Laravel Herd only serves up "File not found." regardless of what I do.

It sounds like Laravel Herd’s Nginx/PHP setup isn’t able to find your site’s entry point, which is why you’re seeing "File not found." Here are some steps and checks to help you resolve this:

1. Check Directory Structure

For Laravel projects, Herd expects a public directory as the web root. For WordPress, the web root should be where your index.php and wp-config.php files are.

If you moved your WordPress files into a public directory, make sure:

• All WordPress files (including index.php, wp-config.php, wp-content, etc.) are inside the public directory.
• Herd is pointing to the correct directory as the web root.

2. Check Herd’s Site Configuration

Open Herd, go to the "Sites" panel, and ensure the path for each site is set to the directory containing your site’s entry point (public for Laravel, or wherever your index.php is for WordPress).

For WordPress:

• If your site is at ~/code/mysite, and the files are in ~/code/mysite/public, Herd should point to ~/code/mysite/public.

For Laravel:

• Herd should point to ~/code/laraveltest/public.

3. Permissions

Make sure your user has read permissions for all files and directories in your site folders.

chmod -R 755 ~/code/mysite

4. Restart Herd

After making changes, restart Herd to reload the configuration.

5. Check for .test Domain Resolution

Make sure .test domains are resolving to 127.0.0.1. You can check this by running:

ping mysite.test

If it doesn’t resolve, try running:

herd link

from your project directory to re-link the site.

6. Check Nginx/PHP Logs

Herd logs can provide clues. Open Herd, go to the "Logs" section, and look for errors related to your site.

7. Try a Simple index.php

To isolate the issue, create a simple index.php in your site’s web root:

<?php
phpinfo();

If this works, the problem is with your application files. If not, the problem is with Herd’s configuration or your system.

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Summary Checklist

• Herd’s site path points to the correct directory (where index.php is).
• All site files are in the right place.
• Permissions are correct.
• .test domains resolve to 127.0.0.1.
• Herd is restarted after changes.
• Logs show no critical errors.

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If you follow these steps and still get "File not found," please share:

• The full path Herd is using for your site.
• A screenshot of your directory structure.
• Any relevant log output from Herd.

This will help further diagnose the issue!