First Laravel application - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - First Laravel application

Install Laravel

↓

Create Project Folder

↓

Run Development Server

↓

Open Browser

↓

See Welcome Page

↓

Modify Route

↓

Refresh Browser

↓

See Custom Message

This flow shows the steps to create and run your first Laravel app, from installation to seeing your custom page in the browser.

Execution Sample

Laravel

php artisan serve

// In routes/web.php
Route::get('/', function () {
    return 'Hello, Laravel!';
});

Starts Laravel server and sets a route to show a simple greeting on the homepage.

Execution Table

Step	Action	File/Command	Result/Output
1	Install Laravel via Composer	composer create-project laravel/laravel myapp	Laravel project created in 'myapp' folder
2	Navigate to project folder	cd myapp	Ready to run server
3	Start development server	php artisan serve	Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8000
4	Open browser at server URL	http://127.0.0.1:8000	Laravel welcome page displayed
5	Edit route in routes/web.php	Route::get('/', function () { return 'Hello, Laravel!'; });	Homepage route returns custom text
6	Refresh browser	http://127.0.0.1:8000	Page shows 'Hello, Laravel!'
7	Stop server	Ctrl+C	Server stopped
8	Exit	-	End of session

💡 Server stopped and no further actions

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 4	After Step 6	Final
Server Status	Stopped	Running	Running	Stopped
Route '/' Response	Default welcome page	Default welcome page	'Hello, Laravel!'	'Hello, Laravel!'

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the browser show the default Laravel welcome page before changing the route?

Because before editing routes/web.php, Laravel uses its default route which shows the welcome page (see execution_table step 4).

What happens when you refresh the browser after changing the route?

The browser requests the homepage again, and Laravel returns the new response defined in routes/web.php (execution_table step 6).

Why do we need to stop the server with Ctrl+C?

Because 'php artisan serve' runs a local server process that keeps running until manually stopped (execution_table step 7).

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the server status after step 4?

A Stopped

B Running

C Starting

D Unknown

💡 Hint

Check the 'Server Status' variable in variable_tracker after step 4

At which step does the homepage start showing 'Hello, Laravel!'?

A Step 4

B Step 5

C Step 6

D Step 7

💡 Hint

Look at execution_table rows for browser refresh and output

If you do not run 'php artisan serve', what will happen when you open the browser at http://127.0.0.1:8000?

A Browser shows error or cannot connect

B Laravel welcome page shows

C Custom route message shows

D Page loads slowly

💡 Hint

Check execution_table step 3 where server starts before browser can connect

Concept Snapshot

First Laravel Application Quick Steps:
1. Install Laravel with Composer.
2. Navigate to project folder.
3. Run 'php artisan serve' to start server.
4. Open browser at http://127.0.0.1:8000.
5. Edit routes/web.php to change homepage.
6. Refresh browser to see changes.
7. Stop server with Ctrl+C.

Full Transcript

To create your first Laravel application, you start by installing Laravel using Composer. Then you go into the project folder and run the built-in server with 'php artisan serve'. Opening the browser at the server address shows the default Laravel welcome page. You can change what the homepage shows by editing the route in routes/web.php. After saving, refreshing the browser shows your custom message. When done, stop the server with Ctrl+C. This process helps you see how Laravel serves pages and how routing works.