Laravel Forge
Laravel Forge is a server management and deployment platform that automates provisioning, configuring, and managing servers for web applications, letting developers quickly launch sites with Nginx, PHP, MySQL, and more, handling tasks like security updates, SSL, and database setups, freeing them to focus on coding rather than server chores. It works with various stacks (Laravel, WordPress, Node.js, etc.) and providers (DigitalOcean, AWS), offering scriptable deployments, zero-downtime updates, and command-line access.
This video provides a comprehensive overview of the Laravel Forge platform:
Key Features & Benefits
- Rapid Server Provisioning: Spin up new servers on cloud providers in minutes.
- Simplified Deployment: Automates code deployment from Git (GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab) with options for manual, automatic, or webhook triggers.
- Automatic Security: Handles free SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt), firewall (UFW) setup, and OS updates.
- Full Control: Offers web-based SSH, database management (MySQL, PostgreSQL), queue management (Redis), and custom server scripting.
- Broad Compatibility: Manages apps built with Laravel, WordPress, Symfony, Node.js, and more.
- Zero Downtime: Built-in features for seamless updates.
Watch this video for a demonstration of the new features in Laravel Forge:
How it Works
- Connect Providers: Link your cloud accounts (e.g., DigitalOcean, AWS) to Forge.
- Provision Server: Select server size and type (web, database, cache) through the Forge dashboard.
- Create Site: Add your application, connect your Git repository, and configure domain settings.
- Deploy: Trigger deployments from Forge, instantly pushing updates to your live server.
In essence, Forge acts as your personal sysadmin, managing the complex server infrastructure so you can focus on building your application