Laravel Production Stack

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Production Laravel with Octane, Horizon, MySQL, and Redis.

Overview

Laravel is a modern PHP web framework that revolutionized web development with its elegant syntax and rich ecosystem. Built around the MVC pattern, Laravel provides powerful features like Eloquent ORM, Blade templating, and robust routing out of the box. Originally created by Taylor Otwell in 2011, Laravel has become the most popular PHP framework, powering millions of applications worldwide from startups to enterprise systems. This production stack combines Laravel with Octane for dramatically improved performance, Horizon for queue management and monitoring, MySQL as the primary database, Redis for caching and sessions, and NGINX for high-performance web serving. Octane uses Swoole to keep Laravel applications in memory between requests, eliminating the traditional PHP bootstrap overhead and delivering response times that rival Node.js applications. Horizon provides a beautiful dashboard and code-driven configuration for Redis queues, while the entire stack is orchestrated for maximum throughput and reliability. This configuration targets production environments where performance and scalability are critical. Enterprises running high-traffic Laravel applications, SaaS platforms with demanding performance requirements, and API-heavy applications will benefit most from this setup. The combination of Octane's memory-resident application server, Redis-backed caching and queuing, and NGINX's efficient request handling creates a Laravel deployment capable of handling thousands of concurrent requests while maintaining sub-100ms response times.

Key Features

Laravel Octane with Swoole server for persistent application instances and sub-50ms response times
Laravel Horizon dashboard for Redis queue monitoring, failed job management, and throughput metrics
MySQL 8.0 with InnoDB storage engine providing ACID compliance and JSON column support
Redis 7 Alpine for ultra-fast session storage, application caching, and queue backend
NGINX Alpine reverse proxy with SSL termination and static asset serving
Automated Laravel scheduler container running artisan commands every minute
Production-optimized environment variables for database connections and cache drivers
Isolated service networking with proper dependency management and health checks

Common Use Cases

1High-traffic Laravel SaaS applications requiring sub-100ms API response times
2E-commerce platforms with heavy database operations and real-time inventory updates
3Content management systems serving thousands of concurrent users
4API backends for mobile applications with strict performance requirements
5Multi-tenant Laravel applications with complex queue processing workflows
6Enterprise web applications requiring 99.9% uptime and horizontal scalability
7Laravel applications with heavy background job processing and scheduled tasks

Prerequisites

Minimum 4GB RAM (2GB for MySQL, 1GB for Redis, 1GB for Laravel containers)
Docker Engine 20.10+ and Docker Compose v2 for multi-container orchestration
Generated Laravel APP_KEY and secure MySQL passwords in .env file
SSL certificates for NGINX HTTPS configuration (Let's Encrypt recommended)
Understanding of Laravel Octane limitations and stateful application considerations
Experience with Laravel queue workers and Horizon configuration

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  mysql: 
3    image: mysql:8.0
4    environment: 
5      - MYSQL_DATABASE=laravel
6      - MYSQL_USER=laravel
7      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
8      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
9    volumes: 
10      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
11    networks: 
12      - laravel_net
13
14  redis: 
15    image: redis:7-alpine
16    volumes: 
17      - redis_data:/data
18    networks: 
19      - laravel_net
20
21  laravel: 
22    build: 
23      context: .
24      dockerfile: Dockerfile
25    command: php artisan octane:start --server=swoole --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8000
26    environment: 
27      - APP_ENV=production
28      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
29      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
30      - DB_HOST=mysql
31      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
32      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
33      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
34      - REDIS_HOST=redis
35      - CACHE_DRIVER=redis
36      - QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
37      - SESSION_DRIVER=redis
38    volumes: 
39      - laravel_storage:/app/storage
40    depends_on: 
41      - mysql
42      - redis
43    networks: 
44      - laravel_net
45
46  horizon: 
47    build: 
48      context: .
49      dockerfile: Dockerfile
50    command: php artisan horizon
51    environment: 
52      - APP_ENV=production
53      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
54      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
55      - DB_HOST=mysql
56      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
57      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
58      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
59      - REDIS_HOST=redis
60    depends_on: 
61      - mysql
62      - redis
63    networks: 
64      - laravel_net
65
66  scheduler: 
67    build: 
68      context: .
69      dockerfile: Dockerfile
70    command: sh -c "while true; do php artisan schedule:run; sleep 60; done"
71    environment: 
72      - APP_ENV=production
73      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
74      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
75      - DB_HOST=mysql
76      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
77      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
78      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
79      - REDIS_HOST=redis
80    depends_on: 
81      - mysql
82      - redis
83    networks: 
84      - laravel_net
85
86  nginx: 
87    image: nginx:alpine
88    ports: 
89      - "80:80"
90      - "443:443"
91    volumes: 
92      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
93    depends_on: 
94      - laravel
95    networks: 
96      - laravel_net
97
98volumes: 
99  mysql_data: 
100  redis_data: 
101  laravel_storage: 
102
103networks: 
104  laravel_net:

.env Template

.env

1# Laravel Production
2MYSQL_PASSWORD=secure_mysql_password
3MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secure_root_password
4APP_KEY=base64:your_app_key_here
5
6# Laravel at http://localhost
7# Horizon dashboard at /horizon

Usage Notes

1Laravel at http://localhost
2Horizon dashboard at /horizon
3Octane with Swoole for performance
4Run migrations before start
5Configure APP_KEY properly

