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This guide walks you through setting up the MyDiary application on your local machine for development.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • PHP 8.2 or higher
  • Composer
  • Node.js 18 or higher
  • npm or yarn
  • MySQL or MariaDB
  • Git

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Clone the repository

Clone the MyDiary repository to your local machine: 
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/MyDiary.git
cd MyDiary

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Install dependencies

Install both PHP and JavaScript dependencies: 
# Install PHP dependencies
composer install

# Install JavaScript dependencies
npm install

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Configure environment variables

Copy the example environment file and configure it: 
cp .env.example .env
Update the .env file with your local database credentials: 
APP_NAME="My Diary"
APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_URL=http://localhost:8000

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=mydiary
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=your_password

SESSION_DRIVER=database
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database
CACHE_STORE=database

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Key configuration options

  • APP_KEY - Will be generated in the next step
  • DB_DATABASE - Create this database before running migrations
  • SESSION_DRIVER - Set to database for database-backed sessions
  • QUEUE_CONNECTION - Set to database for database queue driver

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Generate application key

Generate a unique application key: 
php artisan key:generate

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Create the database

Create a new MySQL database for the application: 
CREATE DATABASE mydiary CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

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Run database migrations

Run the migrations to create all required tables: 
php artisan migrate
This will create the following tables:
  • users
  • password_reset_tokens
  • sessions
  • friend_requests
  • entries
  • entry_users
  • image_users
  • image_entries
  • likes
  • cache
  • jobs
  • job_batches
  • failed_jobs
Create a symbolic link from public/storage to storage/app/public: 
php artisan storage:link
This is required for serving uploaded images (profile pictures and entry images).

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Start the development server

You can start the development server using one of these methods: This starts all services in parallel: 
composer dev
This command runs:
  • Laravel development server (http://localhost:8000)
  • Queue worker
  • Laravel Pail (log viewer)
  • Vite dev server (for hot module replacement)

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Manual start

Alternatively, start services individually in separate terminal windows: 
# Terminal 1 - Laravel server
php artisan serve

# Terminal 2 - Queue worker
php artisan queue:listen --tries=1

# Terminal 3 - Vite dev server
npm run dev

# Terminal 4 (optional) - Log viewer
php artisan pail

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Access the application

Once the development server is running, access the application at:

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Development tools

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Laravel Pail

View real-time logs: 
php artisan pail --timeout=0

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Laravel Tinker

Interact with your application via REPL: 
php artisan tinker

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Code formatting

Format your code using Laravel Pint: 
./vendor/bin/pint

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Troubleshooting

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Permission issues

If you encounter permission errors, ensure the storage and cache directories are writable: 
chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

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Database connection errors

Verify your database credentials in .env and ensure MySQL is running: 
# Check MySQL status
sudo systemctl status mysql

# Start MySQL if needed
sudo systemctl start mysql

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Node module issues

If you encounter issues with node modules, try clearing and reinstalling: 
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

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Next steps

Now that your environment is set up, you can:

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