Setting up Laragon on Windows is a straightforward process. Laragon is a portable, isolated, fast, and powerful development environment for PHP, Node.js, Python, and Ruby applications. It comes with Apache, MySQL, PHP, and other essential tools pre-configured, making it easy to set up a local development environment.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up Laragon on Windows:

  1. Download Laragon: Visit the Laragon website (https://laragon.org/download/) and download the latest version of Laragon.
  2. Install Laragon: Once downloaded, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install Laragon on your system. Laragon doesn’t require any complex setup process.
  3. Choose Components (Optional): During the installation process, you might be asked to choose the components you want to install. Ensure that the necessary components like Apache, MySQL, PHP, and other tools required for your development are selected.
  4. Launch Laragon: After the installation is complete, launch Laragon from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.
  5. Verify Installation: Once Laragon is running, you can verify that the services (Apache, MySQL, etc.) are running correctly by checking the indicators on the Laragon interface. Green indicators signify that the services are running.
  6. Access Localhost: Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost/ to see if Laragon’s default page is displayed. This confirms that Laragon’s Apache server is running correctly.
  7. Database Management: Laragon comes with phpMyAdmin pre-installed, which provides a web interface for managing MySQL databases. You can access phpMyAdmin by clicking on the Database button in the Laragon interface.
  8. Create Projects: Laragon makes it easy to create and manage projects. You can create a new project by clicking on the “www” button in the Laragon interface and then selecting “Quick app” or “Quick create” to set up a new project directory.
  9. Virtual Hosts (Optional): Laragon supports virtual hosts, allowing you to set up multiple websites locally. You can configure virtual hosts by clicking on the “Menu” button in the Laragon interface, selecting “Apache”, and then choosing “sites-enabled”.
  10. Customization (Optional): Laragon offers various customization options, such as changing PHP versions, enabling/disabling extensions, configuring SSL, etc. Explore the Laragon settings to customize the environment according to your requirements.

That’s it! You’ve successfully set up Laragon on your Windows system. Now you can start developing PHP, Node.js, Python, or Ruby applications locally with ease.