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PHP Scripts· 6 min read

Laravel Script Installation Guide

By The esdecode editorial team·Published

Most self-hosted Laravel scripts install the same way. Once you've chosen one — ideally after running our pre-purchase audit — this guide walks through a standard deployment. Always defer to the product's own README for specifics; the steps below are the common path.

1. Server requirements

Most Laravel scripts need PHP 8.1+, Composer, a MySQL or MariaDB database, and a standard LAMP/LEMP stack. Confirm the required PHP extensions (commonly mbstring, openssl, pdo, tokenizer, xml, ctype, json, bcmath). Shared hosting can work, but a small VPS gives you more control.

2. Upload and install dependencies

Upload the files (or clone them), then from the project root run composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader. If the script ships a front-end build, run npm install && npm run build — though many quality scripts use Tailwind via CDN specifically to avoid a Node step.

3. Environment and app key

Copy the example environment file with cp .env.example .env, then set your APP_URL, APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false, and the DB_* database credentials. Generate the application key with php artisan key:generate. Configure mail and any payment keys (Stripe) here too.

4. Database migrations and demo data

Create an empty database, then run php artisan migrate --seed. The seeder typically creates the schema plus a demo admin account and sample data so you can log in immediately. Note the demo credentials from the README and change them before going live.

5. Web root and permissions

Point your web server's document root at the public/ directory — never the project root, which would expose .env. Ensure storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ are writable by the web server. Add an Nginx or Apache vhost, then enable HTTPS (Let's Encrypt / Certbot).

6. Go-live checklist

  • APP_DEBUG=false and a strong APP_KEY
  • Demo/admin passwords changed
  • HTTPS enabled and forced
  • Cron for schedule:run and a queue worker if the script uses them
  • Database backups scheduled
  • php artisan config:cache route:cache for production

That's the standard path from download to live. Weighing whether to self-host at all? Read self-hosted Laravel vs SaaS, or browse deploy-ready options in Laravel scripts and the best self-hosted Laravel scripts guide.

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