Laravel Valet

Laravel Valet is a development environment for macOS that runs Laravel applications using Nginx and DnsMasq. It provides a minimalist, lightweight alternative to virtual machines or Docker for local development.

Origin

Valet was introduced to streamline local development for Laravel projects, especially for macOS users, by eliminating the overhead of traditional virtualized environments.

Why is it important?

1. Simplifies Local Development: Requires minimal setup and is fast to use.
2. Supports Multiple Frameworks: Works with Laravel, WordPress, and other PHP projects.
3. Uses Native Tools: Leverages macOS utilities for lightweight performance.

Best Practices

1. Use for Lightweight Projects: Ideal for simple local development setups.
2. Combine with Version Control: Use tools like Git to manage projects alongside Valet.
3. Avoid Complex Environments: Use Docker or Homestead for multi-service setups.

Example in Action

Install Valet:

composer global require laravel/valet
valet install

Park your project:

cd ~/Sites
valet park

Access your project at http://your-project.test. Laravel Valet provides a fast, efficient, and minimalist local development environment for macOS.