How to Install Laravel PHP Framework on Rocky Linux 8

---

Laravel is a modern PHP framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, providing a clean and elegant syntax for building web applications.

Prerequisites

---

• Rocky Linux 8 server.

• SELinux set to permissive mode.

Install Required Packages

---

Installs essential tools and utilities required to set up Laravel.

dnf update -y
dnf install -y epel-release dnf-utils unzip curl git

Enable Remi Repository for PHP

---

Enables the Remi repository to install the latest PHP version and required extensions.

dnf install -y https://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-8.rpm
dnf module reset php -y
dnf module enable php:remi-8.2 -y
dnf install -y php php-cli php-common php-mysqlnd php-zip php-gd php-mbstring php-curl php-xml php-bcmath

Install and Configure MariaDB (MySQL)

---

Installs MariaDB, starts the service, and ensures it runs at boot.

dnf install -y mariadb-server mariadb
systemctl start mariadb
systemctl enable mariadb

Secure MariaDB Installation

Secures MariaDB by prompting for root password, removing anonymous users, disabling remote root login, and dropping the test database.

mysql_secure_installation

Create Laravel Database and User

Creates a new database and user for the Laravel application.

mysql -u root -p

Create database, users for laravel configuration,

CREATE DATABASE laravelapp;
CREATE USER 'laraveluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'Strong_Password_Here';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON laravelapp.* TO 'laraveluser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Install Composer

---

Installs Composer, a dependency manager required for Laravel.

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

Install Laravel

---

Downloads and sets up the latest Laravel project in /var/www/laravelapp.

cd /var/www/
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravelapp

*Configure Database in Laravel

---

Updates .env to connect Laravel with the configured MySQL database.

vi /var/www/laravelapp/.env

UncommUpdate the following:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravelapp
DB_USERNAME=laraveluser
DB_PASSWORD=Strong_Password_Here

Note: Replace Strong_Password_Here with actual strong password

Run the command below to clear, migrate the database and populate tables with sample data.

cd /var/www/laravelapp
php artisan config:clear
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:clear
sudo -u apache php artisan migrate
sudo -u apache php artisan db:seed

Set Correct Permissions

---

Assigns ownership to Apache and sets appropriate permissions for storage and cache.

chown -R apache:apache /var/www/laravelapp
chmod -R 775 /var/www/laravelapp/storage
chmod -R 775 /var/www/laravelapp/bootstrap/cache
touch /var/www/laravelapp/storage/logs/laravel.log
chown apache:apache /var/www/laravelapp/storage/logs/laravel.log
chmod 666 /var/www/laravelapp/storage/logs/laravel.log

Configure Apache Virtual Host

---

After installing Laravel, create a new Apache virtual host configuration for Laravel. Use any local or random domain, which can be configured later. Create the configuration file /etc/httpd/conf.d/laravel.conf using the nano editor.

nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/laravel.conf

Creates an Apache virtual host file to serve Laravel from the public directory.

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName laravel.domainhere.info
    DocumentRoot /var/www/laravelapp/public

    <Directory /var/www/laravelapp>
        AllowOverride All
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/laravel_error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/laravel_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Note: Replace laravel.domainhere.info with actual domain name

Enable Rewrite Module and Restart Apache

Enables .htaccess overrides required for Laravel routing.

sed -i 's/None/All/g' /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
systemctl restart httpd

Configure Firewall

---

Opens HTTP and HTTPS ports to allow web traffic.

firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=https
firewall-cmd --reload

Optional: Allow Custom SSH Port

If you’re using a custom SSH port, this allows incoming traffic.

firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-port=<your-port>/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

Note: Replace with actual port

Verify and Fix SELinux

---

Allows Apache to write to Laravel directories when SELinux is enabled.

sestatus

If SELinux is enforcing:

chcon -R -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t /var/www/laravelapp/storage
chcon -R -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t /var/www/laravelapp/bootstrap/cache

Clear and Cache Laravel Configuration

Clears and caches Laravel’s configuration and routes to optimize performance.

cd /var/www/laravelapp
php artisan config:clear
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:clear

Restart Apache and MySQL

To ensures that all changes take effect properly.

systemctl restart httpd
systemctl restart mariadb

Accessing Laravel Dashboard

---

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://laravel.domainhere.info

Note: Replace laravel.domainhere.info with actual domain name

You should see the default Laravel welcome page if everything is confYou have successfully installed and configured Laravel on Rocky Linux 8. Your application is now ready for development. Access your Laravel project in the browser and start building powerful web applications with ease. 🚀igured correctly.

Done, You have successfully installed and configured Laravel on Rocky Linux 8. Your application is now ready for development. Access your Laravel project in the browser and start building powerful web applications with ease. 🚀