How to Install Laravel on AlmaLinux: A Step-by-Step Guide

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks, known for its elegant syntax, scalability, and robust features for building modern web applications. AlmaLinux, a community-driven Linux distribution designed to be an alternative to CentOS, is a perfect server environment for hosting Laravel applications due to its stability and security. If you’re looking to set up Laravel on AlmaLinux, this guide will take you through the process step-by-step.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Step 1: Update Your System
3. Step 2: Install Apache (or Nginx) and PHP
4. Step 3: Install Composer
5. Step 4: Install MySQL (or MariaDB)
6. Step 5: Download and Set Up Laravel
7. Step 6: Configure Apache or Nginx for Laravel
8. Step 7: Verify Laravel Installation
9. Conclusion

Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation process, ensure you have the following:

• A server running AlmaLinux.
• Root or sudo privileges to execute administrative commands.
• A basic understanding of the Linux command line.
• PHP version 8.0 or later (required by Laravel).
• Composer (a dependency manager for PHP).
• A database such as MySQL or MariaDB for your Laravel application.

Step 1: Update Your System

Begin by ensuring your system is up-to-date. Open the terminal and run the following commands:

sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf upgrade -y

This ensures you have the latest security patches and software updates.

Step 2: Install Apache (or Nginx) and PHP

Laravel requires a web server and PHP to function. Apache is a common choice for hosting Laravel, but you can also use Nginx if preferred. For simplicity, we’ll focus on Apache here.

Install Apache

sudo dnf install httpd -y

Start and enable Apache to ensure it runs on boot:

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

Install PHP

Laravel requires PHP 8.0 or later. Install PHP and its required extensions:

sudo dnf install php php-cli php-common php-mysqlnd php-xml php-mbstring php-json php-tokenizer php-curl php-zip -y

After installation, check the PHP version:

php -v

You should see something like:

PHP 8.0.x (cli) (built: ...)

Restart Apache to load PHP modules:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 3: Install Composer

Composer is a crucial dependency manager for PHP and is required to install Laravel.

1. Download the Composer installer:

   php -r "copy('https://getcomposer.org/installer', 'composer-setup.php');"
   

2. Verify the installer integrity:

   php -r "if (hash_file('sha384', 'composer-setup.php') === 'HASH') { echo 'Installer verified'; } else { echo 'Installer corrupt'; unlink('composer-setup.php'); } echo PHP_EOL;"
   

   Replace HASH with the latest hash from the Composer website.

3. Install Composer globally:

   sudo php composer-setup.php --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
   

4. Check Composer installation:

   composer --version
   

Step 4: Install MySQL (or MariaDB)

Laravel requires a database for storing application data. Install MariaDB (a popular MySQL fork) as follows:

1. Install MariaDB:

   sudo dnf install mariadb-server -y
   

2. Start and enable the service:

   sudo systemctl start mariadb
   sudo systemctl enable mariadb
   

3. Secure the installation:

   sudo mysql_secure_installation
   

   Follow the prompts to set a root password, remove anonymous users, disallow remote root login, and remove the test database.

4. Log in to MariaDB to create a Laravel database:

   sudo mysql -u root -p
   

   Run the following commands:

   CREATE DATABASE laravel_db;
   CREATE USER 'laravel_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON laravel_db.* TO 'laravel_user'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;
   

Step 5: Download and Set Up Laravel

1. Navigate to your Apache document root (or create a directory for Laravel):

   cd /var/www
   sudo mkdir laravel-app
   cd laravel-app
   

2. Use Composer to create a new Laravel project:

   composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .
   

3. Set the correct permissions for Laravel:

   sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/laravel-app
   sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/laravel-app/storage /var/www/laravel-app/bootstrap/cache
   

Step 6: Configure Apache for Laravel

Laravel uses the /public directory as its document root. Configure Apache to serve Laravel:

1. Create a new virtual host configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/laravel-app.conf
   

2. Add the following configuration:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName yourdomain.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/laravel-app/public
   
       <Directory /var/www/laravel-app/public>
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   
       ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/laravel-app-error.log
       CustomLog /var/log/httpd/laravel-app-access.log combined
   </VirtualHost>
   

3. Save and exit the file, then enable mod_rewrite:

   sudo dnf install mod_rewrite -y
   sudo systemctl restart httpd
   

4. Test your configuration:

   sudo apachectl configtest
   

Step 7: Verify Laravel Installation

Open your browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain. You should see Laravel’s default welcome page.

If you encounter issues, check the Apache logs:

sudo tail -f /var/log/httpd/laravel-app-error.log

Conclusion

You have successfully installed Laravel on AlmaLinux! This setup provides a robust foundation for building your Laravel applications. From here, you can start developing your project, integrating APIs, configuring additional services, or deploying your application to production.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ve not only set up Laravel but also gained insight into managing a Linux-based web server. With Laravel’s rich ecosystem and AlmaLinux’s stability, your development journey is set for success. Happy coding!