Step-by-Step Guide to Run Laravel Spark in a Subdirectory

To run Laravel Spark in a subdirectory instead of the default ports (80 or 8000), you need to configure your Laravel application to work correctly under a subdirectory.

Step-by-Step Guide to Run Laravel Spark in a Subdirectory

1. Move Laravel Spark to a Subdirectory

Let's assume your Laravel Spark project is moved to a subdirectory, e.g., /opt/lampp/htdocs/myapp.

So, your site URL will be something like:

http://localhost/myapp/

2. Update the .env File

In your .env file, update the APP_URL to reflect the subdirectory:

APP_URL=http://localhost/myapp

If you're using HTTPS, update it accordingly:

APP_URL=https://example.com/myapp

3. Update Laravel Routes in routes/web.php

Modify all route definitions to ensure they respect the subdirectory. Instead of:

Route::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

Use:

Route::prefix('myapp')->group(function () {
    Route::get('/', function () {
        return view('welcome');
    });

    // Other routes
    Route::get('/dashboard', 'DashboardController@index')->name('dashboard');
});

This ensures that all routes will now be accessible under:

http://localhost/myapp/
http://localhost/myapp/dashboard

4. Update the public Folder Path

If you are running Laravel Spark in a subdirectory, you need to configure public as follows:

Option 1: Modify .htaccess (Recommended)

In the public folder of Laravel, modify the .htaccess file:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On

    RewriteBase /myapp/   # Add this line
    RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule . /myapp/index.php [L]   # Modify this line
</IfModule>

Option 2: Modify server.php

In the server.php file, update:

$_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] = '/myapp/index.php';
$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] = '/myapp/index.php';

5. Update Laravel's config/app.php

Open config/app.php and update:

'url' => env('APP_URL', 'http://localhost/myapp'),

6. Configure Apache for Subdirectory (If using Apache)

Modify your Apache Virtual Host Configuration file (usually in /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf for Ubuntu):

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    DocumentRoot /opt/lampp/htdocs/myapp/public

    <Directory /opt/lampp/htdocs/myapp/public>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Then restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

7. Configure Nginx for Subdirectory (If using Nginx)

Modify your Nginx configuration file (e.g., /etc/nginx/sites-available/default):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    root /opt/lampp/htdocs/myapp/public;
    
    index index.php index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    location /myapp {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Then restart Nginx:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

8. Clear Config & Cache

Run the following Artisan commands to clear the cache:

php artisan config:clear
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan route:clear
php artisan view:clear
php artisan optimize

Final Testing

Now, open your browser and go to:

http://localhost/myapp/

or if using a domain:

http://example.com/myapp/

If everything is set up correctly, Laravel Spark should now work inside the subdirectory.

Additional Fixes (If Required)

• If CSS and JS are not loading properly, update your vite.config.js or mix.config.js:

    mix.setResourceRoot('/myapp/');

  Then run:

    npm run dev

• If you face session issues, update:

    SESSION_DOMAIN=localhost

Let me know if you encounter any issues!