laravel/documentation/other/crypt.md

Encryption

• The Basics
• Encrypting A String
• Decrypting A String

The Basics

Need to do secure, two-way encryption? Laravel has you covered with the Crypt class. The Crypt class provides strong AES-256 encryption and decryption out of the box via the Mcrypt PHP extension.

To get started, you must set your application key in the application/config/application.php file. This key should be very random and very secret, as it will be used during the encryption and decryption process. It is best to use a random, 32 character alpha-numeric string:

'key' => 'xXSAVghP7myRo5xqJAnMvQwBc7j8qBZI';

Wonderful. You're ready to start encrypting.

Note: Don't forget to install the Mcrypt PHP extension on your server.

Encrypting A String

Encrypting a string is a breeze. Just pass it to the encrypt method on the Crypt class:

Crypt::encrypt($value);

Do you feel like James Bond yet?

Decrypting A String

So you're ready to decrypt a string? It's simple. Just use the decrypt method on the Crypt class:

Crypt::decrypt($encrypted_value);

Note: The decrypt method will only decrypt strings that were encrypted using your application key.