Introduction

Laravel is a popular PHP framework used for developing web applications. Using Docker for installation simplifies the process and ensures that your application runs in a consistent environment. This guide will walk you through installing Laravel with Docker on Ubuntu 22.04, which can be effectively hosted on a Windows VPS UK for optimal performance and scalability.

Prerequisites

• An Ubuntu 22.04 server with root access
• Basic knowledge of Linux commands
• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your server

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your package index and upgrading existing packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Docker and Docker Compose

If you haven’t installed Docker yet, you can install it using the following commands:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common -y
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-ce -y

Start Docker and enable it to run on boot:

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

To install Docker Compose:

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Verify the installation:

docker-compose --version

Step 3: Create a New Laravel Project

Create a directory for your Laravel application:

mkdir ~/laravel-app
cd ~/laravel-app

Next, create a docker-compose.yml file in this directory:

nano docker-compose.yml

Paste the following configuration into the file:

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: php:8.0-fpm
    container_name: laravel_app
    working_dir: /var/www
    volumes:
      - .:/var/www
    networks:
      - laravel-network

  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: laravel_web
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - .:/var/www
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on:
      - app
    networks:
      - laravel-network

networks:
  laravel-network:
    driver: bridge

Next, create an Nginx configuration file:

nano nginx.conf

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;

    root /var/www/public;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_pass app:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Step 4: Install Laravel

Run the following command to start the containers and install Laravel:

docker-compose up -d
docker-compose exec app curl -s https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
docker-compose exec app php composer.phar create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .

Step 5: Access Your Laravel Application

Open your web browser and navigate to http://your_server_ip. You should see the Laravel welcome page, indicating that the installation was successful.

Step 6: Conclusion

You have successfully installed Laravel with Docker on Ubuntu 22.04, providing a robust environment for developing web applications. This setup can greatly benefit from being hosted on a Windows VPS. For additional options, explore various VPS UK Windows solutions, including Windows Virtual Private Server Hosting and Windows VPS Hosting UK for optimal performance.