FRAMEWORK

Add a form backend to Laravel without a controller

Formstork is the backend that receives your Laravel form's POST. It emails you every submission, sets the visitor's email as the reply-to, and stores each one in a searchable dashboard, so you skip the route, controller, and Mailable.

How it works

In a normal Laravel setup, a contact form means a route, a controller action to validate the request, a Mailable to send the email, and somewhere to store the message. Formstork replaces that whole path. You point a plain HTML form in a Blade view at a Formstork endpoint and add your access key as a hidden field, and Formstork emails you each submission, sets the visitor's email as the reply-to, and saves the message to a searchable, taggable dashboard. Because the form posts to an external endpoint rather than back to your app, you do not add @csrf and you do not need a route or controller for it, so Laravel's CSRF protection does not apply. Laravel can still do all of this itself if you want to own the code, but Formstork removes the email sending, storage, and spam filtering you would otherwise write and maintain. If you prefer to keep the request server-side, a controller can forward it to Formstork with Http::asForm()->post().

html

{{-- resources/views/contact.blade.php --}}
{{-- Posts straight to Formstork, so there is no route or controller and no @csrf. --}}
<form action="https://api.formstork.com/submit" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" />

  <label>
    Name
    <input type="text" name="name" required />
  </label>

  <label>
    Email
    <input type="email" name="email" required />
  </label>

  <label>
    Message
    <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  </label>

  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

No controller, Mailable, or spam code

A Laravel contact form usually needs a route, a controller to validate, a Mailable to send, and storage for the message. Formstork is the hosted backend that does all of that, so there is nothing for you to write or maintain in your app. You can still forward server-side with Http::asForm()->post() if you want to keep the request in a controller.

Reply straight from your inbox

Every submission emails you with the visitor's address set as the reply-to, so you hit reply and it reaches the person who wrote in. Beyond email, each message is kept in a searchable, taggable dashboard you can filter and export to CSV or JSON.

Spam stopped before it reaches you

A hidden honeypot, a server-side content filter, and optional Turnstile, hCaptcha, or reCAPTCHA keep bots out. Flagged submissions never email you, and a rules engine can route, block, or redirect based on a field value.

Set it up

1In a Blade view, write your form as plain HTML with the fields you want, such as name, email, and message.
2Set the form's action to https://api.formstork.com/submit with method POST, and add your access key as a hidden access_key input. Do not add @csrf and do not create a route or controller for it, because the form posts to Formstork, not back to your Laravel app.
3Submit once to test. The submission lands in your inbox and your Formstork dashboard, with the visitor's email set as the reply-to.
4Optional: connect an integration like Slack, Google Sheets, or a signed webhook, turn on spam protection, or (on a paid plan) add an autoresponder or file uploads.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need @csrf on a Laravel form that posts to Formstork?

No. The form posts to an external endpoint (Formstork), not back to your Laravel app, so Laravel's CSRF protection does not apply and you should not add @csrf. You also do not need a route or controller for the form.

Can I still handle the form in a controller?

Yes. If you want the request to stay server-side, post the form to your own route and forward it to Formstork from a controller with Http::asForm()->post(). Formstork still handles the email, storage, and spam filtering. Posting the HTML form directly is simpler and needs no controller.

Is it free?

Yes, the free plan includes 250 submissions a month with a full dashboard and 90-day retention, no credit card. Paid plans add more volume, forever retention, autoresponders, and file uploads or attachments.

Try Formstork free

250 submissions a month with a full dashboard. No credit card required.

Get your access key Read the docs