Jun 3, 2026 · Backend Frameworks · 2min read

Laravel Local Development Guide

Run PHP full-stack applications on localhost:8000 using Laravel and Artisan, with optional Sail, Herd, or XAMPP environments.

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP web frameworks, suitable for APIs, backend management, and full-stack applications. Local development typically starts the built-in server on localhost:8000 using php artisan serve.

Default localhost Access

Method	Address
`php artisan serve`	http://localhost:8000
Specified Port	`php artisan serve --port=8080`
Laravel Sail (Docker)	Port mapping in `.env` under `APP_PORT`

Quick Start

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-app
cd my-app
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate
php artisan serve

Open your browser to http://localhost:8000 to see the Laravel welcome page, indicating success.

Database Configuration

Example .env (MySQL + XAMPP):

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Migration:

php artisan migrate

For PostgreSQL, set DB_CONNECTION=pgsql and DB_PORT=5432.

Local Environment Options

Option	Description
artisan serve	Quickest setup, suitable for learning and small projects
Laravel Sail	Docker encapsulation of PHP, MySQL, Redis, Mailpit
Laravel Herd / Valet	Native `.test` domain for macOS
XAMPP / Laragon	Traditional Apache + PHP, configure virtual hosts to point to `public/`

The production-grade directory structure requires the web root to point to public/, avoiding exposure of the entire project to the Apache root directory.

Common Commands

php artisan make:controller UserController
php artisan route:list
php artisan queue:work
php artisan tinker
npm run dev          # Vite frontend assets (Laravel 9+)

Laravel frontend assets also use Vite; during development, open http://localhost:5173 to load HMR.

Frequently Asked Questions

500 Error / Storage Permissions
Run chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache to ensure the web user has write access.

Vite Assets 404
Run both php artisan serve and npm run dev simultaneously.

Composer Memory Limit
Use COMPOSER_MEMORY_LIMIT=-1 composer install.

Summary

The fastest path for Laravel local development: php artisan serve → http://localhost:8000; for team projects, it is recommended to use Sail or Laragon/Herd to unify PHP versions and extensions.