---
title: Getting Started
type: index
weight: 2
---
## Requirements
- [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads)
- [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker/) `>= 1.12`
## Installation
Choose the setup the best suits your needs.
- [A) Setup for Single Project](#A)
- [A.1) Already have a PHP project](#A1)
- [A.2) Don't have a PHP project yet](#A2)
- [B) Setup for Multiple Projects](#B)
### A) Setup for Single Project
> (Follow these steps if you want a separate Docker environment for each project)
### A.1) Already have a PHP project:
> (Follow these steps if you already have a PHP project, and all you need is an environment to run it)
1 - Clone laradock on your project root directory:
```bash
git submodule add https://github.com/Laradock/laradock.git
```
**Notes:**
- If you are not using Git yet for your project, you can use `git clone` instead of `git submodule `.
- Note 2: To keep track of your Laradock changes, between your projects and also keep Laradock updated. [Check this](#keep-tracking-Laradock)
Your folder structure should look like this:
```
- project-A
- laradock-A
- project-B
- laradock-B
```
(It's important to rename the folders differently in each project)
### A.2) Don't have a PHP project yet:
> (Follow these steps if you don't have a PHP project yet, and you need an environment to create the project)
1 - Clone this repository anywhere on your machine:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
```
Your folder structure should look like this:
```
- laradock
- Project-Z
```
2 - Edit the `docker-compose.yml` file to map to your project directory once you have it (example: `- ../Project-Z:/var/www`).
3 - Stop and re-run your docker-compose command for the changes to take place.
```
docker-compose stop && docker-compose up -d XXXX YYYY ZZZZ ....
```
### B) Setup for Multiple Projects:
> (Follow these steps if you want a single Docker environment for all project)
1 - Clone this repository anywhere on your machine:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
```
2 - Edit the `docker-compose.yml` (or the `.env`) file to map to your projects directories:
```
applications:
volumes:
- ../project1/:/var/www/project1
- ../project2/:/var/www/project2
```
3 - You can access all sites by visiting `http://localhost/project1/public` and `http://localhost/project2/public` but of course that's not very useful so let's setup NGINX quickly.
4 - Go to `nginx/sites` and copy `sample.conf.example` to `project1.conf` then to `project2.conf`
5 - Open the `project1.conf` file and edit the `server_name` and the `root` as follow:
```
server_name project1.dev;
root /var/www/project1/public;
```
Do the same for each project `project2.conf`, `project3.conf`,...
6 - Add the domains to the **hosts** files.
```
127.0.0.1 project1.dev
```
7 - Create your project Databases. Right now you have to do it manually by entering your DB container, until we automate it soon.
## Usage
**Read Before starting:**
If you are using **Docker Toolbox** (VM), do one of the following:
- Upgrade to Docker [Native](https://www.docker.com/products/docker) for Mac/Windows (Recommended). Check out [Upgrading Laradock](#upgrading-laradock)
- Use Laradock v3.* (Visit the `Laradock-ToolBox` [Branch](https://github.com/laradock/laradock/tree/Laradock-ToolBox)).
>**Warning:** If you used an older version of Laradock it's highly recommended to rebuild the containers you need to use [see how you rebuild a container](#Build-Re-build-Containers) in order to prevent as much errors as possible.
1 - Run Containers: *(Make sure you are in the `laradock` folder before running the `docker-compose` commands).*
**Example:** Running NGINX and MySQL:
```bash
docker-compose up -d nginx mysql
```
**Note**: The `workspace` and `php-fpm` will run automatically in most of the cases, so no need to specify them in the `up` command. If you couldn't find them running then you need specify them as follow: `docker-compose up -d nginx php-fpm mysql workspace`.
You can select your own combination of Containers form the list below:
`nginx`, `hhvm`, `php-fpm`, `mysql`, `redis`, `postgres`, `mariadb`, `neo4j`, `mongo`, `apache2`, `caddy`, `memcached`, `beanstalkd`, `beanstalkd-console`, `rabbitmq`, `beanstalkd-console`, `workspace`, `phpmyadmin`, `aerospike`, `pgadmin`, `elasticsearch`, `rethinkdb`, `postgres-postgis`, `certbot`, `mailhog`, `minio` and more...!
*(Please note that sometimes we forget to update the docs, so check the `docker-compose.yml` file to see an updated list of all available containers).*
2 - Enter the Workspace container, to execute commands like (Artisan, Composer, PHPUnit, Gulp, ...).
```bash
docker-compose exec workspace bash
```
Alternatively, for Windows PowerShell users: execute the following command to enter any running container:
```bash
docker exec -it {workspace-container-id} bash
```
**Note:** You can add `--user=laradock` to have files created as your host's user. Example:
```shell
docker-compose exec --user=laradock workspace bash
```
*You can change the PUID (User id) and PGID (group id) variables from the `docker-compose.yml` or the `.env`)*
3 - Edit your project configurations.
Open your `.env` file and set the `DB_HOST` to `mysql`:
```env
DB_HOST=mysql
```
*If you want to install Laravel as PHP project, see [How to Install Laravel in a Docker Container](#Install-Laravel).*
4 - Open your browser and visit your localhost address `http://localhost/`.