How to Run Downloaded Laravel Source Code from Scratch

Plenty of people download a Laravel project, open it, and get confused by a blank page or an error message. The cause is almost always the same: the setup steps were not completed in order. This guide lays out the correct sequence so the app runs on your machine within minutes.

1. Extract and Open the Folder

After downloading the ZIP, extract it into your working directory, for example C:\laragon\www\ on Windows or ~/Sites/ on macOS/Linux. Open it in an editor such as VS Code and confirm there is a composer.json at the root — that tells you it is a genuine Composer/Laravel project.

2. Install Dependencies with Composer

Laravel projects do not ship the vendor/ folder because it is large. You download it yourself:

composer install

If you hit a PHP version error, check the minimum requirement under require in composer.json and confirm your PHP meets it with php -v.

3. Prepare the .env File

The .env file holds secret configuration (database, mail, and so on). Packages usually include .env.example as a template. Copy it:

cp .env.example .env

On Windows without Git Bash, simply duplicate the file and rename it to .env.

4. Generate the Application Key

Laravel needs a unique encryption key to secure sessions and encrypted data:

php artisan key:generate

This automatically fills APP_KEY in .env. Skip it and you will see "No application encryption key has been specified."

5. Create the Database and Adjust the Connection

Create an empty database via phpMyAdmin or a SQL command, then update these lines in .env:

DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Each .env line is explained in the environment configuration guide.

6. Run Migrations (and Seeders if Provided)

php artisan migrate --seed

This builds every table. If the project ships starter data (admin account, sample products), --seed loads it. When a project uses a manual .sql file instead, import that file through phpMyAdmin and skip the migration.

7. Start the Development Server

php artisan serve

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in the browser. With Laragon/XAMPP virtual hosts, just visit the local domain you created.

If It Still Fails

Blank page / 500: run php artisan config:clear and read storage/logs/laravel.log.
Permission denied: grant write access to storage/ and bootstrap/cache/.
Missing CSS/JS assets: run npm install && npm run build if the project uses Vite.

With these seven steps, most Laravel source code runs immediately. Keep this order as a checklist for every new project you download.

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