Install Laravel on Windows 11 with WSL2 + Docker Desktop + Laravel Sail

To begin studying Laravel, one of the first steps is to install Laravel on your personal computer. On macOS, I use Herd. For a quick and easy setup, I had to research how to install a development environment using WSL2 combined with Docker Desktop and Laravel Sail to suit the setup currently used at my company.

In this article, I will share a guide on how to set up a Laravel environment on Windows 11.

I. Installing and configuring WSL2

1. Activate WSL2

Open PowerShell/Terminal with administrator privileges: press Windows + X, select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or Terminal (Admin).

Install WSL:

wsl --install Code language: Nginx (nginx)

If virtualization is not enabled on your computer, you need to go into the BIOS to enable it (usually Intel VT-x or AMD-V).

2. Install Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store

Open the Microsoft Store, search for “Ubuntu”. Install and launch Ubuntu.
The first time you run it, you will be asked to create a username and password (save them as you will need them later).

Then restart the computer.

3. Update WSL2

In PowerShell, make sure WSL2 is the default version:

wsl --set-default-version 2 Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Check the WSL version by:

wsl --list --all Code language: PHP (php)

You will see Ubuntu listed, usually with signs

wsl --set-default Ubuntu Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

II. Installing Docker Desktop

1. Install using Chocolatey

Quick and easy installation using Chocolatey . Open Terminal (admin) and enter this command:

choco install docker-desktop Code language: Nginx (nginx)

2. Enable WSL2 integration in Docker Desktop

Open Docker Desktop, go to Settings > General , and select Use the WSL 2-based engine.

Go to Settings > Resources > WSL Integration , enable “Enable integration with my default WSL distro” and select Ubuntu from the list.

Press Apply & Restart

3. Check Docker:

Open the Ubuntu terminal (from the Start Menu or type the command wslin the Terminal).

Run the command:docker --version

If you see the Docker version (e.g., Docker version 28.0.4), you have successfully installed and integrated Docker with WSL2.

IV. Creating a Laravel project with Sail

Laravel Sail is a development tool provided by Laravel that allows us to easily run Laravel projects using Docker without needing to install PHP, MySQL, Composer, etc., directly on our machines.

1. Create a new Laravel project.

In the Ubuntu terminal, create a new directory to save your Laravel projects:

mkdir -p ~/laravel && cd ~/laravel Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Run the following command to create a Laravel project with Sail:

curl -s "https://laravel.build/test" | bash Code language: Nginx (nginx)

Replace `test` with the name of your desired project. This command will automatically download Laravel and configure Sail. The installation process will take approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on your internet connection and computer configuration. You may need to enter your previously set Ubuntu password for the system to complete the installation.

After the installation is complete, this message will appear.

Thank you! We hope you build something incredible. Dive in with: cd test && ./vendor/bin/sail up Code language: Bash (bash)

3. Activate with Sail

Move to the newly created folder after installation

cd test Code language: Bash (bash)

Start Sail:

./vendor/bin/sail up -d

The first time Sail runs, it will load Docker containers (this may take a few minutes depending on your network speed).

Next, run the following command to create the necessary tables for the database.

./vendor/bin/sail artisan migrate

4. Project review

Open your browser and go to http://localhost.

If you see the Laravel welcome page, the installation was successful!

To turn off Sail when not in use:

./vendor/bin/sail down

V. Integration with VS Code

I’m using VS Code to code Laravel. Here’s the additional configuration to integrate with WSL.

1. Install the WSL extension in VS Code.
2. Open VS Code, press Ctrl + Shift + P, and select “WSL: Connect to WSL”.
3. To open the project folder in VS Code, using the Ubuntu Terminal, navigate to the project folder and type the following command:code .
4. Install some useful extensions for Laravel.
   • Laravel Extension Pack
   • PHP Intellisense
   • Prettier — Code formatter

Now you can code Laravel directly in VS Code, integrated with WSL2 and Sail.

VI. Some tips when working with Sail

• Customizing services : Files docker-compose.ymlin the project directory allow you to add or remove services (such as Redis, Mailhog). See details at https://laravel.com/docs/sail.
• Run the Artisan command : Instead of using php artisan, we will use the command:./vendor/bin/sail artisan
• Check containers : To see which containers are running:docker ps
• Free up memory : If Docker is taking up too much space, run:docker system prune

VII. Conclusion

I just showed you how to install Laravel on Windows 11 using WSL2, Docker Desktop, and Laravel Sail. This combination saved me configuration time and ensured a consistent development environment for the team.

Happy Coding!

Source: https://blog.dogcomp.com/kickstart-your-laravel-10-using-laravel-sail-wsl2-1bd4e24c27cc