app/Http/Middleware/AuthorizeHfMediaToken.php

<?php

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;
use Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

class AuthorizeHfMediaToken
{
    public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next): Response
    {
        $configuredToken = trim((string) config('services.huggingface.api_token', ''));
        $providedToken = trim((string) $request->bearerToken());

        if ($configuredToken === '' || $providedToken === '' || ! hash_equals($configuredToken, $providedToken)) {
            return new JsonResponse([
                'message' => 'Unauthorized.',
            ], 401);
        }

        return $next($request);
    }
}