Laravel 11 is the latest version of the popular PHP framework, offering enhanced performance, security, and developer-friendly features. If you’re looking to install and set up Laravel 11 on your local development environment, this step-by-step guide will walk you through the process. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, follow these instructions to get started with Laravel 11 seamlessly.

Prerequisites

Before installing Laravel 11, ensure that your system meets the following requirements:

• PHP 8.2 or higher
• Composer (latest version)
• Database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, or MariaDB)
• Web server (Apache or Nginx)
• Node.js and NPM (for frontend assets, optional)

Step 1: Install Composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP that is required to install Laravel.

Windows:

1. Download Composer from getcomposer.org
2. Run the installer and follow the setup instructions.

macOS/Linux:

Run the following command in your terminal:

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Verify installation:

composer -V

Step 2: Install Laravel 11

Once Composer is installed, you can create a new Laravel 11 project using the following command:

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-laravel-app

Alternatively, you can use the Laravel installer:

composer global require laravel/installer
laravel new my-laravel-app

Replace my-laravel-app with your desired project name.

Step 3: Navigate to the Project Directory

After the installation is complete, move into your Laravel project directory:

cd my-laravel-app

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

Laravel uses an .env file for configuration. Open the .env file and set up your database connection:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_database_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password

Ensure that you have created the database in MySQL before proceeding.

Step 5: Serve the Laravel Application

To start the Laravel development server, run:

php artisan serve

This will start the server at http://127.0.0.1:8000/. Open this URL in your browser to see your Laravel 11 project running.

Step 6: Run Database Migrations

To create the necessary database tables, run:

php artisan migrate

Step 7: Set Up Authentication (Optional)

Laravel 11 comes with Breeze for authentication. Install it using:

composer require laravel/breeze --dev
php artisan breeze:install
npm install && npm run dev
php artisan migrate

Learn About the App Directory

Understanding Laravel’s folder structure is essential for efficient development. Learn more about the app directory here.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and set up Laravel 11 on your localhost. You can now start building your Laravel applications efficiently. If you run into any issues, refer to the official Laravel documentation for more details.