How to Clone a Laravel Project from GitHub and Run it in VS Code

Introduction:
Cloning a Laravel project from GitHub and setting it up in Visual Studio Code is an essential skill for developers working with Laravel applications. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the entire process, making it easy for you to get started with your Laravel development journey. Let's dive in!

Step 1: Install Prerequisites

• Install Git, Composer, and Laravel globally on your computer.
  • Git: Download and install Git from https://git-scm.com/downloads.
  • Composer: Install Composer from https://getcomposer.org/download/.
  • Laravel: Install Laravel globally via Composer by running composer global require laravel/installer in your terminal.

Step 2: Clone the Laravel Project

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
2. Navigate to the directory where you want to store the project.
3. Clone the Laravel project from GitHub using the git clone command.

   git clone <repository-url>

Replace <repository-url> with the URL of the GitHub repository.

1. Navigate into the cloned project directory.

   cd <project-name>

Step 3: Install Dependencies

1. Install the project's PHP dependencies via Composer.

   composer install

1. Install the JavaScript dependencies using npm or Yarn.

   npm install

or

   yarn

**
Step 4: Set Up Environment File**

1. Create a copy of the .env.example file and rename it to .env.

   cp .env.example .env

1. Generate an application key for your Laravel project.

   php artisan key:generate

Step 5: Set Up Database

1. Create a new database for your Laravel project using your preferred database management tool (e.g., phpMyAdmin).

2. Update the .env file with your database credentials.
   

   DB_CONNECTION=mysql
   DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
   DB_PORT=3306
   DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
   DB_USERNAME=your_database_username
   DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password

Step 6: Serve the Application

1. Start the Laravel development server.

   php artisan serve

1. Access the application by visiting http://localhost:8000 in your web browser.

Step 7: Set Up Visual Studio Code

1. Install Visual Studio Code (VS Code) if you haven't already from https://code.visualstudio.com/download.

2. Install Laravel-related extensions for VS Code:

   • Laravel Extension Pack (by Jun Han)
   • PHP Intelephense (by Ben Mewburn)
   • DotENV (by mikestead)

3. Open your Laravel project folder in VS Code.

Step 8: Start Coding!
Congratulations! You have successfully cloned a Laravel project from GitHub and set it up in Visual Studio Code. Now, you are all set to begin your Laravel development journey. Remember to run php artisan migrate to set up your database tables and php artisan test to run tests.

Conclusion:
Cloning a Laravel project from GitHub and running it in Visual Studio Code is a fundamental process for any Laravel developer. By following this step-by-step guide, you have successfully set up your development environment and are ready to start building amazing Laravel applications. Happy coding!