Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to install the latest version of Laravel (as of 2025) on your local development machine. Laravel is a popular PHP web application framework known for its elegant syntax and developer-friendly tools.

🔧 Prerequisites

Before installing Laravel, make sure the following are installed on your system:

✅ 1. PHP 8.1 or higher
Laravel 10+ requires PHP 8.1+. You can check your PHP version with:

php -v

If not installed, visit: https://www.php.net/downloads

✅ 2. Composer
Laravel uses Composer (a PHP dependency manager). Check if it’s installed:

composer -V

If not, install from: https://getcomposer.org/download/

✅ 3. Web Server (Optional for development)
Laravel comes with a built-in dev server.

You can also use Apache or Nginx with MySQL/PostgreSQL if needed.

🚀 Installing Laravel (Latest Version)

🟢 Method 1: Using Laravel Installer

Step 1: Install Laravel Installer Globally via Composer
You have to enable the zip extension from the php.ini file before executing the following command. Ensure Composer’s global bin directory is in your system’s PATH.

composer global require laravel/installer

Step 2: Create a New Laravel Project

laravel new firstapp

This creates a new Laravel project in a folder named firstapp. After running the command, different types of questions will appear. You have to select the correct options based on your Laravel application.

Step 3: Serve Your Application

cd firstapp
php artisan serve

Visit: http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

🟠 Method 2: Using Composer Directly

If you prefer not to install the Laravel installer:

Step 1: Create Project Using Composer

composer create-project laravel/laravel firstapp

This installs the latest Laravel version.

Step 2: Run Development Server

cd firstapp
php artisan serve

⚙️ Optional Configuration (Recommended)

🔹 .env Setup

Laravel uses an .env file for environment config. Most is pre-configured, but you may want to set:

APP_NAME="My Laravel App"
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

🔹 Database Setup (MySQL Example)

1. Make sure MySQL is running.
2. Create a database via phpMyAdmin or command line:
CREATE DATABASE your_database;
3. Update .env with the correct DB credentials.

🧪 Testing the Installation

To confirm Laravel is working:
Open your browser and go to: http://localhost:8000
You should see the Laravel welcome page.

You can also test routes:

// In routes/web.php
Route::get('/hello', function () {
return 'Hello, Laravel!';
});

Visit http://localhost:8000/hello to see the output.

📦 Useful Laravel Commands

php artisan serve #Start local server
php artisan make:controller TestController #Create a controller
php artisan make:model Post -m #Create model and migration
php artisan migrate #Run migrations
php artisan route:list #List all routes

🧹 Troubleshooting

Problem Solution

laravel not found #Ensure ~/.composer/vendor/bin is in your PATH
Permission denied #Try chmod -R 755 your_project
php version too low #Install PHP 8.1 or above

📝 Conclusion

You’ve now installed Laravel and set up your development environment! 🎉
You can now start building modern PHP applications with:

Routing
MVC structure
Authentication
Artisan CLI
Eloquent ORM