PHP DevForge

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A local PHP environment where the folder structure is the configuration.

Unlike tools built around per-project configuration, PHP DevForge derives domains straight from your folder structure. No config files, no init commands: create the folder and the site exists.

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⚡ How it works

Every folder under ~/php-devforge/ is a site. The host name is its path, read from the inside out and joined with --:

~/php-devforge/projects/my-app/public/
                     ↓
https://public--my-app--projects.phpforge.dev

Nothing to register, nothing to restart. Create the folder, reload the browser.

Want a shorter URL?

That name is honest, but long. Link the project into sites/ and it answers on its own name as well:

forge link ~/php-devforge/projects/my-app/public
→ https://my-app.phpforge.dev

~/php-devforge/sites/
├── my-app        →  https://my-app.phpforge.dev
├── shop          →  https://shop.phpforge.dev
└── api/v2        →  https://v2--api.phpforge.dev

The long URL keeps working. The short one is an extra name, not a replacement — both reach the same folder.

Any PHP version, per request:

https://my-app.phpforge.dev          # your default
https://my-app--p83.phpforge.dev     # this request on PHP 8.3
https://my-app--p85.phpforge.dev     # this request on PHP 8.5

Same code, any version you installed, no restart and no switching. Useful for checking an upgrade before committing to it.

Everything is served over real HTTPS with a locally trusted certificate.

🧭 Where it fits

DDEV gives you a per-project, reproducible definition — better when each project needs a different stack. Herd is the fastest native option on macOS. PHP DevForge is for keeping many projects on one shared environment with no per-project setup.

📖 What you get

• Apache (or nginx) + PHP-FPM 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 — install the ones you want, chosen per request
• A domain of your choosing — phpforge.dev is only the default; the installer asks
• Automatic HTTPS with a locally trusted CA, and wildcard local DNS that only touches your dev domain
• Live editing — files are mounted, nothing to sync
• Files stay yours — containers adopt your user id, so no sudo and no unremovable node_modules
• Xdebug on a toggle, Composer, Node 24, pnpm
• Optional PostgreSQL, MariaDB, a mail catcher, Elasticsearch and Kibana

🚀 Quick start

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zelti/php-devforge/main/bootstrap.sh | bash
forge start

Prefer not to pipe a script straight into bash? Download it, read it, then run it:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zelti/php-devforge/main/bootstrap.sh -o bootstrap.sh
less bootstrap.sh
bash bootstrap.sh

Or clone it yourself:

git clone https://github.com/zelti/php-devforge.git php-devforge-config
cd php-devforge-config
./install.sh            # asks a few questions, sets everything up
forge start

Then open https://welcome.phpforge.dev.

phpforge.dev is just the default. The installer asks which domain you want, so welcome.midominio.dev or welcome.acme.test works the same — every example on this page reads with yours substituted.

⌨️ The commands you will actually use

forge start · stop · status	run the environment, and see what it is doing
forge link ~/php-devforge/projects/app/public	publish a project at app.phpforge.dev
forge run composer install	run a command in the right container
forge shell 8.4	open a shell in one
forge logs	follow the logs — a blank 500 page is almost always here
forge php on 8.3 · forge use 8.5	install a version, or change the default
forge db on pg18 · forge mail on	start a database, or the mail catcher
forge tunnel	a public URL, to reach the site from outside this machine
forge help	all of them

📖 Full documentation

Everything else — installing, updating, databases, optional services, tunnels, nginx, Xdebug, DNS and troubleshooting — lives in DOCS.md.

Sending a pull request, running one CI step locally, cutting a release: CONTRIBUTING.md.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.