Installing Laravel on macOS

This article explains how to install the latest Laravel framework on macOS, set up a local development server, and create a simple Laravel application.

Installing PHP, Laravel, and Composer

On your Mac, open the Terminal app by going to Finder - Applications - Utilities folder, and clicking on the Terminal app icon.

To install PHP, the Laravel installer, and Composer, we use the official remote installation script. Paste and execute the following command in your Terminal:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://php.new/install/mac/8.5)"
A Terminal window running the Laravel installation script.

Manually adding the path

In case the installer could not automatically add the path to Laravel's Herd-lite tool, we need to add the path manually.

Create (or open an existing) .zshrc configuration file:

nano ~/.zshrc

Paste the following text into your .zshrc configuration file:

export PATH="/Users/your_username/.config/herd-lite/bin:$PATH"

This text adds the path to the Laravel Herd-lite utility.

Important: Replace your_username with your actual username on your macOS machine.

Save the file by pressing Ctrl + O, and press Enter. Exit the text editor by pressing Ctrl + X.

Restart the Terminal app; this step is important, please do not skip it.

Installing Node.js

Installing Node.js is optional, but highly recommended if you plan to build and compile CSS and JavaScript assets in your Laravel application.

Install the Node Version Manager (nvm)

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.5/install.sh | bash

Restart the Terminal app. Install the latest (long term support) Node.js version using the previously installed Node Version Manager (nvm):

nvm install --lts

Restart the Terminal app to update your paths.

Creating a Laravel project

To create a new Laravel project, execute the following command in the Terminal:

laravel new my-laravel-app

This command creates a new Laravel project with all the dependencies and places it iside a newly-created my-laravel-app/ folder.

A Terminal app showing the code for creating a Laravel project.

Note: On macOS, the above command might trigger the installation of command-line utilities with the following window:

Command line tools installation prompt on macOS.

You do not have to install these tools for now, and you can click Cancel.

In the window that asks: "Do you want to use a starter kit?", choose No and press Enter.

A Terminal window showing the Laravel starter kit dialog.

In the window that asks: "Which frontend stack do you want to build on?", choose Blade and press Enter.

A Terminal app showing the Laravel's frontend stack dialog.

Our Laravel application, along with all its dependencies, has been created and placed inside the my-laravel-app/ folder. If the application was created successfully, you should see the following window:

A Terminal app showing successful creation of a Laravel app.

Creating another Laravel project

In the future, to create another, separate Laravel project, in our Terminal, we write:

laravel new other-laravel-app

This command creates another, separate Laravel project and places it inside the other-laravel-app/ folder. Replace other-laravel-app/ name with the folder name of your choice. This allows you to have multiple separate Laravel projects on your machine.

Troubleshooting a stuck installer

During the creation of the Laravel project, if the Laravel installer gets stuck, try the following steps:

  1. Press Ctrl + C to interrupt the installer.
  2. Delete the Laravel project folder:
rm -rf my-laravel-app
  1. Re-run the installation script once again:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://php.new/install/mac/8.5)"

  1. Restart the Terminal application.

  2. Create the Laravel project again:

laravel new my-laravel-app

Starting a local server

To start your local web server, navigate to the project's folder:

cd my-laravel-app

And start a simple local server using the following command:

php artisan serve

This command uses the Laravel's Artisan command-line tool to start a simple local development server with the address of http://127.0.0.1:8000. The same local server address can be accessed via the following URL: http://localhost:8000.

Open a web browser, enter the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000 and press Enter, and you should see the default Laravel welcome screen:

The default Laravel application welcome screen in a Safari browser on macOS.

The entire application itself is stored inside the my-laravel-app/ folder and is accessible and running via the http://127.0.0.1:8000 local server address.

To stop the local server, in your Terminal app, press Ctrl + C.

Stopping the development server for the Laravel app.

If you previously opted to install the Node.js, you can start a local server for your Laravel app using the following command:

composer run dev

This command will also start the local server with the http://127.0.0.1:8000 address, and the so-called Vite server, which allows you to compile and build CSS and JavaScript assets for your Laravel application.

Summary

In this tutorial, we learned the following:

  • Install the Laravel installer, the latest 13.x Laravel framework, and prerequisites (PHP and Composer) on macOS.
  • Install the optional Node.js framework.
  • Create and set up a new Laravel project.
  • Start a local server and access the Laravel application in a browser.