What is Laravel Herd? A Detailed Guide with Examples

Introduction:
Laravel Herd is the latest offering from the Laravel ecosystem, designed to provide developers with a seamless local development environment. Similar to tools like Laravel Valet. It combines speed, simplicity, and efficiency to cater to the growing needs of modern developers.

Key Features of Laravel Herd

1. Zero Configuration: Forget about spending hours configuring your local development environment. Herd requires minimal setup.
2. Built-in SSL: Secure your local applications with HTTPS support right out of the box.
3. Superfast Setup: Get your Laravel projects running locally in a matter of seconds.
4. Robust Performance: Enjoy faster performance compared to traditional local development environments like XAMPP or MAMP.
5. Support for Non-Laravel Projects: Herd isn’t limited to Laravel projects. You can use it to run other PHP-based applications as well.

Installing Laravel Herd

Getting started with Laravel Herd is a breeze. Follow these simple steps to install and set up Herd:

Step 1: Download Laravel Herd

1. Visit the official Laravel Herd website and download the application for macOS.
2. Open the downloaded file and drag Herd into the Applications folder.

Step 2: Open and Configure Herd

1. Launch Herd from your Applications folder.
2. Grant the necessary permissions for the app to run smoothly.
3. Set up your default PHP version and other preferences in the app settings.

Step 3: Link Your Project

Navigate to your Laravel project’s directory in the terminal and run:

herd link

This command will link your project to Herd, making it accessible via a local domain (e.g., http://your-project.test).

Step 4: Start Browsing

Open your browser and navigate to your project’s local URL to start working.

Example: Setting Up a New Laravel Project with Herd

Let’s walk through an example of setting up a new Laravel project with Herd:

Step 1: Create a New Laravel Project

Run the following command in your terminal to create a new Laravel project:

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-app

Step 2: Link the Project with Herd

Navigate to the project directory:

cd my-app

Link the project to Herd:

herd link

Step 3: Access the Project

Open your browser and visit http://my-app.test to see your new Laravel application in action.

Additional Commands in Herd

Herd offers several commands to make your life easier:

• Unlink a Project:

herd unlink

• Restart Herd Services:

herd restart

• Stop Herd Services:

herd stop

Why Use Laravel Herd?

1. Speed: Herd significantly reduces the time required to set up and manage local development environments.
2. Simplicity: With minimal commands and configurations, Herd is perfect for beginners and experts alike.
3. Productivity: Focus on writing code rather than debugging environment issues.

Conclusion

Laravel Herd is a game-changer for developers who want a fast, reliable, and easy-to-use local development environment. Whether you’re building Laravel applications or working on other PHP projects, Herd simplifies your workflow and enhances productivity.

Try Laravel Herd today and experience a smoother development journey

Go forth and get more out of your content. Go forth and conquer Medium! (and while you’re at it, follow me on Medium! and feel free to Subscribe)

Found this post useful? Kindly tap the 👏 button below! :)

🌟 Enjoy my blogging content? Support my work by buying me a virtual coffee on BuyMeACoffee! Your contributions help fuel insightful tech articles. Join hands in making coding more accessible and exciting for all. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/arjunamrutiya🚀