Developing a PHP Project Across Windows and Mac on Your Home Network

Nhat Truong Hoang (Justin) — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:24:21 +0000

Scenario:
You're developing a PHP application on a Windows desktop using XAMPP. You want to work on the same project from a MacOS machine on your home network without installing XAMPP or any dependencies on the Mac.

What We'll Accomplish:
This guide covers two main tasks:

Giving your Mac access to the project folder on Windows
Giving your Mac access to phpMyAdmin running on Windows

Part 1: Enable File Sharing (Mac Access to Project Folder)

Step 1: Locate Your Project Folder

Ensure your project is in the XAMPP htdocs folder.

Example path: C:\xampp\htdocs\project

Step 2: Share the Folder on Windows

Right-click the project folder and select Properties
Go to the Sharing tab
Click Advanced Sharing
Check "Share this folder"
Click Permissions and grant Full Control to ensure the Mac can read and write files

Step 3: Connect from Mac

On your Mac, press Cmd + K
Enter the Windows machine's IP address in this format: smb://[IP_ADDRESS]
- Find the Windows IP by opening Command Prompt and typing ipconfig
When prompted, enter your Windows username and password
- Find your username by typing whoami in Command Prompt
- Important: Your Windows account must have a password. If it doesn't, go to Windows Settings → Accounts and set one

Step 4: Open the Project on Mac

Open VS Code (or your preferred text editor)
The shared Windows folder will appear in Finder's sidebar under "Network" or "Locations"
Open the project from this shared location

Part 2: Enable Database Access (Mac Access to phpMyAdmin)

Now that your Mac can edit files, you also need database access to make changes and view data. This requires configuring the Windows Firewall.

Step 1: Start XAMPP Services

Open XAMPP as Administrator
Start Apache and MySQL services

Step 2: Configure Windows Defender Firewall

Type "Windows Defender Firewall" in the Windows search bar
Click "Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall" in the left sidebar

Step 3: Allow Apache Through Firewall

Click "Change settings"
Find Apache HTTP Server and Apache HTTPS Server in the list
Check both boxes, but only enable "Private" (since you're on a home network)

Step 4: Configure Inbound Rules

Return to the Windows Defender Firewall main page
Click "Advanced settings" in the left sidebar
Select "Inbound Rules"

Step 5: Enable Required Ports

Ensure ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) are:

Enabled
Set to allow connections from all remote hosts

Step 6: Find Your Windows IP Address

Open Command Prompt and type ipconfig. Note down the IPv4 address.

Step 7: Access phpMyAdmin from Mac

Open a browser on your Mac
Enter: http://[WINDOWS_IP_ADDRESS]/phpmyadmin
- Example: http://192.168.1.100/phpmyadmin

Testing Your Setup

To verify everything works:

Open a browser on your Mac
Navigate to: http://[WINDOWS_IP_ADDRESS]/project
Your project should load and run from the Windows XAMPP server
Any changes you make to files on the Mac will immediately reflect in the original Windows folder

You're all set! You can now develop seamlessly across both machines without duplicating your development environment.

Remote File Inclusion

Nhat Truong Hoang (Justin) — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 04:48:19 +0000

DEV Community: Nhat Truong Hoang (Justin)