The latest articles on DEV Community by William (@mg2k4). https://dev.to/mg2k4 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3724444%2Fd4d410c5-813e-4721-a914-c6ea180f226c.png https://dev.to/mg2k4 en William Wed, 21 Jan 2026 20:09:07 +0000 https://dev.to/mg2k4/dockavel-production-ready-docker-stack-for-laravel-3ike https://dev.to/mg2k4/dockavel-production-ready-docker-stack-for-laravel-3ike <p>After 10 years of deploying Laravel applications, I've open-sourced the Docker stack I've been using in production.</p> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>Every new Laravel project meant several hours of:</p> <ul> <li>Configuring Docker Compose</li> <li>Setting up Nginx and SSL certificates</li> <li>Server hardening (Fail2Ban, firewall, SSH)</li> <li>Writing deployment scripts</li> <li>Debugging permissions</li> </ul> <p>It was never the interesting part—just friction before actual work could begin.</p> <h2> The Solution: Dockavel </h2> <p>A production-ready Docker environment that handles everything with one command:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>./scripts/deploy.sh prod </code></pre> </div> <h2> What It Does </h2> <h3> 🚀 One-Command Deployment </h3> <ul> <li>Development: <code>./scripts/dev.sh up</code> </li> <li>Production: <code>./scripts/deploy.sh prod</code> </li> <li>Zero-downtime deployments</li> </ul> <h3> 🔐 Automatic SSL </h3> <ul> <li>Let's Encrypt integration with auto-renewal</li> <li>Cloudflare origin certificates support</li> <li>Smart proxy detection</li> <li>HTTP to HTTPS redirects</li> </ul> <h3> 🛡️ Security Hardening </h3> <p>Server setup script configures:</p> <ul> <li>Fail2Ban for SSH and HTTP protection</li> <li>UFW firewall with minimal ports</li> <li>SSH hardening (key-only, custom port)</li> <li>Automatic security updates</li> </ul> <h3> 📦 Full Production Stack </h3> <ul> <li> <strong>Laravel 12+</strong> with optimizations</li> <li> <strong>PHP 8.4-FPM</strong> with xtensions</li> <li> <strong>MySQL 8.0</strong> with persistent volumes</li> <li> <strong>Redis 7.0</strong> for caching and sessions</li> <li> <strong>Laravel Horizon</strong> for queue monitoring</li> <li> <strong>Nginx</strong> as reverse proxy</li> </ul> <h3> 💾 Automated Backups </h3> <ul> <li>Daily database backups</li> <li>Configurable retention (7/30/90 days)</li> <li>Email notifications</li> <li>One-command restoration</li> </ul> <h2> Quick Start </h2> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code><span class="c"># Clone the repository</span> git clone https://github.com/mg2k4/Dockavel.git my-project <span class="nb">cd </span>my-project <span class="c"># Development</span> ./scripts/deploy.sh dev <span class="c"># Production (on your server)</span> ./scripts/server-setup.sh <span class="c"># First time only</span> ./scripts/deploy.sh prod </code></pre> </div> <p>Your app is now running with SSL, security hardening, and automated backups!</p> <h2> What Makes It Different </h2> <p><strong>Laravel Sail:</strong> Great for local development, not production-focused<br><br> <strong>Laradock:</strong> Offers many options but complex for production<br><br> <strong>Dockavel:</strong> Production-first, opinionated, one command to deploy</p> <h2> Architecture </h2> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>┌─────────────┐ │ Nginx │ ← SSL termination, reverse proxy └──────┬──────┘ │ ┌──────▼──────┐ │ PHP-FPM │ ← Laravel application └──────┬──────┘ │ ┌───┴───┬─────────┐ │ │ │ ┌──▼──┐ ┌─▼───┐ ┌──▼────┐ │MySQL│ │Redis│ │Horizon│ └─────┘ └─────┘ └───────┘ </code></pre> </div> <h2> Links </h2> <p>📚 <strong>Documentation:</strong> <a href="https://dockavel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://dockavel.com</a><br><br> 📦 <strong>GitHub:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/mg2k4/Dockavel" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/mg2k4/Dockavel</a><br><br> 🎥 <strong>Demo Video:</strong> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-kj-T2QlXw" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-kj-T2QlXw</a></p> <h2> My First Open Source Project </h2> <p>This is my first time releasing something open source. I've been using variations of this stack for 5+ years in production, and I finally cleaned it up to share.</p> <p>Feedback, issues, and PRs are very welcome! Let me know what features you'd like to see.</p> <h2> License </h2> <p>MIT - Free to use, modify, and distribute.</p> <p>If this saves you even a few hours of Docker configuration, I'll consider it a success. Happy deploying! 🚀</p> <p><em>What deployment challenges are you facing with Laravel? Let me know in the comments!</em></p> laravel docker php devops