Nginx for Laravel Developers

Introduction

Most developers start Laravel using:

php artisan serve

That’s fine for development — but not for production.

In real-world applications, your Laravel app runs behind a web server like:

• Nginx
• Apache HTTP Server

This guide will teach you how Nginx works and how to properly run Laravel with it step by step.

What Is a Web Server?

A web server is responsible for:

• Receiving HTTP requests
• Serving static files (CSS, JS, images)
• Passing PHP requests to the backend (PHP-FPM)

Request Flow

Browser → Nginx → PHP-FPM → Laravel → Response → Browser

👉 Nginx handles traffic
👉 PHP-FPM executes PHP
👉 Laravel processes your logic

Why Use Nginx Instead of php artisan serve?

Feature	php artisan serve	Nginx
Performance	❌ Low	✅ High
Production Ready	❌ No	✅ Yes
Scalability	❌ No	✅ Yes
Security	❌ Basic	✅ Advanced

👉 Conclusion: Always use Nginx in production

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• PHP installed
• Laravel project ready
• Terminal access
• Basic command line knowledge

Step 1: Install Nginx

Mac (Homebrew)

brew install nginx

Ubuntu / Linux

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Start Nginx

sudo service nginx start

👉 Open browser:
http://localhost

You should see the Nginx welcome page.

Step 2: Install PHP & PHP-FPM

Laravel needs PHP-FPM to process PHP files.

Mac

brew install php

Ubuntu

sudo apt install php-fpm

Start PHP-FPM

php-fpm

Step 3: Configure Nginx for Laravel

Navigate to config directory:

# Mac
cd /usr/local/etc/nginx/

# Linux
cd /etc/nginx/

Create a new config file:

sudo nano sites-available/laravel

Step 4: Add Laravel Nginx Configuration

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;

    root /path-to-your-laravel-project/public;
    index index.php index.html;

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

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

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

⚠️ Important

• root MUST point to /public
• Replace /path-to-your-laravel-project with your actual path

Step 5: Enable the Configuration

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/laravel /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Step 6: Restart Nginx

sudo nginx -t
sudo service nginx restart

Step 7: Run Your Laravel App

Open:

http://localhost

Your Laravel app is now running with Nginx

Step 8: What About Laravel Cloud?

If you deploy using:

• Laravel Cloud
• Laravel Forge
• Laravel Vapor

👉 You do NOT need to configure Nginx manually

These platforms automatically:

• Install and configure Nginx
• Set up PHP-FPM
• Handle SSL (HTTPS)
• Optimize performance

Common Mistakes

Avoid these:

• ❌ Using php artisan serve in production
• ❌ Wrong root path (not pointing to /public)
• ❌ PHP-FPM not running
• ❌ Forgetting to restart Nginx after changes

Nginx vs Apache

Feature	Nginx	Apache
Speed	⚡ Fast	Medium
Config	Centralized	.htaccess
Best For	High traffic	Shared hosting

👉 Apache HTTP Server is easier
👉 Nginx is faster and modern

Conclusion

Understanding Nginx is essential if you want to:

• Deploy Laravel apps professionally
• Improve performance
• Handle real-world traffic
• Debug production issues