Build a Complete Dockerized Laravel Environment with PHP, Nginx, MySQL, Redis and Mailpit

Setting up a Laravel development environment manually can take a significant amount of time. Installing PHP, Composer, Node.js, MySQL, Redis and a web server separately also becomes inconvenient when working on multiple projects.

That is why I created a Docker-based starter kit for Laravel projects.

The starter kit provides a complete development environment with:

PHP 8.4-FPM
Nginx 1.28.1
MySQL 8.4
Redis 7
Node.js 22
Composer 2
Mailpit
phpMyAdmin
Laravel 13

All services are managed through Docker Compose.

---

Project Structure

The repository has the following structure:

text

laravel-docker-starterkit/
├── docker/
│   └── services/
│       ├── app/
│       │   ├── app.dockerfile
│       │   └── entrypoint.sh
│       └── web/
│           ├── web.dockerfile
│           └── vhost.conf
├── src/
│   ├── app/
│   ├── bootstrap/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── database/
│   ├── public/
│   ├── resources/
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── .env.example
│   ├── composer.json
│   └── package.json
├── docker-compose.yml
└── local.sh

The src directory contains the Laravel application.

The docker directory contains the Docker configuration for the application and web server.

---

Docker Architecture

The starter kit uses separate containers for the main application layers:

text

Browser
                       │
                       ▼
                ┌─────────────┐
                │    Nginx    │
                │   :8000     │
                └──────┬──────┘
                       │
                       │ FastCGI
                       ▼
                ┌─────────────┐
                │ PHP-FPM 8.4 │
                │    app      │
                └──────┬──────┘
                       │
          ┌────────────┼────────────┐
          ▼            ▼            ▼
       MySQL         Redis        Mailpit

Nginx receives HTTP requests and forwards PHP requests to the PHP-FPM container through app:9000.

The Laravel application communicates with MySQL, Redis and Mailpit through the Docker network.

---

PHP Application Container

The application container is based on:

text

php:8.4-fpm-bookworm

It contains the PHP extensions required by the application, including:

bcmath
gd
intl
mbstring
opcache
pcntl
pdo_mysql
zip
Redis

The container also includes:

Composer 2
Node.js 22
npm

This means that PHP and Node.js do not need to be installed directly on the host machine.

The container working directory is:

text

/var/www

and the local:

text

./src

directory is mounted there.

---

Nginx

Nginx 1.28.1 is used as the web server.

The Laravel public directory is configured as the web root:

text

/var/www/public

PHP requests are forwarded to PHP-FPM:

nginx

fastcgi_pass app:9000;

Here, app is the Docker Compose service name.

The default host port is:

text

Therefore, the application is available at:

text

http://localhost:8000

---

MySQL

MySQL 8.4 is used as the database server.

The Docker Compose service is named:

text

database

Inside the Docker network, Laravel connects to MySQL using the service name rather than localhost:

env

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=database
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=laravel
DB_PASSWORD=secret

MySQL data is stored in a Docker named volume, so recreating containers does not automatically remove the database data.

---

Redis

Redis 7 is used for caching and other Laravel-related workloads.

The Laravel configuration can point to the Redis service using:

env

REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379

Redis also uses a persistent Docker volume.

This allows the application to use Redis for cache, sessions, queues or other supported Laravel features.

---

Mailpit

Mailpit is included for local email development.

Instead of sending emails to real recipients, Laravel sends them to Mailpit where they can be inspected through a browser.

Laravel configuration:

env

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailpit
MAIL_PORT=1025

The Mailpit web interface is available at:

text

http://localhost:8025

and the SMTP server listens on:

text

localhost:1025

This is especially useful for testing registration emails, password resets and notifications during development.

---

phpMyAdmin

An optional phpMyAdmin service is also included for database management.

It is available through the Docker Compose tools profile.

Default URL:

text

http://localhost:8888

This provides a convenient browser-based interface for managing the MySQL database.

The main Laravel environment does not depend on phpMyAdmin, so it can be omitted when it is not needed.

---

Environment Configuration

First create the Laravel environment file:

bash

cp src/.env.example src/.env

Then configure Laravel to communicate with the Docker services:

env

APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=database
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=laravel
DB_PASSWORD=secret

REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailpit
MAIL_PORT=1025

One important detail is that localhost should not be used as the database host from inside the Laravel container.

