\n\n\n\n
Implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\nI. Prerequisites<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- A VestaCP server with Nginx<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- PHP 8.1+ (or whatever your target Laravel version requires \u2014 check current docs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Root\/SSH access to the server<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
II. How Laravel Runs Under Nginx<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Laravel’s actual application code lives in a public<\/code> subfolder, not the project root. Nginx needs to point directly at that public<\/code> folder, and all requests that aren’t real files get routed through index.php<\/code> \u2014 Laravel’s front controller, which handles routing internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/laravel_request_lifecycle_detail-1024x831.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis is why simply pointing your domain at the project’s root folder doesn’t work \u2014 the site won’t load correctly until Nginx’s document root is updated to the public<\/code> subfolder, covered in Step VI.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIII. Install Required PHP Extensions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Laravel needs several PHP extensions that aren’t always installed by default. The original guide skipped this step entirely \u2014 install them first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
apt-get install php-xml php-mbstring php-tokenizer php-curl php-pdo php-bcmath -y\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nAdjust package names to include your specific PHP version if your system uses versioned packages (e.g., php8.1-xml<\/code> instead of php-xml<\/code>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nIV. Install Composer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The original guide used apt-get install composer<\/code>, but Ubuntu’s repository version is often outdated. Install it using the official method instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\ncurl -sS https:\/\/getcomposer.org\/installer | php\nmv composer.phar \/usr\/local\/bin\/composer\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nV. Install the Laravel Installer<\/h3>\n\n\n\ncomposer global require \"laravel\/installer\"\nexport PATH=$PATH:$HOME\/.config\/composer\/vendor\/bin\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nIf you’re running these commands as a specific user (like admin<\/code> on VestaCP, not root), make sure $HOME<\/code> resolves to that user’s actual home directory, not root’s \u2014 otherwise the installer won’t be found on $PATH<\/code> afterward.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVI. Create the Laravel Project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Navigate to your domain’s document root:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html\/\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nCreate a new Laravel project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
laravel new blog\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nAlternatively, composer create-project laravel\/laravel blog<\/code> works the same way and is the more commonly recommended method for current Laravel versions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVII. Set Ownership and Permissions<\/h3>\n\n\n\nchown -R admin: blog\ncd blog\nchmod 775 storage\nchmod 775 bootstrap\/cache\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> The original instructions had a typo \u2014 storge<\/code> instead of storage<\/code> \u2014 which would fail with “No such file or directory” since that folder doesn’t exist under that name.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVIII. Point Nginx at the public Folder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Edit the domain’s Nginx config:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi \/home\/admin\/conf\/web\/nginx.conf\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nFind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
root \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html;\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nChange to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
root \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html\/blog\/public;\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nAdd Laravel’s front-controller routing rule inside the relevant location \/<\/code> block:<\/p>\n\n\n\nlocation \/ {\n try_files $uri $uri\/ \/index.php?$query_string;\n}\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nIX. Verify and Restart Nginx<\/h3>\n\n\n\nnginx -t\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf the syntax check passes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/etc\/init.d\/nginx restart\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nVisit http:\/\/domain.com\/<\/code> to confirm the Laravel welcome page loads.<\/p>\n\n\n\nX. Optional: Add Redis as a Cache Backend<\/h3>\n\n\n\napt-get install php-redis\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nEnable the extension in php.ini<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\nextension=redis.so\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nNote:<\/strong> The original guide’s line had a trailing semicolon (extension=redis.so;<\/code>), which isn’t valid php.ini<\/code> syntax \u2014 a semicolon at the start of a line marks a comment, but appending one after a real directive can cause it to be misread. Leave it off.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nRestart both services \u2014 using your server’s actual installed PHP-FPM version, not a hardcoded one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/etc\/init.d\/nginx restart\n\/etc\/init.d\/php8.1-fpm restart\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n\nCheck your actual PHP-FPM service name first with systemctl list-units | grep php-fpm<\/code> if unsure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nXI. Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Installing Laravel on VestaCP comes down to setting up Composer correctly, installing the PHP extensions Laravel actually needs, creating the project, fixing folder permissions (watch for the storage<\/code> typo), and pointing Nginx at the public<\/code> subfolder rather than the project root. With that done, Laravel’s front controller handles the rest of the routing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why does my site show a blank page or 403 error after installation?<\/strong> This is almost always the Nginx document root still pointing at the project root instead of blog\/public<\/code> \u2014 double-check Step VIII.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDo I need Redis, or is it optional?<\/strong> Optional \u2014 Laravel works with file-based caching by default. Redis is worth adding for better performance under real traffic, but isn’t required to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat if laravel<\/code> command isn’t found after installation?<\/strong> Confirm the export PATH<\/code> line in Step V actually applied to your current shell session, and that it points to the correct user’s home directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRelated Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to add Proxy pass rule to access PHPMyAdmin without port number in URL -Plesk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to Install phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nTalk to our experts.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- A VestaCP server with Nginx<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- PHP 8.1+ (or whatever your target Laravel version requires \u2014 check current docs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Root\/SSH access to the server<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
