How to Deploy a Laravel Project on AWS EC2: A Step-by-Step Guide

Deploying a Laravel project on AWS EC2 provides scalability, reliability, and security for your application. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of deploying a Laravel project on an AWS EC2 instance. Let’s dive in!

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

1. An active AWS account.
2. A Laravel project ready for deployment.
3. Basic knowledge of AWS EC2, SSH, and Laravel.

Step 1: Launch an AWS EC2 Instance

1. Log in to the AWS Console: Navigate to the EC2 service.
2. Create a New Instance:
   • Click on “Launch Instance.”
   • Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), such as Ubuntu 22.04.
   • Select an instance type (e.g., t2.micro for free tier).
   • Configure the instance details and add storage.
3. Security Group Settings: Allow the following ports:
   • SSH (Port 22)
   • HTTP (Port 80)
   • HTTPS (Port 443)
4. Launch the Instance: Generate and download a new key pair (.pem file). You’ll need it for SSH access.

Step 2: Connect to the Instance via SSH

1. Open a terminal on your local machine.
2. Navigate to the directory containing your .pem file.
3. Run the following command to connect:

ssh -i "path/to/your-key.pem" ubuntu@your-ec2-public-ip

Step 3: Update and Install Required Packages

Run these commands on your EC2 instance:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install apache2 php php-cli php-mbstring php-xml php-bcmath unzip curl git -y

Step 4: Install Composer

Composer is essential for Laravel projects. Install it using:

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

Step 5: Set Up the Laravel Project

1. Upload Your Laravel Project:
   • Use an FTP client like FileZilla or SCP to upload your Laravel project to

/var/www/html 

 

on your EC2 instance.

1. Alternatively, clone the project using Git:

cd /var/www/html
git clone your-repository-url

Set Permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/storage /var/www/html/bootstrap/cache

Install Dependencies:

cd /var/www/html
composer install

Environment Setup:

• Rename .env.example to .env:

cp .env.example .env

Generate the application key:

php artisan key:generate

Update database credentials in the

env 

file.

Step 6: Configure Apache

Enable the Rewrite Module:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Create a Virtual Host Configuration:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/laravel.conf

Add the following content:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/public
    ServerName your-domain.com

    <Directory /var/www/html>
        AllowOverride All
    </Directory>

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

Enable the Site Configuration:

sudo a2ensite laravel.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 7: Set Up the Database

Install MySQL:

sudo apt install mysql-server -y

Secure MySQL:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Create a Database and User:

sudo mysql
CREATE DATABASE laravel_db;
CREATE USER 'laravel_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON laravel_db.* TO 'laravel_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Update the .env file with the database details.

Step 8: Test the Deployment

1. Access your application via the public IP or domain name of your EC2 instance.
2. If everything is configured correctly, you should see your Laravel application.

Optional: Set Up HTTPS

To secure your application, use Let’s Encrypt to configure SSL:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
sudo certbot --apache

Follow the prompts to secure your domain.

Deploying a Laravel project on AWS EC2 might seem daunting, but following these steps makes the process straightforward. AWS EC2 provides a robust platform for hosting scalable Laravel applications. Keep your system updated, monitor performance, and enjoy the flexibility of the cloud.

For more tutorials, stay tuned!