Using Docker to Deploy Laravel

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Deploying a Laravel application using Docker can be a great way to ensure consistency across different environments. Typically, you would use multiple containers to separate concerns (e.g., one for the web server, one for the database, etc.). Below is a step-by-step guide to deploying Laravel using Docker on a DigitalOcean droplet.

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

First, ensure Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your DigitalOcean droplet. You can follow the official Docker installation guide for your specific operating system.

Step 2: Create a Docker Compose File

Create a docker-compose.yml file in the root of your Laravel project. This file will define the services required for your application.

version: '3.8'

services:
  app:
    image: php:7.4-fpm
    container_name: laravel_app
    working_dir: /var/www
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www
      - ./docker/php/local.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/local.ini
    networks:
      - laravel

  webserver:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: laravel_webserver
    working_dir: /var/www
    volumes:
      - ./:/var/www
      - ./docker/nginx/conf.d:/etc/nginx/conf.d
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    networks:
      - laravel

  db:
    image: mysql:5.7
    container_name: laravel_db
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
      MYSQL_DATABASE: laravel
      MYSQL_USER: laravel
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: secret
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - laravel

networks:
  laravel:

volumes:
  dbdata:

Step 3: Configure Nginx and PHP

Create the necessary configuration files for Nginx and PHP.

Nginx Configuration

Create a directory docker/nginx/conf.d and add a file default.conf:

server {
    listen 80;
    index index.php index.html;
    server_name localhost;
    root /var/www/public;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_pass app:9000;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

PHP Configuration

Create a directory docker/php and add a file local.ini:

memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 50M
post_max_size = 50M

Step 4: Build and Run the Containers

Run the following command to build and start your containers:

docker-compose up -d

Step 5: Set Up Laravel Environment

Make sure your .env file is configured to connect to the MySQL container:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=laravel
DB_PASSWORD=secret

Step 6: Run Laravel Migrations

Execute the following command to run your Laravel migrations:

docker-compose exec app php artisan migrate

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the MySQL container stopping, you can check the logs for more information:

docker-compose logs db

If you need to restart a specific container, you can use:

docker-compose restart <service_name>

For example, to restart the MySQL container:

docker-compose restart db

Conclusion

Using Docker Compose to manage multiple containers for your Laravel application can help you maintain a clean and organized environment. This setup separates the web server, PHP, and database into different containers, making it easier to manage and scale your application.

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