II. How Laravel Runs Under Nginx<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Laravel’s actual application code lives in a
public<\/code> subfolder, not the project root. Nginx needs to point directly at thatpublic<\/code> folder, and all requests that aren’t real files get routed throughindex.php<\/code> \u2014 Laravel’s front controller, which handles routing internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis is why simply pointing your domain at the project’s root folder doesn’t work \u2014 the site won’t load correctly until Nginx’s document root is updated to the
public<\/code> subfolder, covered in Step VI.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIII. Install Required PHP Extensions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Laravel needs several PHP extensions that aren’t always installed by default. The original guide skipped this step entirely \u2014 install them first:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
apt-get install php-xml php-mbstring php-tokenizer php-curl php-pdo php-bcmath -y\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
Adjust package names to include your specific PHP version if your system uses versioned packages (e.g.,
php8.1-xml<\/code> instead ofphp-xml<\/code>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nIV. Install Composer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The original guide used
apt-get install composer<\/code>, but Ubuntu’s repository version is often outdated. Install it using the official method instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\ncurl -sS https:\/\/getcomposer.org\/installer | php\nmv composer.phar \/usr\/local\/bin\/composer\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
V. Install the Laravel Installer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
composer global require \"laravel\/installer\"\nexport PATH=$PATH:$HOME\/.config\/composer\/vendor\/bin\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
If you’re running these commands as a specific user (like
admin<\/code> on VestaCP, not root), make sure$HOME<\/code> resolves to that user’s actual home directory, not root’s \u2014 otherwise the installer won’t be found on$PATH<\/code> afterward.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVI. Create the Laravel Project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Navigate to your domain’s document root:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html\/\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Create a new Laravel project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
laravel new blog\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
Alternatively,
composer create-project laravel\/laravel blog<\/code> works the same way and is the more commonly recommended method for current Laravel versions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVII. Set Ownership and Permissions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
chown -R admin: blog\ncd blog\nchmod 775 storage\nchmod 775 bootstrap\/cache\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
Note:<\/strong> The original instructions had a typo \u2014
storge<\/code> instead ofstorage<\/code> \u2014 which would fail with “No such file or directory” since that folder doesn’t exist under that name.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nVIII. Point Nginx at the public Folder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Edit the domain’s Nginx config:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi \/home\/admin\/conf\/web\/nginx.conf\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
root \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html;\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Change to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
root \/home\/admin\/web\/domain.com\/public_html\/blog\/public;\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Add Laravel’s front-controller routing rule inside the relevant
location \/<\/code> block:<\/p>\n\n\n\nlocation \/ {\n try_files $uri $uri\/ \/index.php?$query_string;\n}\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\nIX. Verify and Restart Nginx<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
nginx -t\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
If the syntax check passes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/etc\/init.d\/nginx restart\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Visit
http:\/\/domain.com\/<\/code> to confirm the Laravel welcome page loads.<\/p>\n\n\n\nX. Optional: Add Redis as a Cache Backend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
apt-get install php-redis\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Enable the extension in
php.ini<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\nextension=redis.so\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
Note:<\/strong> The original guide’s line had a trailing semicolon (
extension=redis.so;<\/code>), which isn’t validphp.ini<\/code> syntax \u2014 a semicolon at the start of a line marks a comment, but appending one after a real directive can cause it to be misread. Leave it off.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nRestart both services \u2014 using your server’s actual installed PHP-FPM version, not a hardcoded one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/etc\/init.d\/nginx restart\n\/etc\/init.d\/php8.1-fpm restart\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n
Check your actual PHP-FPM service name first with
systemctl list-units | grep php-fpm<\/code> if unsure.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nXI. Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Installing Laravel on VestaCP comes down to setting up Composer correctly, installing the PHP extensions Laravel actually needs, creating the project, fixing folder permissions (watch for the
storage<\/code> typo), and pointing Nginx at thepublic<\/code> subfolder rather than the project root. With that done, Laravel’s front controller handles the rest of the routing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFrequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why does my site show a blank page or 403 error after installation?<\/strong> This is almost always the Nginx document root still pointing at the project root instead of
blog\/public<\/code> \u2014 double-check Step VIII.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDo I need Redis, or is it optional?<\/strong> Optional \u2014 Laravel works with file-based caching by default. Redis is worth adding for better performance under real traffic, but isn’t required to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if
laravel<\/code> command isn’t found after installation?<\/strong> Confirm theexport PATH<\/code> line in Step V actually applied to your current shell session, and that it points to the correct user’s home directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRelated Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to add Proxy pass rule to access PHPMyAdmin without port number in URL -Plesk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Install phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talk to our experts.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n