{"id":297,"date":"2024-08-15T13:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/?p=297"},"modified":"2025-03-19T12:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T12:18:19","slug":"laravel-development-environment-compared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/15\/laravel-development-environment-compared\/","title":{"rendered":"Laravel Development Environment Compared"},"content":{"rendered":"
When developing a Laravel application, having a reliable local development environment is as important as the code itself. A good local development environment can help you work more efficiently, test your code, and avoid potential deployment issues.<\/p>\n
There are several tools available within the Laravel ecosystem, such as Homestead<\/a>, Valet<\/a>, Sail<\/a>, and Herd<\/a>, as well as tools outside their ecosystem like MAMP<\/a>.<\/p>\n Each tool offers unique features and benefits, catering to different needs and workflows. In this article, we\u2019ll compare these tools to help you choose the best one for your local Laravel development.<\/p>\n Laravel Homestead<\/strong> is an official Vagrant<\/a> box that provides a ready-to-use development environment with PHP, Nginx, MySQL, and Redis pre-installed.<\/p>\n Homestead runs on a virtual machine, ensuring that your development setup is consistent, no matter where you work, and does not affect configurations or other applications on your machine. Homestead also supports multiple PHP versions, making it easy to switch between them. You can configure and manage your setup using a simple Homestead is a great option for developers working on projects that require a full-featured virtual machine. Otherwise, lighter options might be preferable.<\/p>\n Laravel Valet<\/strong> is a lightweight development environment designed for macOS users. It automatically sets up your Mac to run Nginx in the background and uses DnsMasq to route requests on the Though it is not intended as a replacement for more robust environments like Homestead<\/strong>, it offers a quick, flexible setup. It also supports a variety of other frameworks and CMSs, such as WordPress, Symfony, and Drupal, straight out of the box.<\/p>\n It is perfect for macOS users who prefer a fast and lightweight setup with minimal configuration.<\/p>\n Laravel Sail is a Docker-based development environment that provides a simple command-line interface for interacting with Docker<\/a>.<\/p>\n It comes with pre-configured services like MySQL, Redis, MeiliSearch, and more, making it easy to get started with Laravel projects. Since it is based on Docker, you can easily configure your environment or add any other services that you may need but are not included by default through the It is best for developers who prefer Docker-based workflows and want an easily configurable environment.<\/p>\n Laravel Herd is a desktop app designed to create a fast, lightweight, and user-friendly local development environment for Laravel applications. It offers a simple, zero-configuration setup and includes everything you need to get started, such as Composer, the Laravel installer, a debugger, and essential services like MySQL.<\/p>\n Additionally, Herd provides a seamless migration tool from Laravel Valet, and it allows you to manage different versions of Node.js and PHP. You can also manage SSL certificates and other services easily through its user-friendly interface.<\/p>\n A great application if you prefer ease of use with a nice UI.<\/p>\n MAMP is a popular tool for creating a local server environment on macOS and Windows. While it\u2019s not specifically designed for Laravel, you can configure MAMP to run Laravel applications.<\/p>\n It provides an easy way to set up PHP, MySQL, and Apache or Nginx, as well as other tools on your local machine. It also includes features like PHP version switching and a user-friendly interface. This makes it a convenient option for developers who want to work on Laravel projects and other PHP projects without needing to install and configure everything manually.<\/p>\n Suitable for those who need a cross-platform solution and work with various PHP applications outside Laravel.<\/p>\n Choosing the right tool for running Laravel on localhost depends on your development needs, preferences, and operating system. Consider your specific requirements and workflow to choose the best option for your Laravel development.<\/p>\n The post Laravel Development Environment Compared<\/a> appeared first on Hongkiat<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When developing a Laravel application, having a reliable local development environment is as important as the code itself. A good local development environment can help you work more efficiently, test your code, and avoid potential deployment issues. There are several tools available within the Laravel ecosystem, such as Homestead, Valet, Sail, and Herd, as well as tools outside their ecosystem like MAMP. Each tool offers unique features and benefits, catering…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerrprogroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/figure>\n
Homestead<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n
Homestead.yaml<\/code> file.<\/p>\n
Pros<\/h5>\n
\n
Cons<\/h5>\n
\n
Valet<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n
*.test<\/code> domain to your local sites.<\/p>\n
Pros<\/h5>\n
\n
Cons<\/h5>\n
\n
Sail<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n
compose.yml<\/code> file.<\/p>\n
Pros<\/h5>\n
\n
Cons<\/h5>\n
\n
Herd<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n
Pros<\/h5>\n
\n
Cons<\/h5>\n
\n
MAMP<\/a><\/h4>\n
<\/figure>\n
Pros<\/h5>\n
\n
Cons<\/h5>\n
\n
Conclusion<\/h4>\n