Laravel Controller Subfolder routing
Stefan Izdrail
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
Title: Laravel Controller Subfolder Routing: Keeping Your App Organized While Preserving Functionality
Hello fellow developers and Laravel enthusiasts! One of the most important features of Laravel is its ability to help you build organized, scalable applications that are easy to maintain. The MVC structure allows developers to separate concerns between models, views, and controllers, with each responsible for their own specific tasks.
In a case where you want to organize your app further by putting controllers into subfolders within the controller folder, routing can become an issue if not done correctly. Here's a comprehensive guide on how to achieve this while preserving proper routing and ensuring good practices:
1. Create subfolders within your existing controllers folder as you desire.
2. For each folder, create new files for their respective controllers and follow Laravel's naming conventions. The controller file should be named in the format `ControllerName.php`, where `ControllerName` is the name of your class.
3. Ensure that all classes within those folders extend from 'App\Http\Controllers\Controller'. This will ensure that your controllers can have access to helper methods provided by Laravel's base controller.
Now, let's look at a working example:
```php
controllers\
---- folder1
------ Controller1.php
----- Controller2.php
---- folder2
------ Controller3.php
```
To route to the dashboard located within `folder1.MakeDashboardController`, you can follow the correct syntax:
```php
Route::get('/product/dashboard', '\controllers\folder1\MakeDashboardController@showDashboard');
```
Please note that in this case, you will need to use a backslash before 'controllers' and within 'folder1'. This notation allows Laravel to correctly understand the namespace hierarchy and locate your controller class. The route should look like: `Route::get('/product/dashboard', '\controllers\folder1\MakeDashboardController@showDashboard');`
If you were to use a relative path, it would be: `Route::get('/product/dashboard', 'app\Http\Controllers\Folder1\MakeDashboardController@showDashboard');`. However, this approach will not scale well as your project grows in size. The backslash notation is recommended for better maintainability and extensibility.
You can also use the namespace syntax within each controller folder to further organize your codebase. For example:
```php
// Folder1\Controller1.php
namespace App\Http\Controllers\Folder1;
class Controller1 extends Controller {
// ...
}
```
This will allow you to import and use the class using relative imports, as in `use namespace\Controller1 as Controller1Class`, which makes your code more readable.
In conclusion, routing controllers with subfolders is achievable through proper syntax and organization within Laravel. Be sure to follow these guidelines for a well-structured application that remains easy to maintain. Keep the backslashes in mind when setting up routes, and consider using namespaces to enhance your code's readability and extensibility.
For more information on routing, controller organization, and other Laravel best practices, feel free to visit https://laravelcompany.com/blog/.