Add Authority to your composer.json file to require Authority

require : {
	"laravel/framework": "4.0.*",
    "machuga/authority-l4" : "dev-master"
}

Now update Composer

composer update

The last required step is to add the service provider to app/config/app.php

    'Authority\AuthorityL4\AuthorityL4ServiceProvider',

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Authority. However, we have also included some other configuration options for your convenience.

    'Authority' => 'Authority\AuthorityL4\Facades\Authority',

This will allow you to access the Authority class through the static interface you are used to with Laravel components.

	Authority::can('update', 'SomeModel');

	php artisan config:publish machuga/authority-l4

This will place a copy of the configuration file at app/config/packages/machuga/authority-l4. The config file includes an 'initialize' function, which is a great place to setup your rules and aliases.

	//app/config/packages/machuga/authority-l4

	return array(

		'initialize' => function($authority) {
			$user = $authority->getCurrentUser();

			//action aliases
			$authority->addAlias('manage', array('create', 'read', 'update', 'delete'));
        	$authority->addAlias('moderate', array('read', 'update', 'delete'));

        	//an example using the `hasRole` function, see below examples for more details
        	if($user->hasRole('admin')){
        		$authority->allow('manage', 'all');
			}
		}

	);

We have provided a basic table structure to get you started in creating your roles and permissions.

Run the Authority migrations

	php artisan migrate --package="machuga/authority-l4"

This will create the following tables

• roles
• role_user
• permissions

To utilize these tables, you can add the following methods to your User model. You will also need to create Role and Permission Model stubs.

	//app/models/User.php
	public function roles() {
        return $this->belongsToMany('Role');
    }

    public function permissions() {
        return $this->hasMany('Permission');
    }

	public function hasRole($key) {
		foreach($this->roles as $role){
			if($role->name === $key)
			{
				return true;
			}
		}
		return false;
	}

	//app/models/Role.php
	class Role extends Eloquent {}

	//app/models/Permission.php
	class Permission extends Eloquent {}

Lastly, in your Authority config file which you copied over in the previous configuration step. You can add some rules:

	<?php
	//app/config/packages/machuga/authority-l4

	return array(

		'initialize' => function($authority) {

			$user = $authority->getCurrentUser();

			//action aliases
			$authority->addAlias('manage', array('create', 'read', 'update', 'delete'));
        	$authority->addAlias('moderate', array('read', 'update', 'delete'));

        	//an example using the `hasRole` function, see below examples for more details
        	if($user->hasRole('admin')) {
        		$authority->allow('manage', 'all');
			}

			// loop through each of the users permissions, and create rules
			foreach($user->permissions as $perm) {
				if($perm->type == 'allow') {
					$authority->allow($perm->action, $perm->resource);
				} else {
					$authority->deny($perm->action, $perm->resource);
				}
			}
		}

	);

	//If you added the alias to `app/config/app.php` then you can access Authority, from any Controller, View, or anywhere else in your Laravel app like so:
	if( Authority::can('create', 'User') ) {
		User::create(array(
			'username' => '[email protected]'
		));	
	}

	//If you just chose to use the service provider, you can use the IoC container to resolve your instance
	$authority = App::make('authority');

There are 5 basic functions that you need to be aware of to utilize Authority.

• allow: create a rule that will allow access a resource

  example 1:

       Authority::allow('read', 'User');

  example 2, using an extra condition:

       Authority::allow('manage', 'User', function($self, $user){
   	    return $self->getCurrentUser()->id === $user->id;
       });

• deny: create a rule that will deny access a resource

  example 1:

       Authority::deny('create', 'User');

  example 2, using an extra condition:

       Authority::deny('delete', 'User', function ($self, $user) {
           return $self->getCurrentUser()->id === $user->id;
       });

• can: check if a user can access a resource

  example:

       Authority::can('read', 'User', $user);

• cannot: check if a use cannot access a resource

  example:

       Authority::cannot('create', 'User');

• addAlias: alias together a group of actions

  this example aliases together the CRUD methods under a name of manage

       Authority::alias('manage', array('create', 'read', 'update', 'delete'));

The service provider will merely create a new instance of Authority, and pass in the currently logged in user to the constructor. This should be basically the same process that you were doing in your IoC registry. This means that any code you have used in the past should still work just fine! However it is recommended that you move your rule definitions into the provided configuration file.