Install Laravel on Ubuntu on Windows 11 Using Docker⎘

PROCESS⎘

1. Install WSL (Ubuntu)⎘

• Run PowerShell as Administrator, then:

wsl --install

Follow the prompts to install Ubuntu.

2. Update Ubuntu Packages⎘

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

3. Install PHP 8.2 (or any version you need)⎘

Run the following commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install software-properties-common ca-certificates lsb-release apt-transport-https

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

sudo apt update

sudo apt install php8.2-cli php8.2-common php8.2-mbstring php8.2-xml php8.2-bcmath php8.2-curl php8.2-mysql php8.2-zip php8.2-readline php8.2-gd php8.2-intl php8.2-tokenizer php8.2-soap

4. Download & Install Docker for Windows⎘

• Create an account: https://login.docker.com/u/login
• Download: https://docs.docker.com/desktop/setup/install/windows-install

5. Configure Docker⎘

• Open Docker Desktop
• Go to Settings → Resources → WSL Integration
• ✅ Turn on Ubuntu

6. Test Docker via Ubuntu Command Line:⎘

To Check if Docker is installed correctly, run:

docker --version

To test Docker by creating a cxample image (for testing only), run:

docker pull hello-world

A new 'hello world' image has been created inside of your Docker image

If you get permission denied, run:

docker login -u yourDockerUsername

Then Generate a New Personal Access Token at: https://app.docker.com/settings → Personal Access Tokens → Generate New Token, then re-run the login if needed.

After Re-login and Generating, add user to Docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Then re-open Ubuntu Command Line, and test again, via:

docker pull hello-world

7. Create Main Laravel Projects Directory⎘

In Ubuntu Command Line, go to your home directory:

cd ~

Create a MAIN FOLDER for your Laravel projects:

mkdir LaravelProjects

Why this folder? LaravelProjects will serve as your main workspace for all Laravel projects, so everything stays organized in one place. You can name it anything or skip this step, but using one dedicated folder is recommended.

To go inside of the LaravelProjects directory, run:

cd LaravelProjects

8. Create a Laravel Project⎘

composer create-project laravel/laravel firstwebsite

To go inside of the project folder, run:

cd firstwebsite

Command Line Tips:

• To go back: cd ..
• To list directories: ls -d */ or type ls

9. Install Laravel Sail⎘

composer require laravel/sail --dev

Next: After the following installation, run:

php artisan sail:install

10. Open Project in VS Code⎘

code .

Trust the folder when prompted.

BUT, Before running our Laravel project in Docker, we need to configure the .env file and set up the database.

11. Configure .env File⎘

Edit your .env:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=mysql
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=firstwebsite
DB_USERNAME=sail
DB_PASSWORD=password

FORWARD_DB_PORT=3308

use 3308 (or any, not 3306) for FORWARD_DB_PORT to avoids conflict with the host’s MySQL when using Docker.

12. Run Migrations⎘

./vendor/bin/sail artisan migrate

13. Verify Database Using GUI⎘

Use DBeaver or MySQL Workbench with the following settings:

Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 3308
User: sail
Password: password

If checking the database fails, run the command ./vendor/bin/sail up -d inside your Laravel project, then check again.

14. Run Laravel Sail⎘

# to start laravel server
./vendor/bin/sail up -d

# or to stop laravel server
./vendor/bin/sail down

# or to verify if running
./vendor/bin/sail ps

15. Access Laravel in Browser⎘

Make sure it’s running:

./vendor/bin/sail up -d

Then open:

• http://localhost
• http://127.0.0.1

DONE!⎘

✅ Done! Laravel is now running inside Docker with Ubuntu on WINDOWS 11.