How to Setup Laravel Development Environment on Ubuntu

Laravel is a powerful modern PHP framework widely used to build web applications. To make the development environment closer to production, we can use Apache as the web server, PHP 8.3 from the Ondřej PPA, MariaDB as the database, and local SSL using mkcert. Additionally, we will use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) with several Laravel-specific extensions to make the coding process more productive and comfortable. In the end, we will have a local domain https://laravel.local with a fully running Laravel setup on Ubuntu.

1. Install PHP 8.3

Add the Ondřej repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y

Install PHP 8.3 along with essential extensions for Laravel:

sudo apt install php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql \
php8.3-xml php8.3-mbstring php8.3-bcmath php8.3-curl unzip curl -y

Check PHP version:

php -v

Install Composer for PHP dependency management:

sudo apt install composer -y

2. Install Apache

Install Apache and the PHP module:

sudo apt install apache2 libapache2-mod-php8.3 -y

Enable required modules and restart Apache:

sudo a2enmod rewrite ssl
sudo systemctl restart apache2

3. Install MariaDB

MariaDB will be used as the database backend:

sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client -y

Create a database and user for Laravel:

CREATE DATABASE laraveldb;
CREATE USER 'laraveluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'passwordku';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON laraveldb.* TO 'laraveluser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

4. Install mkcert

Install mkcert for local SSL:

sudo apt install mkcert -y

Install the Root CA and generate a certificate for the laravel.local domain:

mkcert -install
mkcert laravel.local

Move the SSL certificate and private key:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apache2/ssl
sudo mv laravel.local.* /etc/apache2/ssl

5. Setup Local Domain

Add the laravel.local domain to the hosts file:

echo "127.0.0.1 laravel.local" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

6. Create Laravel Project

Create a new Laravel project in /var/www:

cd /var/www
sudo composer create-project laravel/laravel laravelapp
sudo chown -R $USER:www-data laravelapp
sudo chmod -R 775 laravelapp

7. Configure Virtual Host

Create configuration for laravel.local:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/laravel.local.conf

Insert the configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName laravel.local
  Redirect permanent / https://laravel.local/
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:443>
  ServerName laravel.local
  DocumentRoot /var/www/laravelapp/public

  SSLEngine on
  SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/ssl/laravel.local.pem
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/ssl/laravel.local-key.pem
  
  <Directory /var/www/laravelapp/public>
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
  </Directory>
  
  ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/laravel_error.log
  CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/laravel_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the virtual host:

sudo a2ensite laravel.local.conf
sudo systemctl restart apache2

8. Configure .env

Edit the .env file:

sudo nano /var/www/laravelapp/.env

Adjust the configuration:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laraveldb
DB_USERNAME=laraveluser
DB_PASSWORD=passwordku

9. Run Database Migration

Execute the database migration:

cd /var/www/laravelapp
php artisan migrate

If successful, the default Laravel tables will be created in laraveldb.

10. Install Git

Install Git for project version control:

sudo apt install git -y
git --version

Configure identity:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Initialize repository in the project:

cd /var/www/laravelapp
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial Laravel project setup"

11. Install Visual Studio Code

Install VS Code:

wget 'https://code.visualstudio.com/sha/download?build=stable&os=linux-deb-x64' -O code.deb
sudo dpkg -i code.deb
sudo apt install -f

To improve productivity, install the following extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X → search → Install):

• PHP Intelephense – IntelliSense for PHP
• Laravel Artisan – Run Artisan commands directly from VS Code
• Laravel Blade Snippets – Snippets & syntax highlighting for Blade templates
• Laravel Extra Intellisense – Auto-completion for Laravel helpers
• DotENV – Syntax highlighting for .env
• GitLens – Enhanced Git integration

Opening Laravel Project in VS Code

Navigate to the project folder:

cd /var/www/laravelapp
code .

Alternatively, open VS Code → File → Open Folder → select /var/www/laravelapp.

12. Test Laravel Application

Access in the browser:

https://laravel.local

Add a simple route in routes/web.php:

Route::get('/hello', function () {
return "Hello, Laravel with Apache, MariaDB, SSL, and VS Code!";
});

Open:

https://laravel.local/hello

With the steps above, we have built a complete and modern Laravel development environment on Ubuntu:

• Apache with mkcert SSL → the application runs on a secure local domain https://laravel.local.
• PHP 8.3 (Ondřej PPA) → latest PHP version with full support for Laravel 10.
• MariaDB → a lightweight and reliable open-source relational database.
• Composer + Laravel → dependency management and a leading PHP framework.
• Visual Studio Code + Laravel Extensions → a productive and comfortable coding experience with auto-completion, snippets, Artisan commands, and Git integration.

With this setup, you can not only build simple Laravel applications but also prepare for larger-scale projects. This environment reflects modern development best practices with a server, database, SSL, and a workflow similar to production.