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!