Essential Commands for Docker, Laravel, and Git Development

Hey there, fellow developers! In this blog post, I’m going to share with you the most essential commands you’ll need when setting up and developing a Dockerized Laravel project. If you’ve been working with Docker, Laravel, and Git, you know that it’s important to have these commands at your fingertips. Let’s dive right in!

1. Setting Up Your Development Environment

Before you jump into the exciting part of development, we need to make sure our tools are ready and set up properly. We’ll start by installing Docker and Git, and making sure everything’s working.

If you don’t already have Docker installed, don’t worry – let’s take care of that first. We’ll need Docker for containerizing your Laravel app, and Docker Compose to manage multiple containers.

Install Docker:First, make sure Docker is installed on your system. You can do that by running below command on ubuntu but before that make sure you meet all the prerequisites or follow the link for proper installation process for your system https://docs.docker.com/engine/install :
```
sudo apt install docker.io
```
Install Docker Compose:To help with multi-container management, install Docker Compose:
```
sudo apt install docker-compose
```
Start Docker Service:Now, let’s make sure Docker is running. Start the Docker service with:
```
sudo systemctl start docker
```
Check Docker Status:Confirm that Docker is running as expected:
```
sudo systemctl status docker
```

Next, we need Git for version control. If you don’t have it installed yet, you can do it easily with:

Install Git:
```
sudo apt install git
```

2. Cloning Your Project and Managing Git

Once your tools are ready, it’s time to clone your Laravel project from GitHub (or any other repository). Let’s go through some common Git commands you’ll use.

Clone the Repository:To get the project files onto your local machine, run:
```
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
```
Navigate to Your Project Directory:Enter the project folder:
```
cd repo
```
Check Git Status:Let’s see if there are any changes to commit:
```
git status
```
Commit Changes:After staging your changes, commit them with a message. For example:
```
git commit -m "Initial commit"
```
Push Changes to Remote Repository:Push your local changes to the main branch on GitHub:
```
git push -u origin main
```
Rename Branch (from master to main):Rename your branch to `main` (GitHub’s default branch name):
```
git branch -m master main
```

3. Dockerizing Your Laravel Project

Now that your Git setup is complete, we can focus on Docker. Docker will help you run your Laravel app in isolated containers, which is awesome for consistency across environments!

Build Docker Containers:First, let’s build the Docker containers as per the instructions in your docker-compose.yml file:
```
docker-compose build
```
Start the Services in Detached Mode:Once the containers are built, run them in the background:
```
docker-compose up -d
```
Check Running Containers:Make sure everything is running by checking the list of active containers:
```
docker ps
```
View Logs:If you want to see the logs from your containers, use:
```
docker-compose logs
```
Open a Bash Shell Inside a Running Container:If you need to interact with a container, you can open a bash shell:
```
docker-compose exec app bash
```
Run Laravel Migrations:If you’ve set up a database, don’t forget to run migrations:
```
php artisan migrate
```
Access Your Laravel App:Visit localhost in your browser, or the IP address of your Docker container, to see the app running.

4. Managing Docker Containers and Services

Once your app is running, you’ll need to manage the Docker containers. Let’s see some Docker commands that will help you stop, start, and clean up containers when necessary.

Stop Running Containers:When you're done, stop all running containers:
```
docker-compose down
```
Restart Containers:Restart specific services if needed:
```
docker-compose restart app
```
Rebuild Docker Containers:If you make changes to your Dockerfiles or app code, rebuild the containers:
```
docker-compose up --build
```
Stop a Specific Docker Container:To stop a particular container:
```
docker stop 
```
Start a Stopped Docker Container:To start a container that you stopped earlier:
```
docker start 
```
Remove a Stopped Docker Container:If you no longer need a stopped container, remove it:
```
docker rm 
```
Remove a Docker Image:If you’re done with a particular image, you can delete it:
```
docker rmi 
```
List Docker Networks:If you want to check your Docker networks:
```
docker network ls
```

5. Docker Compose Specific Commands

Docker Compose is a tool to define and run multi-container Docker applications. Here are some commands you’ll frequently use when working with Docker Compose.

Start All Services:To bring all services up defined in your docker-compose.yml file:
```
docker-compose up
```
Start Services in Detached Mode:Run services in the background:
```
docker-compose up -d
```
Build the Docker Compose Services:Rebuild the Docker images for your services:
```
docker-compose build
```
Stop and Remove Containers/Networks/Volumes:Bring everything down and clean up:
```
docker-compose down
```
Access a Running Service’s Shell:If you need to run commands inside a container of a specific service:
```
docker-compose exec app bash
```

6. Git Branching and Merging

As you continue working on your project, you'll need to pull updates from your team or merge different branches. Here’s how to handle some common Git operations.

Pull Latest Changes:Fetch the latest changes from the remote repository:
```
git pull origin main
```
Merge Remote Changes into Local Branch:Merge changes from the remote `main` branch into your local branch:
```
git merge origin/main
```
Fetch Changes Without Merging:If you just want to fetch updates but not merge them:
```
git fetch origin main
```
Reset Branch to a Specific Commit:If you want to revert your branch to a specific commit:
```
git reset --hard 
```
View Commit History:See the history of your project commits:
```
git log
```

7. Linux Commands for File System Management

List Files and Directories:
```
ls -la
```
Change to a Directory:
```
cd app/Http/Controllers
```
Create a New Directory:
```
mkdir app/Http/Controllers
```
Remove a Directory and Its Contents:
```
rm -rf app/Http/Controllers/old
```

Copy Files:

cp app/Http/Controllers/AuthController.php backup/

Move or Rename Files:
```
mv oldfile.txt newfile.txt
```
Change Permissions:
```
sudo chmod -R gu+w app
```

Open a File in Nano:

nano app/Http/Controllers/AuthController.php

Display Current Directory:
```
pwd
```

8. Miscellaneous Linux Commands

Check Current User:
```
whoami
```
Exit Terminal or Container:
```
exit
```

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