Lerd

Abstract

1. Introduction

Lerd runs Nginx, PHP-FPM, and your services as rootless Podman containers, designed for PHP developers on Linux and macOS, and on Windows through WSL2 (beta). No Docker. No sudo. No system pollution. Just lerd link and your project is live at project.test with HTTPS.

Lerd is built for PHP developers on Linux who want frictionless local development: automatic .test domains, per-project PHP versions, one-click HTTPS, zero Docker. Works with Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, CakePHP, Statamic, and any custom PHP framework.

2. Objective

Open-source, Herd-like local PHP development environment for Linux and macOS. Automatic .test domains, per-project PHP/Node isolation, one-command TLS. Podman-native, rootless.

This project demonstrates how Go, Laravel, PHP can be applied to a real-world Full Stack Web Development problem.

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Go 1.20 or later
• PHP 7.4+ with a web server (XAMPP / WAMP / LAMP)
• MySQL / MariaDB
• phpMyAdmin (optional)
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/lerd-env/lerd.git
cd lerd

cd my-laravel-project
lerd link
# → https://my-laravel-project.test
lerd open           # the site in your browser
lerd code           # the project in your editor

lerd start          # boot DNS, nginx, PHP-FPM, services, workers, UI
lerd stop           # stop containers and workers (UI and watcher stay up)
lerd quit           # full shutdown including UI, watcher, and tray
lerd autostart enable   # boot lerd on every login
lerd status         # health snapshot

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add role-based access control
• Deploy on a VPS or cPanel hosting with a custom domain
• Add automated tests and a CI pipeline

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Explain the frontend, backend and database layers of this application.
2. How is user authentication and authorisation implemented?
3. Describe the main database tables / collections and their relationships.
4. Which REST APIs or routes are exposed and what do they return?
5. How would you deploy this application to production?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by lerd-env and published on GitHub under the MIT License. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.