Set up .env and the database

Create the database

1. 1

   In cPanel → Manage My Databases, create a database and a user.

2. 2

   Add the user to the database with All Privileges. This step is easy to miss, and it causes "Access denied" errors.

3. 3

   Note the full names. cPanel adds your account name, so shop becomes cpaneluser_shop.

A production .env

APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://example.com

LOG_CHANNEL=daily
LOG_LEVEL=warning

DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_DATABASE=cpaneluser_shop
DB_USERNAME=cpaneluser_shop
DB_PASSWORD="your password"

SESSION_DRIVER=database
CACHE_STORE=database
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database

LOG_CHANNEL=daily keeps one file per day, so one log can't quietly fill your disk.

Set APP_KEY

With a Terminal, run php artisan key:generate. Without one, run it on your computer, then copy the APP_KEY line into the server's .env. Never change the key on a live site: encrypted data and sessions depend on it.

Create the tables

With a Terminal:

php artisan migrate --force

Without one, export the structure from your computer's database and import it in phpMyAdmin. To see the exact SQL for new migrations, run this locally:

php artisan migrate --pretend

Changed .env and nothing happened?

Laravel may be using a cached copy. Run php artisan config:clear, or with no Terminal delete bootstrap/cache/config.php.