Docker services communicate using their Compose service names:

text

database
redis
mailpit

---

First Boot

Clone the repository:

bash

git clone https://github.com/mirrrjr/laravel-docker-starterkit.git

cd laravel-docker-starterkit

Create the environment file:

bash

cp src/.env.example src/.env

Then run:

bash

./local.sh init

The init command:

Builds the Docker images.
Starts the containers.
Installs Composer dependencies.
Generates the Laravel application key.
Runs the database migrations.
Installs npm dependencies.

The first boot may take some time because Docker needs to build images and download the required layers.

Once everything is ready, open:

text

http://localhost:8000

---

The `local.sh` Helper

The repository includes local.sh as a helper for common Docker and Laravel commands.

Start the environment:

bash

./local.sh up

Stop and remove containers:

bash

./local.sh down

Restart the environment:

bash

./local.sh restart

Rebuild the Docker environment:

bash

./local.sh rebuild

View logs:

bash

./local.sh logs

View logs for a specific service:

bash

./local.sh logs app

Enter the application container:

bash

./local.sh shell

Run an Artisan command:

bash

./local.sh artisan migrate

Run Composer:

bash

./local.sh composer install

Run npm:

bash

./local.sh npm install

The main purpose of this helper is to avoid repeatedly typing long docker compose exec commands.

---

Frontend Development

The application container includes Node.js 22 and npm.

Install dependencies:

bash

./local.sh npm install

Start the Vite development server:

bash

./local.sh npm run dev

Build frontend assets:

bash

./local.sh npm run build

Laravel frontend assets are managed through Vite.

---

Working with the Database

Run migrations:

bash

./local.sh artisan migrate

Reset the database:

bash

./local.sh artisan migrate:fresh

Reset and seed:

bash

./local.sh artisan migrate:fresh --seed

Open Laravel Tinker:

bash

./local.sh artisan tinker

All of these commands can be executed without installing PHP directly on the host system.

---

Docker Service Ports

The default ports are:

Service	Host port	Container port
---------------	--------:	-------------:
Laravel / Nginx	`8000`	`80`
MySQL	`3306`	`3306`
Redis	`6379`	`6379`
Mailpit SMTP	`1025`	`1025`
Mailpit Web	`8025`	`8025`
phpMyAdmin	`8888`	`80`

Ports can be changed through the environment configuration.

For example:

env

APP_PORT=8080

would make the application available at:

text

http://localhost:8080

---

Why Docker?

The main advantage of this setup is that the development environment is isolated from the host operating system.

You do not need to install and configure:

text

PHP
MySQL
Redis
Node.js
Composer
Nginx

separately for every project.

Docker keeps the required environment together with the project.

Another developer can clone the repository and use the same PHP, Node.js, MySQL and Redis setup.

This helps to:

reduce environment inconsistencies;
simplify dependency management;
shorten project setup time;
make onboarding easier;
keep development environments reproducible.

---

Conclusion

The Laravel Docker Starter Kit provides a ready-to-use development environment for Laravel applications.

The main stack is:

text

Laravel
   │
   ├── PHP 8.4-FPM
   ├── Nginx 1.28
   ├── MySQL 8.4
   ├── Redis 7
   ├── Node.js 22
   ├── Mailpit
   └── phpMyAdmin

The goal is simple: start Laravel development without spending time manually configuring the entire local environment.

Clone the repository, configure .env, and run:

bash

./local.sh init

Your Dockerized Laravel development environment is then ready to use.

Build a Complete Dockerized Laravel Environment with PHP, Nginx, MySQL, Redis and Mailpit

Project Structure

Docker Architecture

PHP Application Container

Nginx

MySQL

Redis

Mailpit

phpMyAdmin

Environment Configuration

First Boot

The `local.sh` Helper

Frontend Development

Working with the Database

Docker Service Ports

Why Docker?

Conclusion

Next Post

Universal OBS Studio Setup for Any Laptop or PC (Video and Audio) →

Build a Complete Dockerized Laravel Environment with PHP, Nginx, MySQL, Redis and Mailpit

Project Structure

Docker Architecture

PHP Application Container

Nginx

MySQL

Redis

Mailpit

phpMyAdmin

Environment Configuration

First Boot

The local.sh Helper

Frontend Development

Working with the Database

Docker Service Ports

Why Docker?

Conclusion

Next Post

Universal OBS Studio Setup for Any Laptop or PC (Video and Audio) →

The `local.sh` Helper