Set Default Host and Port for Laravel Dev Server

in laravel, php, webdev, note-to-self

In your .env file, set the SERVER_PORT and SERVER_HOST variables to specify the default host and port for the Laravel dev server:

env

SERVER_PORT=3000
SERVER_HOST=192.168.178.31

Now, when you run php artisan serve, the server will start on the specified host and port:

shell

$ php artisan serve

# output
INFO  Server running on [http://192.168.178.31:3000].  
Press Ctrl+C to stop the server

I was presented with the issue that I work on several projects at once and do not have the possibility to run them containerized. This means I run them on the host system using the laravel dev server.

It's a bit annoying that I have to remember which project I started with wich port. I was looking into extending the serve command when I stumbled upon the original implementation of the serve command already having the feature to set the host and port:

Apparently SERVER_PORT was added in 5.8.24 in 2019 and SERVER_HOST and was added in 9.8.0 in 2022.