How to create a Laravel project in the current directory

Introduction

Laravel remains one of the most popular PHP frameworks for developing web applications.This tutorial guides you through the steps to create a Laravel project in your current directory, delving into basic and advanced concepts alike, with practical examples.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure that you have the following installed on your system:

• PHP (version 7.3 or greater)
• Composer (PHP package manager)
• Node.js and NPM (Optional, but recommended for asset compilation)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Installing Laravel Via Composer

One of the most common methods to install Laravel is through Composer, PHP’s package manager.

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .

This command tells Composer to create a project using the laravel/laravel package, and the period . at the end specifies that it should be installed into the current directory.

After running the command, Composer will download all necessary files and dependencies. Once complete, you will have a fresh Laravel installation in your current directory.

Step 2: Setting Up the Environment File

After the installation, you need to set up the environment configuration. A .env file should already exist. In the command line, you can copy the example file using:

cp .env.example .env

Make sure to configure the .env file to match your local environment settings, including your database connection if applicable:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

All sensitive information should be stored in the .env file, as it is not included in version control.

Step 3: Generating the Application Key

Laravel requires an application key for session and cookie encryption.

php artisan key:generate

Running this command will generate a key and automatically update your .env file with an APP_KEY field.

Step 4: Directory Permissions

Directories within the storage and bootstrap/cache directories should be writable by your web server or Laravel will not run. If permissions are incorrect, you can change them using:

sudo chown -R $USER:www-data storage
sudo chown -R $USER:www-data bootstrap/cache

Ensure to replace $USER with your actual username. Additionally, the www-data group may vary based on your web server configuration.

Step 5: Running the Development Server

To start the Laravel development server, run:

php artisan serve

This command will start a server at http://localhost:8000. You can now visit this URL in a web browser to see your brand new Laravel application.

Advanced Setup

If you want further control of the installation, Laravel allows additional commands to tailor the setup process.

To create a project with a specific version of Laravel:

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel . "10.0.*"

Replace “5.8.*” with the desired version. This command is particularly useful when working on a project that requires a specific Laravel version.

Consider using Laravel’s Valet (for macOS) or Laravel Homestead (a Vagrant box) for a more robust development environment. These provide a complete, per-project setup that can mimic production environments more closely.

Migrating and Seeding the Database

Lastly, you’ll likely want to run your migrations to set up your initial database schema:

php artisan migrate

If you have seed data to populate your database with, you can do so with:

php artisan db:seed

For a combination of both, Laravel provides:

php artisan migrate --seed

This will migrate your databases and seed them in a single command.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully created a Laravel project right in your current directory. Laravel’s capabilities extend far beyond these initial setup steps, but you are now ready to start developing your web application. Embrace the elegant syntax and features of Laravel, and build something remarkable!