How to Create a Laravel Project: Step-by-Step Guide

To create a Laravel project, use the composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name command in your terminal. This installs Laravel and sets up the project folder ready for development.

Syntax

The basic command to create a new Laravel project is:

• composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name: This downloads Laravel and installs it into a folder named project-name.
• project-name: Replace this with your desired project folder name.

After installation, you can navigate into the folder and start the development server.

bash

composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name

Example

This example shows how to create a Laravel project named myapp and start the development server.

bash

composer create-project laravel/laravel myapp
cd myapp
php artisan serve

Output

Starting Laravel development server: http://127.0.0.1:8000
[OK] Server running.

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when creating a Laravel project include:

• Not having Composer installed or not added to your system PATH.
• Using an existing folder name that conflicts with the new project folder.
• Not running php artisan serve inside the project folder to start the server.
• Running commands without proper permissions, causing installation failures.

Always ensure Composer is installed and updated before creating a project.

bash

Wrong: composer create-project laravel/laravel
Right: composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name

Quick Reference

Summary tips for creating a Laravel project:

• Install Composer from getcomposer.org.
• Run composer create-project laravel/laravel your-project-name to create the project.
• Navigate into your project folder with cd your-project-name.
• Start the server using php artisan serve.
• Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser to see your Laravel app.

Key Takeaways

Use Composer's create-project command to set up a new Laravel project quickly.

Always specify a project folder name to avoid installation errors.

Navigate into the project folder before running Laravel commands like the development server.

Ensure Composer is installed and updated before starting.

Use php artisan serve to run the Laravel development server locally.