Laravel Application Setup with Docker: A Step-by-Step Guide

Prerequisites

• A system with Docker support (Linux, macOS, or Windows).
  


• Basic knowledge of Laravel and Docker.
  

Step 1: Install Docker

For Linux

1. Update your system packages:
   

   sudo apt-get update  

1. Install Docker:
   

   sudo apt-get install -y docker.io  

1. Start and enable Docker:
   

   sudo systemctl start docker  

   sudo systemctl enable docker  

For macOS and Windows

Download and install Docker Desktop from Docker's official site.

Step 2: Set Up the Laravel Project

Clone the Project Repository

git clone <your-repo-url>  

cd <project-name>  

Install Dependencies

composer install  

Prepare the Environment

1. Create a .env file:
   

   cp .env.example .env  

1. Generate the application key:
   

   php artisan key:generate  

Update the Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml

Example Dockerfile

FROM php:8.2-apache  

WORKDIR /var/www/html  

COPY . .  

RUN docker-php-ext-install pdo pdo_mysql  

Example docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'  

services:  

  app:  

    build: .  

    ports:  

      - "8080:80"  

    volumes:  

      - .:/var/www/html  

    environment:  

      - APACHE_LOG_DIR=/var/log/apache2  

    depends_on:  

      - db  



  db:  

    image: mysql:8.0  

    environment:  

      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root  

      MYSQL_DATABASE: laravel  

      MYSQL_USER: laravel  

      MYSQL_PASSWORD: secret  

Build and Start Docker Containers

docker-compose build  

docker-compose up -d  

Set Permissions

chmod -R 775 bootstrap/cache storage  

chown -R www-data:www-data bootstrap/cache storage  

chmod 775 database  

chown -R www-data:www-data database  

chmod 664 database/database.sqlite  

chown www-data:www-data database/database.sqlite  

Migrate the Database

php artisan migrate  

Step 3: Access the Application

Once the containers are running, access your Laravel application at:


http://localhost:8080

Step 4: Reference

Find the complete project code on GitHub:


GitHub Repository Link

Step 5: Most Used Docker Commands

Basic Commands

• 
  docker --version: Check Docker version.
  


• 
  docker ps: List running containers.
  


• 
  docker ps -a: List all containers.
  


• 
  docker images: List all Docker images.
  


• 
  docker pull <image>: Pull an image from Docker Hub.
  


• 
  docker build -t <name> .: Build an image from a Dockerfile.
  


• 
  docker run -d -p <host-port>:<container-port> <image>: Run a container.
  


• 
  docker exec -it <container-id> bash: Access a container's shell.
  


• 
  docker stop <container-id>: Stop a running container.
  


• 
  docker rm <container-id>: Remove a stopped container.
  

Advanced Commands

• 
  docker logs <container-id>: View container logs.
  


• 
  docker-compose up: Start services defined in docker-compose.yml.
  


• 
  docker-compose down: Stop and remove services.
  


• 
  docker volume ls: List volumes.
  


• 
  docker network ls: List networks.
  


• 
  docker inspect <container-id>: Inspect container details.
  


• 
  docker system prune: Clean up unused containers, images, and volumes.
  


• 
  docker cp <src> <container>:<dest>: Copy files to a container.
  


• 
  docker stats: View real-time resource usage.
  


• 
  docker tag <image-id> <new-name>: Tag an image.
  

Refer to the Docker Documentation for more commands and usage examples.

By following these steps, you’ll have a Laravel application running in Docker in no time!