🚀Setting Up Docker for Laravel

 

Dive into the world of containerization with this comprehensive, beginner-friendly guide to setting up Docker for your Laravel projects. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, this step-by-step tutorial will walk you through creating a robust, scalable, and portable Laravel development environment using Docker. With a practical example, you'll have your Laravel app running in no time, complete with PHP, Nginx, MySQL, and Composer, all orchestrated seamlessly with Docker Compose. Let’s get started and supercharge your Laravel workflow! 🎉

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Why Use Docker for Laravel? 🤔

Docker simplifies the setup of consistent development environments, eliminates "works on my machine" issues, and makes scaling a breeze. By containerizing your Laravel app, you ensure portability across development, testing, and production environments. This guide assumes you have basic knowledge of Laravel and Docker, but don’t worry—we’ll keep it clear and engaging!

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Prerequisites 📋

Before we dive in, make sure you have:

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine (Install Docker).
• A basic understanding of Laravel and PHP.
• A code editor (e.g., VS Code).
• A terminal (or command prompt).

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Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Docker for Laravel 🛠️

Step 1: Create a New Laravel Project

Let’s start by creating a fresh Laravel project. If you already have a Laravel project, skip to Step 2

 

1. Open your terminal and run:

 

2. Verify the project works locally:

 

 

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Step 2: Set Up Docker Files

We’ll create a Docker environment with:

• PHP: To run Laravel.
• Nginx: As the web server.
• MySQL: For the database.
• Composer: To manage PHP dependencies.

1. Create a Dockerfile

In the root of your Laravel project, create a file named Dockerfile with the following content:

FROM php:8.2-fpm

# Install system dependencies
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    git \
    curl \
    libpng-dev \
    libonig-dev \
    libxml2-dev \
    zip \
    unzip

# Install PHP extensions
RUN docker-php-ext-install pdo_mysql mbstring exif pcntl bcmath gd

# Install Composer
COPY --from=composer:latest /usr/bin/composer /usr/bin/composer

# Set working directory
WORKDIR /var/www

# Copy existing application directory contents
COPY . /var/www

# Install Laravel dependencies
RUN composer install

# Set permissions
RUN chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www
RUN chmod -R 755 /var/www/storage

EXPOSE 9000
CMD ["php-fpm"]

This Dockerfile sets up a PHP 8.2 environment, installs necessary PHP extensions, and includes Composer for dependency management.

2. Create a docker-compose.yml

In the project root, create a docker-compose.yml file to orchestrate the services:

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    image: laravel-app
    container_name: laravel_app
    working_dir: /var/www
    volumes:
      - .:/var/www
    networks:
      - laravel-network

  webserver:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: laravel_webserver
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - .:/var/www
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on:
      - app
    networks:
      - laravel-network

  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    container_name: laravel_db
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
      MYSQL_DATABASE: laravel
      MYSQL_USER: laravel
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: secret
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - laravel-network

  phpmyadmin:
    image: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
    container_name: laravel_phpmyadmin
    environment:
      PMA_HOST: db
      PMA_USER: laravel
      PMA_PASSWORD: secret
    ports:
      - "8081:80"
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - laravel-network

volumes:
  dbdata:

networks:
  laravel-network:
    driver: bridge

This file defines four services: the Laravel app, Nginx web server, MySQL database, and phpMyAdmin for database management.

3. Create an Nginx Configuration

Create a file named nginx.conf in the project root:

server {
    listen 80;
    index index.php index.html;
    error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log;
    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log;
    root /var/www/public;
    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
        fastcgi_pass app:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    }
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
}

This configures Nginx to serve the Laravel app and route PHP requests to the PHP-FPM service.

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Step 3: Configure Laravel’s Environment

Update the .env file in your Laravel project to connect to the MySQL service:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=laravel
DB_PASSWORD=secret

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Step 4: Build and Run the Docker Containers

1. In the terminal, run: 

 

This builds the Docker images and starts the containers in the background.

 

2. Wait for the containers to start. You can check their status:

  

 

3. Run Laravel migrations to set up the database:

 

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Step 5: Access Your Laravel App

• Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. You should see the Laravel welcome page! 🎉
• Access phpMyAdmin at http://localhost:8081 to manage your database (login with username laravel and password secret).

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Tips for Success 🌟

• Stop Containers: To stop the containers, run:

  docker-compose down
  

• View Logs: Check container logs for debugging:

  docker-compose logs
  

• Clear Cache: If you encounter issues, clear Laravel’s cache:

  docker-compose exec app php artisan config:cache
  docker-compose exec app php artisan cache:clear
  

• Scaling: Add more services (e.g., Redis) to the docker-compose.yml as needed.

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What’s Next? 🚀

You now have a fully functional Laravel environment running in Docker! 

Experiment by:

• Adding more routes and controllers.
• Integrating Redis or other services.
• Deploying to a production server using Docker.

Happy coding, and enjoy your containerized Laravel journey! 😎