LaraEnv Documentation
LaraEnv is a native Windows development environment for PHP, Laravel, WordPress and Node — Nginx/Apache/Caddy, MySQL/PostgreSQL, Redis, Mailpit, multiple PHP and Node versions, an embedded terminal, an SSH manager, a cron scheduler, and SSH deployments with locally stored configuration, in one native app.
No WSL. No Docker. No Electron. It runs directly on Windows on top of WebView2.
The desktop source is open source under Apache-2.0. Local features, including SSH deployments and presets, need no LaraEnv account, plan or API validation. Cloud integration is optional and starts disabled.
Where to start
- New here? Read Introduction, then Installation and First-time setup.
- Daily driver? Jump to Projects, Site Doctor, the Terminal, or Source control.
- Going to production? See Remote deployments and Deploy presets. Their local mode needs an SSH host, without a LaraEnv account.
- Looking something up? The Reference section has every path, port and config key.
How the docs are organized
| Section | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Install, first launch, and how the C:\laraenv\ folder is laid out. |
| Dashboard & Services | Starting/stopping services, system metrics, and service tuning. |
| Projects | Creating and configuring Laravel / WordPress / Node / static sites. |
| Runtimes | Automatic PHP and Node detection, multiple versions, PHP extensions, Composer. |
| Terminal & Command Center | The embedded terminal, workspaces, and the global command palette. |
| SSH | SSH hosts, key generation, and the SFTP browser. |
| Tools | The installer catalog, cron jobs, ports, and local MCP access. |
| Deployments & Cloud | Local SSH deployments and presets, plus optional hosted accounts, billing and encrypted sync. |
| Reference | File paths, ports, and the full config.json schema. |
| Help | Troubleshooting, contributing, and the changelog. |
These guides describe the current public desktop source. Release 0.5.7 and older screenshots can predate the removal of local account and plan gates. This documentation update does not publish a new official binary. Check the selected release notes or follow the source build guide. Historical changelogs describe their original releases.