Laravel Setup Guide on Linux (Zsh-Based)

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure your system has the following installed:

• PHP 8.1 or higher (including extensions like mbstring, curl, openssl, pdo, etc.)

• Composer (dependency manager for PHP)

• Git

• Zsh shell (you’re already using it)

Install them (on Debian/Ubuntu-based distros):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-bcmath php-curl php-zip unzip curl git zsh

💡 Tip: You can check PHP version with php -v and Composer version with composer -V.

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Step 1: Install Laravel Installer Globally

Run this command:

composer global require laravel/installer

This installs the Laravel installer in the Composer global directory.

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Step 2: Add Composer's Global Bin to Your PATH

Your global Laravel command is located at:

/home/your-username/.config/composer/vendor/bin

To make the laravel command available system-wide, add this path to your ~/.zshrc.

1. Open .zshrc:

    nano ~/.zshrc
   

2. Add the following line at the end:

    export PATH="$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin:$PATH"
   

3. Save and exit: CTRL + O, Enter, then CTRL + X.

4. Reload your terminal config:

    source ~/.zshrc
   

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Step 3: Verify Laravel Installer

Now confirm it's working:

laravel --version

You should see:

Laravel Installer 5.16.0

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Step 4: Create a New Laravel Project

Navigate to your development directory and run:

laravel new project-name

Example:

cd ~/projects
laravel new example-app

This will create a new Laravel app in ~/projects/example-app.

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Step 5: Serve the Application (Local Dev Server)

You can start Laravel's built-in development server:

cd example-app
php artisan serve

By default, it runs at:
📍 http://localhost:8000

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Optional: Run Laravel with Sail (Docker)

If you prefer a Docker-based dev environment:

1. Navigate to your Laravel app folder:

    cd example-app
   

2. Install Sail:

    composer require laravel/sail --dev
   

3. Generate Sail files:

    php artisan sail:install
   

4. Start Sail:

    ./vendor/bin/sail up
   

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📌 Bonus Tips

• Run composer install after cloning a Laravel project.

• Set correct permissions for storage/ and bootstrap/cache/:

    sudo chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache
  

• Use .env to configure your database, email, etc.

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📎 Common Commands

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