Laravel login form refreshes without logging in or showing error message

General
1

I’m working on a login form in Laravel, but when I click the “Login” button, the page just refreshes without showing any error message, and I’m not redirected to the intended page (like the dashboard). The user data exists in the database, and I’ve confirmed that the form is using the POST method and includes a CSRF token.

Here’s what I’ve checked:

The /login route is correctly pointing to LoginController@authenticate

The form uses method=“POST” and the action is {{ route(‘login’) }}

CSRF token is present (@csrf)

Validation and error messages are included, but none appear

No error is shown in the Laravel log

I’m using Auth::attempt($credentials) in the controller

Code snippets:

web.php:Route::get('/login', [LoginController::class, 'index'])->name('login'); Route::post('/login', [LoginController::class, 'authenticate']);

LoginController.php:`public function authenticate(Request $request) { $credentials = $request->only(‘username’, ‘password’);

if (Auth::attempt($credentials)) {
    return redirect()->intended('/');
}

return back()->withErrors([
    'login' => 'Invalid username or password.',
]);

} Login form (Blade): @csrf Login

` Question: What could cause a Laravel login form to simply refresh the page without showing an error or logging the user in?

2

You’re describing a common but frustrating Laravel issue where a login form submits, but the page just refreshes with no visible errors, and the user isn’t logged in or redirected.

Since you’ve already confirmed the basics (CSRF token, POST method, correct route, and credentials in DB), here’s a checklist of deeper causes and how to fix them.

1. Wrong Input Names in Form

The Auth::attempt() function looks specifically for email (or username, depending on your setup), and password.

If your form uses:

<input type="text" name="user">
<input type="password" name="password">

But your controller does:

$request->only('username', 'password')

Then username is null, and Auth::attempt() silently fails.

Fix: Ensure form input names match exactly:

<input type="text" name="username" />
<input type="password" name="password" />

2. Validation Fails Silently

If you’re validating the request using validate() or FormRequest but don’t show errors in your Blade template, it’ll just redirect back without visible issues.

Check:

  • Are you using $request->validate([...])?
  • Do you have @error('field') ... @enderror in the Blade?

Fix: Add error display in your form:

@error('username')
    <div class="text-red-500 text-sm">{{ $message }}</div>
@enderror
@error('login')
    <div class="text-red-500 text-sm">{{ $message }}</div>
@enderror

3. No session middleware

If your route group does not have web middleware (or you’ve overridden middlewareGroups in Kernel.php), sessions won’t persist — so even a successful login won’t stick.

Fix: Ensure routes are in the web middleware group (this should be default in web.php):

Route::middleware('web')->group(function () {
    Route::get('/login', [LoginController::class, 'index'])->name('login');
    Route::post('/login', [LoginController::class, 'authenticate']);
});

4. No Error Key Used in Blade

You’re returning errors like this:

return back()->withErrors(['login' => 'Invalid username or password.']);

Make sure in the Blade you check for it:

@if ($errors->has('login'))
    <div class="text-red-500">{{ $errors->first('login') }}</div>
@endif

5. Password Not Hashed

If you’re inserting users manually in the DB and used plaintext passwords, Auth::attempt() will fail. Laravel expects password to be bcrypt-hashed.

Fix:

$user->password = Hash::make('secret123');

Or in tinker:

php artisan tinker
User::create(['username' => 'admin', 'password' => Hash::make('admin123')])

6. Rate Limiting or Throttling Middleware

If you have throttle or LoginLimiter middleware and hit too many attempts, Laravel might silently reject further logins.

Check routes/web.php for throttle:

Route::post('/login', [LoginController::class, 'authenticate'])->middleware('throttle:5,1');

7. Auth Guard Mismatch

If you’re using a custom guard in config/auth.php but calling Auth::attempt() without specifying the guard, it may silently fail.

Fix (if applicable):

Auth::guard('admin')->attempt($credentials)

8. CSRF Token Mismatch on Some Environments

If you have CSRF tokens but they’re stale or you’re submitting from JS/AJAX without setting the token correctly, Laravel will reject it without a visible error.

Check:

  • Use @csrf
  • If in doubt, try disabling CSRF in middleware (not in production) to isolate the issue.

:hammer_and_wrench: Summary Debug Plan

  1. Inspect the HTML form — do input names match what you’re using in the controller?
  2. Dump credentials in the controller:
dd($credentials);
  1. Log the result of Auth::attempt():
if (Auth::attempt($credentials)) {
    return redirect()->intended('/');
} else {
    \Log::info('Login failed', ['credentials' => $credentials]);
    return back()->withErrors(['login' => 'Invalid username or password.']);
}
  1. Ensure session middleware and web group are applied.