Getting Started with Laravel on Ubuntu

| programming | php | ubuntu |

I’ve really been digging Laravel lately. Especially due to the wonderful documentation and amazing resources provided by Laracasts. Below are some notes on getting going on a local Ubuntu install. I am running Ubuntu 16.10 and these notes assume a fresh install.

Install PHP 7.0 and additional dependencies

sudo apt install php7.0 php7.0-zip php7.0-mbstring phpunit

Install Composer (Globally)

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Install the Laravel CLI (Globally)

composer global require "laravel/installer"

Add globally installed composer commands to the PATH

Add the following to the end of your ~/.bashrc file 
# Add Composer to the PATH
export PATH=$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin:$PATH
You can either source the ~/.bashrc file or open a new terminal window.

Verify everything works

You can do this by running laravel new test_project. Then go to the directory where the new test_project is created with cd test_project. Once you are in the new project directory install all local dependencies with composer install and then run it with php artisan serve. I ran into an issue right away that had to do with the APP_KEY. The error manifested itself as:
The only supported ciphers are AES-128-CBC and AES-256-CBC with the correct key lengths.
A great explanation is shown here but the steps to get a fully functional base install going are: 
# Copy the .env.example file to .env
cp .env.example .env


  Generate App Key
  
    
      
      
    
  



php artisan key:generate

Now if you run php artisan serve you will see a fully running Laravel app. Happy Hacking!

Thank you for reading! Share your thoughts with me on bluesky, mastodon, or via email.

Check out some more stuff to read down below.

Most popular posts this month

Recent Favorite Blog Posts

This is a collection of the last 8 posts that I bookmarked.

Articles from blogs I follow around the net

Give a Problem. Grow a Programmer.

In 2009, I kicked off my senior year in college with a class that ultimately changed the way I thought about my degree—and my future.

via flower.codes September 15, 2025

Yala stablecoin depegs after theft

The YU bitcoin-backed stablecoin list its intended dollar peg after what they described as "an attempted attack", later writing that there was an "unauthorized transfer of funds". Although they initially wrote that &#…

via Web3 is Going Just Great September 15, 2025

How big a solar battery do I need to store *all* my home's electricity?

I have a modest set of solar panels on an entirely ordinary house in suburban London. On average they generate about 3,800kWh per year. We also use about 3,800kWh of electricity each year. Obviously, we can't use all the power produced over summer an…

via Terence Eden’s Blog September 15, 2025

Generated by openring