Laravel 12 Complete Installation Guide (2025)

Step-by-step instructions to set up Laravel 12 on Windows, macOS, Linux, or Docker Sail — updated for 2025 with Vite, PHP 8.3+, and real-world tips.

Released: 2025 Requires PHP 8.3+ Composer 2.x

Laravel 12 continues to simplify modern PHP development with performance improvements, security updates, and better support for PHP 8.3. In this guide, we’ll cover:

• ✔ Quick installation using Composer, Installer, or Docker Sail
• ✔ Setting up .env and database
• ✔ Running migrations & storage linking
• ✔ Asset compilation with Vite
• ✔ Adding authentication with Breeze/Jetstream
• ✔ Production deployment tips

1. Quick Installation (Composer)

composer create-project laravel/laravel:^12.0 my-app
cd my-app
php artisan serve

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000

2. Using Laravel Sail (Docker)

curl -s https://laravel.build/my-app | bash
cd my-app
./vendor/bin/sail up -d

Pro Tip: Sail gives you a zero-config PHP/MySQL/Redis setup — no local installations needed.

3. Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

Update database credentials in .env:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=my_app
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=secret

4. Database Migration

php artisan migrate

If you just want quick testing, switch to SQLite by setting DB_CONNECTION=sqlite and creating database/database.sqlite.

5. Asset Compilation with Vite

npm install
npm run dev    # development
npm run build  # production

6. Add Authentication (Optional)

composer require laravel/breeze --dev
php artisan breeze:install blade
npm install && npm run dev
php artisan migrate

7. Production Deployment

• Set APP_ENV=production, APP_DEBUG=false
• Run php artisan config:cache, route:cache, view:cache
• Ensure storage and bootstrap/cache are writable

8. Common Errors

• “Class not found” → Run composer dump-autoload
• Permission errors → Check storage/ and bootstrap/cache/ ownership
• Vite assets missing → Ensure @vite() tags are included in Blade layout

With this setup, you can confidently launch new Laravel 12 projects in 2025 — faster, cleaner, and production-ready.