Setting Up for Local Development

1. Environment Configuration

Create a .env file in the project root directory and include the following lines, adjusting the passwords as necessary:

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_password
MYSQL_DATABASE=cakephp
MYSQL_USER=cakephp
MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_password
MYSQL_HOST=db
DEBUG=false

2. Install mkcert for Local SSL Certificates

• macOS:

  brew install mkcert
  brew install nss # For Firefox users
  

• Linux:

  sudo apt install libnss3-tools
  cd ~
  git clone https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert && cd mkcert
  go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=$(git describe --tags)"
  

• Windows:
  • Via Chocolatey:

    choco install mkcert
    

  • Further information: mkcert on GitHub

3. Common Step for All Platforms

Execute the following command to install mkcert on your machine:

mkcert -install

Generate the certificates only on the device you're working with.

4. Generate the Certificates

mkcert cakephp

5. Certificate Distribution

Transfer the generated certificates to your development Linux setup, placing them into the config/local-certificates directory. The nginx configuration currently assumes the following filenames:

cakephp-key.pem # Private key
cakephp.pem # Certificate

6. Edit the Hosts File

Update /etc/hosts on Linux/macOS or C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows by adding the following entry:

<your server's IP address> cakephp

Example:

192.168.1.134 cakephp

This step enables the use of a local development domain in your browser.

7. CakePHP Setup

If CakePHP is not already set up, execute the script located at helpers/setup.sh to configure it.

8. Fix Access Rights

After cloning the CakePHP repository, navigate to the "helpers" directory and execute fix-permissions.sh to ensure file accessibility, allowing for editing in tools like VS Code.

9. Access the Front-end

Visit the front-end at: https://cakephp/

10. Start Working

To start, update the .gitignore file by removing entries for directories you wish to track with Git. These often include directories such as app/{src, plugins, templates, tests, webroot, config}. Then, delete the .git directories (app/.git and ./git) and reinitialize Git from the project's root directory.