Laravel Docker Setup

Overview

This project demonstrates how to set up a Laravel application with Docker, integrating essential services like MySQL, Redis, and Nginx. It uses Docker Compose to orchestrate the environment, making development, testing, and deployment consistent and straightforward.

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Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine.
• A .env file configured for the Laravel application.
• Basic familiarity with Docker and Laravel.

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Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository_url>
cd <repository_folder>

2. Configure Environment Variables

Ensure the .env file is properly configured for Laravel and Docker:

.env Example:

APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_KEY=base64:YOUR_APP_KEY

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=secure_password

QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PORT=6379

3. Build and Start Services

Run the following command to build and start the services:

docker-compose up --build

Services and Ports

Service	Container Name	Port
Laravel API	api	N/A
Nginx	api-web	8080
MySQL	api-db	3306
Redis	api-redis	6379
phpMyAdmin	api-phpmyadmin	8081

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File Structure

.
WorkSpace Directory 
├── docker-setup              # Custom Docker setup files
│   ├── php                   # PHP-specific configurations
│   │   ├── Dockerfile        # PHP Dockerfile
│   │   └── local.ini         # Custom PHP configuration
│   ├── mysql                 # MySQL setup
│   │   ├── init.sql          # SQL script for database initialization
│   │   └── my.cnf            # Custom MySQL configurations
│   └── nginx                 # Nginx setup
│   │   └── api.conf          # Nginx virtual host configuration
│   ├── docker-compose.yml        # Defines services and configurations
├── emr-php                   # any Laravel application code (mounted as a volume)
└── README.md                 # Documentation (this file)

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Key Features

• Environment Variables: Configure application settings without modifying code.
• Health Checks: Ensures services are running correctly using Docker's HEALTHCHECK.
• Volumes: Persist data for MySQL and mount application code for live development.
• Service Isolation: Separate containers for each service (API, database, cache, web server).

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Common Commands

Stop and Remove Containers

docker-compose down

View Container Logs

docker-compose logs -f

Enter a Running Container

docker exec -it <container_name> bash

Clear Laravel Cache

docker exec -it api php artisan cache:clear

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Best Practices

1. Use Secrets for Sensitive Data: Store credentials securely using Docker secrets.
2. Database Backups: Regularly back up your MySQL data from the db-data volume.
3. Resource Optimization: Tune PHP-FPM, Nginx, and MySQL configurations for better performance.
4. Health Checks: Ensure services are healthy using Docker's HEALTHCHECK directives.
5. Logs and Monitoring: Use tools like Datadog or ELK stack to monitor container logs and performance.

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Troubleshooting

Database Connection Issues

• Ensure the .env file matches the MySQL container credentials.
• Check the MySQL container logs for errors:

  docker logs api-db

Permission Issues

• Ensure proper permissions for the mounted Laravel code (emr-php).
• Set ownership to www-data for Laravel files:

  docker exec -it api chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html

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Contributing

Feel free to submit pull requests for improvements or report issues on the GitHub repository.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.