To set up Laravel in a fresh Ubuntu, follow these steps:

Step 1: Update and Upgrade System Packages

Run the following commands to update your system's package list and upgrade installed packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install Apache (or Nginx)

For a web server, you can choose either Apache or Nginx. Here, we'll go with Apache:

sudo apt install apache2

Start Apache and enable it to run on startup:

sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

To check Apache status:

sudo systemctl status apache2

Step 3: Install PHP and Extensions

Laravel requires PHP, so install PHP along with necessary extensions:

sudo apt install php php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-bcmath php-tokenizer php-json php-curl php-zip php-mysql libapache2-mod-php

Check PHP version:

php -v

Step 4: Install Composer

Composer is required for managing Laravel dependencies. To install it, run:

sudo apt install curl
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Check if Composer is installed:

composer -v

Step 5: Install MySQL (or PostgreSQL)

Laravel can work with different databases. We'll go with MySQL:

sudo apt install mysql-server

Secure the MySQL installation by running:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Step 6: Install Node.js and NPM

Laravel uses Node.js for compiling front-end assets. Install it with NPM:

sudo apt install nodejs npm

Check versions:

node -v
npm -v

Step 7: Set Up Virtual Host (for Apache)

Create a virtual host for your Laravel project. First, navigate to the default Apache site directory:

cd /var/www/
sudo mkdir your-laravel-app

Assign correct permissions:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/your-laravel-app

Next, create a new virtual host file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/your-laravel-app.conf

Add the following configuration inside the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ServerName your-laravel-app.local
    DocumentRoot /var/www/your-laravel-app/public
    <Directory /var/www/your-laravel-app>
        AllowOverride All
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and mod_rewrite:

sudo a2ensite your-laravel-app.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 8: Install Laravel

Navigate to the /var/www/your-laravel-app directory and install Laravel using Composer:

cd /var/www/your-laravel-app
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .

Step 9: Configure Database Connection

Open .env file in your Laravel project and update the database configuration:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

Step 10: Set Permissions

Set the correct permissions for the storage and bootstrap/cache directories:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/your-laravel-app
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/your-laravel-app/storage
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/your-laravel-app/bootstrap/cache

Step 11: Update Hosts File

Add your virtual host name to the hosts file:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the following line:

127.0.0.1   your-laravel-app.local

Step 12: Run Laravel Project

Access your Laravel project in the browser by visiting http://your-laravel-app.local.

This will give you a working Laravel environment on your Ubuntu system!