--- title: EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows... description: EnvKit is a free desktop application (currently in beta) that bundles a full local PHP/Laravel development stack into a single control panel for Windows and... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows and macOS | daily.dev og:description: EnvKit is a free desktop application (currently in beta) that bundles a full local PHP/Laravel development stack into a single control panel for Windows and... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/VGGKipqOw.png og:image:alt: EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows and macOS og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows and macOS **[Laravel News](https://daily.dev/sources/ln)** · 3 min read · 95 upvotes · 13 comments ## Summary EnvKit is a free desktop application (currently in beta) that bundles a full local PHP/Laravel development stack into a single control panel for Windows and macOS. It includes a choice of Nginx or Apache, PHP versions 7.4 through latest with per-project isolation, MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Mailpit, Node.js dev servers, trusted HTTPS .test domains, and admin UIs. Laravel-specific extras include Reverb for WebSockets, cron management, and live dump/query/job inspection. A built-in MCP server lets AI editor assistants read stack state and run diagnostics. EnvKit is positioned as a free alternative to Laravel Herd and Laragon/XAMPP, though it runs on Electron and is still in beta at v0.31.0-beta.39. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between EnvKit and Laravel Herd for local PHP development? EnvKit is free with every feature included, offering a choice of Nginx or Apache and bundling MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Redis with admin UIs, but it is still in beta and runs as an Electron app. Laravel Herd is an established product supporting both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, but keeps database services, mail tools, a dump window, and a log viewer behind a paid Pro tier costing $99 per year. _Comparing local dev stacks like EnvKit and Herd before committing gets easier by following updates on daily.dev._ ### Can EnvKit import existing Laragon projects? Yes, EnvKit can import existing Laragon projects without requiring changes, since it is positioned as a free alternative to Laragon and XAMPP. It bundles a full local development stack including web servers, PHP versions from 7.4 through the latest, multiple databases, and trusted HTTPS for a single control panel replacing separately configured tools. _Developers migrating local environments track tools like Laragon alternatives through daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@pdfopsdev** · 2 upvotes > The built-in MCP server exposing stack state to the editor assistant is the part I hadn't seen in this class of tool — letting the AI read live query/job/dump state and run diagnostics beats it squinting at logs blind. The open question is how far past read it goes: if it can restart a service or fire an artisan command through MCP, that's where a local-stack integration stops being a viewer and actually starts saving round-trips. Read-only diagnostics are useful, but the write side is what makes it feel native to the workflow. **@milerdev** · 1 upvotes > Interesting I'll give it a try. **@romeltech** · 1 upvotes > I think I know where which app they copied it from. **@jenueldev** · 1 upvotes > Nice setup for Laravel devs. **@rahulx** · 1 upvotes > Great, absolutely needed for local development. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Kit: An Opinionated API Starter Kit for Laravel](https://daily.dev/posts/kit-an-opinionated-api-starter-kit-for-laravel-9dma1a0hn) · Laravel News · 3 upvotes · 0 comments - [NativePHP For Desktop](https://daily.dev/posts/nativephp-for-desktop-byi2zo65r) · Larablog · 19 upvotes · 0 comments - [WordPress Core Dev Environment Toolkit: A Faster Path to Your First Core Contribution](https://daily.dev/posts/wordpress-core-dev-environment-toolkit-a-faster-path-to-your-first-core-contribution-8tttjbvrt) · Make WordPress Core · 8 upvotes · 0 comments - [Laravel - The clean stack for Artisans and agents](https://daily.dev/posts/laravel---the-clean-stack-for-artisans-and-agents-c3cowgih4) · Laravel · 12 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#php](https://daily.dev/tags/php), [#laravel](https://daily.dev/tags/laravel) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows and macOS","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow"},"datePublished":"2026-07-09T07:49:51.181Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:14:09.445Z","description":"EnvKit is a free desktop application (currently in beta) that bundles a full local PHP/Laravel development stack into a single control panel for Windows and...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/aff282108b4b96d83e362e39a5fa25ce?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/aff282108b4b96d83e362e39a5fa25ce?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Laravel News","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Laravel News","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/ln","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ln"},"commentCount":13,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":95},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":13}],"keywords":"php,laravel","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Laravel News","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ln"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"EnvKit: A Local Development Stack for Laravel on Windows and macOS"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/envkit-a-local-development-stack-for-laravel-on-windows-and-macos-vggkipqow","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"The built-in MCP server exposing stack state to the editor assistant is the part I hadn’t seen in this class of tool — letting the AI read live query/job/dump state and run diagnostics beats it squinting at logs blind. The open question is how far past read it goes: if it can restart a service or fire an artisan command through MCP, that’s where a local-stack integration stops being a viewer and actually starts saving round-trips. 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