Individual Services(6 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

mysql

mysql:
  image: mysql:8.0
  environment:
    - MYSQL_DATABASE=laravel
    - MYSQL_USER=laravel
    - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
  volumes:
    - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
  networks:
    - laravel_net

redis

redis:
  image: redis:7-alpine
  volumes:
    - redis_data:/data
  networks:
    - laravel_net

laravel

laravel:
  build:
    context: .
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  command: php artisan octane:start --server=swoole --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8000
  environment:
    - APP_ENV=production
    - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
    - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
    - DB_HOST=mysql
    - DB_DATABASE=laravel
    - DB_USERNAME=laravel
    - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    - REDIS_HOST=redis
    - CACHE_DRIVER=redis
    - QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
    - SESSION_DRIVER=redis
  volumes:
    - laravel_storage:/app/storage
  depends_on:
    - mysql
    - redis
  networks:
    - laravel_net

horizon

horizon:
  build:
    context: .
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  command: php artisan horizon
  environment:
    - APP_ENV=production
    - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
    - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
    - DB_HOST=mysql
    - DB_DATABASE=laravel
    - DB_USERNAME=laravel
    - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    - REDIS_HOST=redis
  depends_on:
    - mysql
    - redis
  networks:
    - laravel_net

scheduler

scheduler:
  build:
    context: .
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  command: sh -c "while true; do php artisan schedule:run; sleep 60; done"
  environment:
    - APP_ENV=production
    - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
    - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
    - DB_HOST=mysql
    - DB_DATABASE=laravel
    - DB_USERNAME=laravel
    - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    - REDIS_HOST=redis
  depends_on:
    - mysql
    - redis
  networks:
    - laravel_net

nginx

nginx:
  image: nginx:alpine
  ports:
    - "80:80"
    - "443:443"
  volumes:
    - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
  depends_on:
    - laravel
  networks:
    - laravel_net

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  mysql:
5    image: mysql:8.0
6    environment:
7      - MYSQL_DATABASE=laravel
8      - MYSQL_USER=laravel
9      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
10      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
11    volumes:
12      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
13    networks:
14      - laravel_net
15
16  redis:
17    image: redis:7-alpine
18    volumes:
19      - redis_data:/data
20    networks:
21      - laravel_net
22
23  laravel:
24    build:
25      context: .
26      dockerfile: Dockerfile
27    command: php artisan octane:start --server=swoole --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8000
28    environment:
29      - APP_ENV=production
30      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
31      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
32      - DB_HOST=mysql
33      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
34      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
35      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
36      - REDIS_HOST=redis
37      - CACHE_DRIVER=redis
38      - QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
39      - SESSION_DRIVER=redis
40    volumes:
41      - laravel_storage:/app/storage
42    depends_on:
43      - mysql
44      - redis
45    networks:
46      - laravel_net
47
48  horizon:
49    build:
50      context: .
51      dockerfile: Dockerfile
52    command: php artisan horizon
53    environment:
54      - APP_ENV=production
55      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
56      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
57      - DB_HOST=mysql
58      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
59      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
60      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
61      - REDIS_HOST=redis
62    depends_on:
63      - mysql
64      - redis
65    networks:
66      - laravel_net
67
68  scheduler:
69    build:
70      context: .
71      dockerfile: Dockerfile
72    command: sh -c "while true; do php artisan schedule:run; sleep 60; done"
73    environment:
74      - APP_ENV=production
75      - APP_KEY=${APP_KEY}
76      - DB_CONNECTION=mysql
77      - DB_HOST=mysql
78      - DB_DATABASE=laravel
79      - DB_USERNAME=laravel
80      - DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
81      - REDIS_HOST=redis
82    depends_on:
83      - mysql
84      - redis
85    networks:
86      - laravel_net
87
88  nginx:
89    image: nginx:alpine
90    ports:
91      - "80:80"
92      - "443:443"
93    volumes:
94      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
95    depends_on:
96      - laravel
97    networks:
98      - laravel_net
99
100volumes:
101  mysql_data:
102  redis_data:
103  laravel_storage:
104
105networks:
106  laravel_net:
107EOF
108
109# 2. Create the .env file
110cat > .env << 'EOF'
111# Laravel Production
112MYSQL_PASSWORD=secure_mysql_password
113MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=secure_root_password
114APP_KEY=base64:your_app_key_here
115
116# Laravel at http://localhost
117# Horizon dashboard at /horizon
118EOF
119
120# 3. Start the services
121docker compose up -d
122
123# 4. View logs
124docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/laravel-production/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Octane memory leaks with static variables: Restart Octane workers periodically using OCTANE_WATCH=true
Horizon workers not processing jobs: Check Redis connection and run 'php artisan horizon:terminate' to restart
MySQL connection refused errors: Verify MYSQL_PASSWORD environment variable matches across all Laravel services
NGINX 502 Bad Gateway: Ensure Laravel Octane is binding to 0.0.0.0:8000, not localhost
Laravel sessions not persisting: Confirm SESSION_DRIVER=redis and REDIS_HOST=redis in environment
Scheduler not executing: Check that cron jobs are running every minute and APP_KEY is properly set

Community Notes

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Components

laraveloctanehorizonmysqlredisnginx

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