Create Laravel Project Through Docker — No Need to Install PHP, MySQL, or Apache on Your Local Machine

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create and run a full Laravel project using Docker containers.
That means you won’t have to install PHP, MySQL, or Apache locally on your computer.
By the end of this guide, you’ll have a fully functional Laravel development environment running inside Docker —
isolated, portable, and ready for professional development.
We’ll also integrate Mailpit to test outgoing emails without sending them for real.

Step 1: Install Docker and Composer Image

First, ensure you have Docker installed on your system. Docker is the foundation of this setup — it allows you to run
multiple lightweight containers instead of installing software directly on your computer.
You’ll also need the official Composer Docker image to install Laravel without having to install Composer locally.

Step 2: Create a Project Folder

Create a new directory for your Laravel project and navigate into it using your terminal:

mkdir laravel-docker && cd laravel-docker

Step 3: Create Laravel Project Using Docker Composer

Run the following Docker command to create a fresh Laravel project in your current directory:

docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/app composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .

This command launches a temporary Composer container that downloads and installs Laravel inside your folder.
After completion, you’ll have a ready-to-use Laravel project structure.

Step 4: Create the Docker Compose File

Next, we’ll define the containers for PHP, Nginx, MySQL, and Composer.
Create a file named docker-compose.yml and paste the following configuration:

version: '3.9'

services:
  app:
    image: php:8.4-fpm
    container_name: laravel_app
    working_dir: /var/www/html
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - laravel
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "2222:22"
    command: bash -c "php-fpm"

  composer:
    image: composer:latest
    container_name: laravel_composer
    working_dir: /var/www/html
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www/html
    networks:
      - laravel

  web:
    image: nginx:stable-alpine3.21-perl
    container_name: laravel_nginx
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www/html
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on:
      - app
    networks:
      - laravel

  db:
    image: mysql:8.4
    container_name: laravel_db
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
      MYSQL_DATABASE: laravel
      MYSQL_USER: laravel
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: root
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - laravel

  mailpit:
    image: axllent/mailpit
    container_name: mailpit
    ports:
      - "8025:8025"
      - "1025:1025"
    networks:
      - laravel

networks:
  laravel:

volumes:
  dbdata:
  

This configuration defines five services — app for PHP, web for Nginx, db for MySQL,
composer for dependency management, and mailpit for capturing emails.

Step 5: Create Nginx Configuration File

Create a file named nginx.conf and add this configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name myapp.local;
    root /var/www/html/public;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass app:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}
  

Step 6: Create the Dockerfile

Create a Dockerfile to define how your PHP container will be built and configured:

FROM php:8.4-fpm

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    openssh-server \
    sudo \
    && docker-php-ext-install pdo pdo_mysql \
    && mkdir -p /var/run/sshd

RUN echo 'root:root' | chpasswd

RUN sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
RUN sed -i 's@session\s*required\s*pam_loginuid.so@session optional pam_loginuid.so@g' /etc/pam.d/sshd

EXPOSE 22

CMD ["/usr/sbin/sshd", "-D"]
  

Step 7: Run the Docker Environment

Finally, build and start all containers by running:

docker compose up -d

Docker will automatically build all services. Once complete, visit
http://localhost
to see your Laravel welcome page.

Step 8: Set Up Mailpit for Email Testing

Mailpit is a powerful tool to catch all outgoing emails from your Laravel application.
It’s perfect for testing registration, password resets, and notifications without sending real emails.
In your .env file, update the mail configuration as follows:

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailpit
MAIL_PORT=1025
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=null
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="[email protected]"
MAIL_FROM_NAME="${APP_NAME}"
  

After saving, any email sent via Laravel’s Mail::send() will appear inside Mailpit’s web interface.
Open your browser and go to
http://localhost:8025
to view all test emails.

🎉 Final Result

Congratulations! You now have a complete Laravel development setup with PHP, MySQL, Nginx, Composer, and Mailpit —
all running inside Docker. You don’t need to install or configure any of these tools on your local machine.

This setup ensures a clean, consistent, and portable environment for all developers.
With just a few commands, you can spin up or shut down your environment,
making Laravel development simpler and faster than ever.