insert existing users with plain-text passwords into Laravel’s users table
To insert existing users with plain-text passwords into Laravel’s users table (used by Laravel Breeze authentication), follow these steps:
✅ Step 1: Hash Passwords Before Inserting
Since Laravel requires bcrypt hashed passwords, you need to hash them before inserting into the users table.
You can do this in a Laravel command, seeder, or migration script.
Method 1: Using Tinker (Quickest Method)
If you only have a few users, manually hash and insert them via Laravel Tinker:
- Open your terminal and navigate to your Laravel project:
php artisan tinker - Run the following command to insert a user:
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;use App\Models\User;User::create([ 'name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => 'johndoe@example.com', 'password' => Hash::make('your_plain_password'), // Hash the password ]);
Method 2: Bulk Insert from an Old Table
If your users are stored in another MySQL table, you can migrate them using a Laravel artisan command or a simple script.
1. Create a Laravel Command
Run this in your terminal:
php artisan make:command MigrateUsers
Then open app/Console/Commands/MigrateUsers.php and modify it:
namespace App\Console\Commands;
use Illuminate\Console\Command;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use App\Models\User;
class MigrateUsers extends Command
{
protected $signature = 'migrate:users';
protected $description = 'Migrate old users and hash their passwords';
public function handle()
{
// Fetch users from the old table (change 'old_users' to your actual table name)
$oldUsers = DB::table('old_users')->get();
foreach ($oldUsers as $oldUser) {
User::updateOrCreate(
['email' => $oldUser->email], // Prevent duplicates
[
'name' => $oldUser->name,
'email' => $oldUser->email,
'password' => Hash::make($oldUser->password), // Hash the password
]
);
}
$this->info('User migration completed successfully!');
}
}
2. Run the Migration Command
After saving the file, run:
php artisan migrate:users
This will migrate all users from the old_users table into Laravel’s users table.
Method 3: Direct MySQL Query (Not Recommended)
If you must insert users directly into MySQL, hash passwords before inserting:
Run this query in Laravel Tinker:
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
DB::table('users')->insert([
'name' => 'John Doe',
'email' => 'johndoe@example.com',
'password' => Hash::make('your_plain_password'), // Hash before inserting
]);
✅ Final Notes
- Laravel uses
bcrypt(Hash::make()) for security. - Never store passwords in plain text in MySQL!
- If users already have SHA-256 passwords, you need custom authentication logic, but bcrypt is the best approach.
