Setting up a Laravel 11 project involves a series of steps to configure the development environment, install dependencies, and initialize the project structure. Below is a detailed guide on how to set up Laravel 11:
- Prerequisites:
Before starting, ensure that you have PHP installed on your system along with Composer, a dependency manager for PHP. Additionally, you’ll need a web server (like Apache or Nginx) and a database server (like MySQL or PostgreSQL) installed and configured. - Install Laravel Installer:
Laravel provides a command-line tool calledlaravel/installer
that simplifies the process of creating new Laravel projects. Install it globally using Composer:
composer global require laravel/installer
- Create a New Laravel Project:
Once the Laravel installer is installed, you can create a new Laravel project using thenew
command:
laravel new project-name
Replace project-name
with the desired name for your Laravel project. This command will create a new directory with the specified name containing a fresh Laravel installation.
- Configure Environment Variables:
Laravel uses environment variables to manage configuration settings such as database credentials and application keys. Copy the.env.example
file to.env
:
cp .env.example .env
Update the values in the .env
file according to your development environment.
- Generate Application Key:
Laravel requires an application key for encryption and other security purposes. Generate a unique application key by running thekey:generate
Artisan command:
php artisan key:generate
- Serve the Application:
You can quickly start a development server using the built-in PHP development server:
php artisan serve
This command will start a development server at http://localhost:8000
, allowing you to access your Laravel application in your web browser.
- Additional Configuration (Optional):
Depending on your project requirements, you may need to configure additional settings such as database connections, mail drivers, caching mechanisms, etc. Refer to the Laravel documentation for detailed information on configuring various aspects of your application.
By following these steps, you can set up a new Laravel 11 project and start developing your web application using the powerful features and tools provided by the Laravel framework.