected function resolve($name)
    {
        $config = $this->getConfig($name);

        if (is_null($config)) {
            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Auth guard [{$name}] is not defined.");
        }

        if (isset($this->customCreators[$config['driver']])) {
            return $this->callCustomCreator($name, $config);
        }

        $driverMethod = 'create'.ucfirst($config['driver']).'Driver';

        if (method_exists($this, $driverMethod)) {
            return $this->{$driverMethod}($name, $config);
        }

        throw new InvalidArgumentException(
            "Auth driver [{$config['driver']}] for guard [{$name}] is not defined."
        );
    }

    /**
     * Call a custom driver creator.
     *
     * @param  string  $name
     * @param  array  $config
     * @return mixed
     */
    protected function callCustomCreator($name, array $config)
    {
        return $this->customCreators[$config['driver']]($this->app, $name, $config);
    }

    /**
     * Create a session based authentication guard.

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