Documentation

Welcome to LocalForge documentation. Learn how to streamline your local development workflow.

Installation

Download and install LocalForge on your Linux system.

System Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04 or later / Debian 11 or later
• 4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended)
• 2GB free disk space
• Sudo privileges required for tool installation

Download & Install

Download the latest .deb or AppImage from the download page.

# For .deb package
sudo dpkg -i localforge_1.0.4_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

# Or use AppImage
chmod +x LocalForge-1.0.4.AppImage
./LocalForge-1.0.4.AppImage

Getting Started

Launch LocalForge and familiarize yourself with the interface.

First Launch

1. Open LocalForge from your applications menu
2. The application will check for installed development tools
3. Navigate to the "Manage Services" tab to install required tools (PHP, Node.js, Nginx, etc.)
4. Once tools are installed, you can start creating projects

Interface Overview

• Create Project: Create new Laravel, Vue, React, Nuxt, or WordPress projects
• Nginx Config: Generate Nginx virtual host configurations
• SSL Certificate: Generate local SSL certificates with mkcert
• Manage Services: Install and manage development tools (PHP, Node.js, databases, etc.)

Creating Projects

LocalForge supports multiple project types with optimized configurations.

Laravel Projects

1. Select "Laravel" as project type
2. Choose Laravel version (10.x or 11.x)
3. Select PHP version (8.1, 8.2, or 8.3)
4. Optional: Choose a starter kit (Breeze, Jetstream, or None)
5. Enter project name and select directory
6. Click "Create Project"

# LocalForge automatically runs:
composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name
cd project-name
php artisan key:generate

Vue.js / Nuxt Projects

Choose Vue version (Vue 2/3) and features (Router, Vuex/Pinia, TypeScript).

React Projects

Select JavaScript or TypeScript template with optional routing support.

WordPress Projects

Download and configure WordPress with database setup assistance.

Nginx Configuration

Generate Nginx virtual host configurations automatically.

Setup Steps

1. Go to "Nginx Config" tab
2. Enter your domain name (e.g., myproject.local)
3. Select project directory
4. Choose project type (Laravel, Static, WordPress, Vue/React)
5. Select PHP version for PHP projects
6. Optional: Enable SSL
7. Click "Generate Configuration"

# Add to /etc/hosts
sudo nano /etc/hosts

# Add this line:
127.0.0.1 myproject.local

SSL Certificates

Generate trusted local SSL certificates using mkcert.

Prerequisites

First, install mkcert through the "Manage Services" tab or manually:

# Install mkcert
sudo apt install libnss3-tools
wget https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert/releases/latest/download/mkcert-v*-linux-amd64
chmod +x mkcert-v*-linux-amd64
sudo mv mkcert-v*-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/mkcert
mkcert -install

Generate Certificate

1. Go to "SSL Certificate" tab
2. Enter your domain name
3. Click "Generate Certificate"
4. Certificates will be saved to /etc/nginx/ssl/

Managing Development Tools

Install and manage PHP, Node.js, Nginx, Composer, and databases.

Supported Tools

• PHP: Multiple versions (8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4)
• Node.js: Managed via NVM with version switching
• Nginx: Web server installation and configuration
• Composer: PHP dependency manager
• PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL database server
• MySQL: MySQL database server

PHP Management

Install multiple PHP versions and manage extensions.

Installing PHP

1. Go to "Manage Services" → PHP section
2. Enter desired PHP version (e.g., 8.3)
3. Click "Install New Version"
4. Watch the installation progress in the log modal

Managing Extensions

1. Click "Extensions" button on any installed PHP version
2. View installed extensions in the green section
3. Select extensions to install from the not-installed section
4. Use "Check All" to select all available extensions
5. Click "Install Selected" to install

Editing PHP Configuration

1. Click "php.ini" button to edit CLI configuration
2. Click "FPM" button to edit PHP-FPM configuration
3. Make your changes in the modal editor
4. Click "Save" (requires sudo password)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

sudo lsof -i :80
sudo lsof -i :443

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Frequently Asked Questions