A native, Windows-first developer environment manager for PHP and Laravel.

Per-project PHP, local HTTPS sites, MySQL and Redis, without Docker, WSL or touching the PHP already on your machine.

Download for Windows

Djoser is at an early stage. Expect changes between versions.

Why Djoser

• One file per project. djoser.yaml says what a project needs, and djoser up makes it true.
• Versions side by side. Every project uses its own PHP, MySQL and Redis versions.
• Real HTTPS. Each project gets its own https://name.localhost address.
• No administrator rights. Djoser installs for your user only, and everything it downloads stays in one folder.
• Your data stays. down, remove and uninstall never delete a database.

Install

Download the installer from the latest release and run it. It offers two options:

Option	Default	What it does
Add Djoser to PATH	On	djoser works in any new terminal
Add the tools to PATH	Off	php, composer, node, mysql and the others work in any new terminal. If another copy is already on PATH, the one listed first is used

The installer is not signed yet, so Windows or your antivirus may warn before running it. Choose More info, then Run anyway, and compare the file with the SHA-256 in the release notes.

To update, run the new installer. It stops Djoser first and keeps your projects and databases.

Create a Laravel project

This goes from nothing to a running site. To add Djoser to a project you already have, start at step 3 inside its folder.

1. Get PHP, Composer and Node.js

djoser install php 8.5
djoser install composer latest
djoser install node 22

2. Create the project

djoser composer create-project laravel/laravel shop
cd shop

3. Describe it

djoser init --name shop --domain shop.localhost --root public --php 8.5 -y

Leave out the options and init asks for each one. With PHP it also writes a few PHP settings you can change. Then open djoser.yaml and add what the project needs:

name: shop
domain: shop.localhost
web-root: public
services:
  php:
    version: 8.5
    extensions: [redis]
    ini:
      memory_limit: 512M
      upload_max_filesize: 64M
      post_max_size: 64M
      max_execution_time: 120
  mysql:
    version: 8.4
    database: shop
  redis: 8.4

extensions: [redis] is the PHP extension that talks to Redis. redis: 8.4 is the Redis server itself. You need both.

4. Start it

djoser up

The first run downloads what is missing, starts it, and offers to trust the local certificate so browsers accept the site.

It ends with the address and the connection details:

shop is up on PHP 8.5.12 (6 workers, ports 19000-19005)
  https://shop.localhost
Note: mysql on 127.0.0.1:3306, database shop, user root, no password
Note: redis on 127.0.0.1:6379 (community Windows build)

5. Connect Laravel

Djoser does not edit .env. Copy the values up printed:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=shop
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

REDIS_CLIENT=phpredis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PORT=6379

CACHE_STORE=redis
QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
SESSION_DRIVER=redis

Projects using the same Redis version share one server, so give each project its own REDIS_PREFIX.

6. Prepare the app

djoser artisan migrate
djoser npm install
djoser npm run build

Open https://shop.localhost.

7. Run the background work

Each of these stays open, so give it its own terminal:

djoser artisan queue:work
djoser artisan schedule:work
djoser npm run dev

See what is running

djoser status

djoser status also shows what changed in djoser.yaml since the last up. djoser ps lists every running project.

Describe a project

Edit the file and run djoser up to apply it. A version can be a line such as 8.5 or an exact one such as 8.5.12.

Key under a service	What it does
version	The version to run
extensions	PHP extensions, such as [redis, imagick, xdebug]
database	The database name; by default the project's name, with - turned into _
port	Run a separate server for this project on this port
data	Run a separate server with its data in this folder, which must exist
dedicated: true	Run a separate server for this project
ini	PHP settings for this project, one per line, such as memory_limit: 1G

To change PHP settings from the terminal:

djoser config php memory_limit=1G,upload_max_filesize=200M
djoser config php

The first writes them to djoser.yaml and restarts the project's PHP if it is running; an empty value, such as memory_limit=, removes one. The second lists them.

Servers are shared between projects by default, with one database per project, on 127.0.0.1 only. A separate server starts with empty data.

Open the database

djoser tool db

Opens HeidiSQL on this project's database, downloading it the first time. In the terminal, djoser mysql and djoser redis-cli connect to the project's services by themselves.

Share your site

djoser share

Prints a temporary public address through Cloudflare, with no account needed, while the command runs. Anyone with the address can open the site. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

For Laravel, set APP_URL to that address and trust proxies, or styles and links may break.

Commands

Project
djoser init	Create djoser.yaml
djoser up / down	Start or stop the project
djoser status	Its services and pending changes
djoser config php key=value,...	Show or change the project's PHP settings
djoser remove	Stop it and forget it; files and data stay
djoser ps	Every running project
djoser exec <project> <tool>	Run a tool inside a project, from anywhere
djoser tool db	Open HeidiSQL on the project's database
djoser share	A temporary public address, until Ctrl+C

Tools
djoser php, composer, artisan	Run with the project's PHP
djoser node, npm, npx	Run with the project's Node.js
djoser mysql, mysqldump, redis-cli	Connect to the project's services

Versions
djoser list <service>	What can be installed
djoser install <service> <version>	Download a version
djoser install heidisql, cloudflared	Download a helper program ahead of time
djoser install php-ext <name>	Add a PHP extension to this project
djoser use <service> <version>	Choose a version for this project; --env sets the default
djoser runtimes	What is installed
djoser uninstall <service> <version>	Remove a version; databases stay

Machine
djoser trust	Trust the local certificate for HTTPS
djoser doctor	Check this machine and explain how to fix problems

What runs today

PHP	Official builds, one pool per version and set of extensions
PHP extensions	redis, imagick, memcached, xdebug, sqlsrv, pdo_sqlsrv, apcu, mongodb, amqp, and what ships with PHP
Composer, Node.js	Per-project versions, in any folder
MySQL	8.0, 8.4, 9.7
Redis	7.2, 7.4, 8.4, 8.10, from a community Windows build
Sites	Caddy, HTTPS on *.localhost
Helpers	HeidiSQL, cloudflared

Valkey, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB and RustFS are planned.

This repository

It holds the installer in Releases and the tables in catalog/, which list the versions Djoser may download and the SHA-256 of each file. Djoser reads them so that new versions can be added without a new release.