To efficiently work with Laravel, it’s essential to configure the right development environment. Here’s a breakdown of the key components and their setup:
- Code Editor
- XAMPP (Local Server)
- Composer (Dependency Man
Code Editor
Use a reliable code editor like Visual Studio Code, PhpStorm, or Sublime Text for Laravel development. Enhance it with extensions such as Laravel Blade Snippets, Laravel Artisan, and PHP Intelephense to improve code highlighting, auto-completion, and debugging. Configure formatting and linting for PHP to maintain clean and consistent code. A well-setup editor can significantly boost productivity and ease of development.
XAMPP (Local Server)
Install XAMPP, a package that includes Apache, MySQL, and PHP, to set up a local server for Laravel. Ensure the PHP version is 8.0 or higher, as required by Laravel. After installation, launch the XAMPP Control Panel and start Apache and MySQL services. Finally, verify the setup by accessing localhost
in your web browser.
Composer install
- Install Composer: Laravel requires Composer to manage its dependencies.
- Download it from Composer-Setup.exe .