If you’re reading this article, it means you’ve decided to dive into the Laravel world — and that’s a great choice! I recently went through this process on a fresh Windows machine, and I want to share my experience: how to quickly, painlessly, and without “magic errors” set up Laravel with SQLite on Windows for development.

Today we’ll install Laravel with SQLite on Windows from scratch. Why SQLite? Because it’s the perfect starting point: no need to configure MySQL or PostgreSQL, the database is just a file, and everything works “out of the box”. Ideal for learning, prototyping, and small projects.

Personal tip: I always start new pet projects with SQLite. It saves tons of time at the beginning, and if needed, the project can easily migrate to a full-featured database system.

Preparation: What You Need to Install Laravel on Windows with SQLite

  • A computer with Windows 10/11
  • Internet access
  • 15–20 minutes of free time
  • A desire to figure things out (the rest will follow!)

Step 1: Installing PHP — The Foundation of Our Stack

Laravel is written in PHP, so installing Laravel with SQLite on Windows starts with setting up the interpreter. I recommend grabbing the latest version right away — as of 2026, that’s PHP 8.5 or 8.6.

What to do:

  1. Go to the official PHP website
  2. Download the archive: VS16 x64 Non Thread Safe (for local development, there’s practically no difference between NTS and TS)
  3. Extract the contents to C:\php

Add PHP to PATH (so the php command works from anywhere)

This is a critically important step that beginners often miss:

  1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl → Enter
  2. Go to the Advanced tab → Environment Variables
  3. In the System variables section, find Path → click Edit
  4. Click New and add: C:\php
  5. Save everything by clicking OK

Verify the installation

Open a new command prompt (Win + R → cmd) and type:

php -v

If you see the PHP version — congratulations, you’ve passed the first milestone!

Important: If the console says “is not recognized as an internal or external command”, close and reopen it. Environment variables only apply to new sessions.

Step 2: Composer — The Dependency Manager You Can’t Live Without

Composer is like npm for PHP. Without it, installing Laravel is simply impossible.

Installation:

  1. Go to getcomposer.org/download/
  2. Download Composer-Setup.exe
  3. Run the installer:
    • If it asks for the path to php.exe, specify C:\php\php.exe
    • Leave all other settings at their defaults

Verification:

composer -V

See the version? Great, let’s move on!

Step 3: SQLite — Optional, But Very Convenient

Technically, you don’t need to install anything extra for Laravel to work with SQLite — the required version comes bundled with PHP extensions. But! If you want to manually inspect the database or run queries, the sqlite3 command-line client comes in handy.

If you want to install it:

  1. Go to sqlite.org/download.html
  2. Download sqlite-tools-win-x64-*.zip
  3. Extract to C:\sqlite
  4. Add C:\sqlite to PATH (same as in Step 1)

Verification:

sqlite3 --version

My choice: I usually install the SQLite client right away. It’s convenient for debugging queries without loading heavy GUI tools.

Step 4: Enable Required PHP Extensions

To ensure installing Laravel with SQLite on Windows goes smoothly, let’s activate the necessary modules.

What to do:

  1. Navigate to C:\php
  2. Find php.ini. If the file doesn’t exist, rename php.ini-development to php.ini
  3. Open the file in Notepad or, better yet, Notepad++
  4. Find these lines and remove the semicolon at the beginning of each:
extension=fileinfo
extension=pdo_sqlite
extension=sqlite3
  1. Save the file

Verification:

php -m | findstr sqlite

You should see:

pdo_sqlite
sqlite3

If so — awesome!

Pro tip: If you’re not sure an extension loaded, run php --ini — it shows which php.ini file is being loaded. Sometimes there can be multiple.

Step 5: Create a Folder for Your Projects

Keeping your projects organized is key to peace of mind. I recommend setting up a dedicated folder.

mkdir C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Desktop\laravel-projects
cd C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Desktop\laravel-projects

You can choose any other location — just make sure the path contains no Cyrillic characters or spaces (just to be safe).

Step 6: Create Your First Laravel Project

The most exciting part! While in your projects folder, run:

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-first-app

What’s happening “under the hood”:

  • Composer downloads the latest Laravel and all its dependencies
  • The folder structure is created
  • Basic configuration files are set up
  • Migrations and seeders are generated

The process takes 2–5 minutes depending on your internet speed. At the end, you should see something like:

Creating migration table ... DONE
Creating users table ... DONE
Creating cache table ... DONE
Creating jobs table ... DONE

If something goes wrong: Most issues are related to permissions or antivirus software. Try running the console as Administrator or temporarily disabling your antivirus.

Step 7: Start the Built-in Server

Laravel comes with a convenient development server. Navigate to your project folder and run:

cd my-first-app
php artisan serve

You’ll see in the console:

INFO  Server running on [http://127.0.0.1:8000].

Pro tip: If port 8000 is busy, specify another: php artisan serve --port=8080

Step 8: Final Check — Laravel with SQLite on Windows Is Ready!

Open your browser and go to: http://127.0.0.1:8000

You’ll see the beautiful Laravel welcome page!

Congratulations! You’ve just set up a full Laravel environment on Windows. Now you can start building!

Bonus: How to Configure SQLite in Laravel

By default, Laravel uses SQLite for new projects, but let’s double-check.

Open the .env file in your project root and verify these lines:

DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
# DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_DATABASE — can be commented out for SQLite

If the file database/database.sqlite doesn’t exist — create it manually (just an empty file).

Done! All migrations will now apply to this file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why SQLite for getting started?

Because you don’t need to install and configure a separate database server. Everything in one file — perfect for learning and quick prototypes.

Can I switch to MySQL later?

Absolutely! Just change DB_CONNECTION=sqlite to DB_CONNECTION=mysql in your .env file and provide your connection details.

What if php -v doesn’t work after installation?

Most likely, you didn’t restart the console after adding PHP to PATH. Close all cmd windows and open a new one.

Where is the SQLite database stored?

By default: your-project/database/database.sqlite. It’s a regular file — you can copy it, delete it, or open it with any SQLite client.

Useful Links: “Installing Laravel with SQLite on Windows”