Docker

Pull and run Apphold using the official Docker image from Docker Hub. The image is built on PHP 8.2 with Apache and automatically generates the Laravel .env file from Docker environment variables, runs database migrations, and caches the configuration on startup.

Prerequisites

  • Docker installed on your computer

Quick Start

Start a MySQL instance and then pull and run the Apphold image:

# Start a MySQL instance
docker run -d --name apphold-db \
  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e MYSQL_DATABASE=apphold \
  mysql:8.0

# Pull and run the app
docker run -d --name apphold-app \
  --link apphold-db:db \
  -p 80:80 \
  -e APP_URL=http://localhost \
  -e DB_HOST=db \
  -e DB_DATABASE=apphold \
  -e DB_USERNAME=root \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  alextselegidis/apphold:latest

Docker Compose

You can use the following docker-compose.yml file to set up Apphold with a MySQL database:

services:

  apphold:
    image: alextselegidis/apphold:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '80:80'
    environment:
      - APP_NAME=Apphold
      - APP_ENV=production
      - APP_DEBUG=false
      - APP_URL=http://localhost
      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
      - DB_HOST=mysql
      - DB_PORT=3306
      - DB_DATABASE=apphold
      - DB_USERNAME=root
      - DB_PASSWORD=secret
      - MAIL_MAILER=smtp
      - MAIL_HOST=smtp.example.org
      - MAIL_PORT=587
      - MAIL_USERNAME=
      - MAIL_PASSWORD=
      - MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls
      - MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=info@example.org
      - MAIL_FROM_NAME=Apphold
    volumes:
      - apphold-storage:/var/www/html/storage

  mysql:
    image: mysql:8.0
    restart: always
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secret
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=apphold
    volumes:
      - mysql:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  apphold-storage:
  mysql:

Environment Variables

The Docker image uses standard Laravel environment variables. All variables are passed through to the .env file that is generated on container startup.

Application

VariableDefaultDescription
APP_NAMEAppholdApplication name
APP_ENVproductionApplication environment (production, local, testing)
APP_KEY(auto-generated)Application encryption key. If left empty, one is generated automatically on first start
APP_DEBUGfalseEnable debug mode (true / false)
APP_URLhttp://localhostThe public URL of the application

Logging

VariableDefaultDescription
LOG_CHANNELstackLaravel log channel (stack, single, daily, stderr, etc.)
LOG_LEVELerrorMinimum log level (debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical)

Database

VariableDefaultDescription
DB_CONNECTIONmysqlDatabase driver (mysql, pgsql, sqlite)
DB_HOSTdbDatabase hostname
DB_PORT3306Database port
DB_DATABASEappholdDatabase name
DB_USERNAMErootDatabase username
DB_PASSWORDsecretDatabase password

Cache & Session

VariableDefaultDescription
CACHE_DRIVERfileCache driver (file, redis, memcached, database)
SESSION_DRIVERfileSession driver (file, redis, database, cookie)
SESSION_LIFETIME120Session lifetime in minutes
QUEUE_CONNECTIONsyncQueue connection (sync, redis, database)
BROADCAST_DRIVERlogBroadcast driver (log, redis, pusher)
FILESYSTEM_DISKlocalDefault filesystem disk

Redis

VariableDefaultDescription
REDIS_HOST127.0.0.1Redis hostname
REDIS_PASSWORDnullRedis password
REDIS_PORT6379Redis port

Mail

VariableDefaultDescription
MAIL_MAILERsmtpMail driver (smtp, sendmail, mailgun, ses, log)
MAIL_HOSTmailpitSMTP hostname
MAIL_PORT1025SMTP port
MAIL_USERNAMEnullSMTP username
MAIL_PASSWORDnullSMTP password
MAIL_ENCRYPTIONnullSMTP encryption (tls, ssl, or null)
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESShello@example.comSender email address
MAIL_FROM_NAMEAppholdSender name

Startup Behavior

On every container start the entrypoint script will:

  1. Generate the Laravel .env file from the Docker environment variables.
  2. Set correct permissions on storage/ and bootstrap/cache/.
  3. Auto-generate an APP_KEY if one was not provided.
  4. Run php artisan migrate --force to apply pending database migrations.
  5. Create the storage:link symbolic link.
  6. Cache configuration, routes, and views for performance.
  7. Start the Apache web server.

Need Help?

If you run into issues with Docker: