How to Access Your Laravel Project on Another Computer Using the Same WiFi

Do you want to share your local Laravel project with another device on your WiFi network? Here’s a clear step-by-step guide to make your Laravel app accessible across your local network—perfect for collaborative development or testing on different devices.

Step 1: Start Laravel Server on All Network Interfaces

By default, php artisan serve binds to localhost, which is only accessible from your own computer. To make it accessible to other devices:

bashphp artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0

• --host=0.0.0.0 tells PHP to listen for connections on all available network interfaces, not just localhost.

Step 2: Find Your Computer’s Local IP Address

Now, find the IP address of the computer running the server:

• Windows:
  1. Open Command Prompt and type: textipconfig
  2. Look under your WiFi adapter for something like IPv4 Address. Example: 192.168.1.101.
• Mac/Linux:
  1. Open Terminal and type: textifconfig
  2. Look for your active network adapter’s inet value.

Step 3: Open Firewall Port (If Needed)

• Windows Firewall: Allow inbound connections to port 8000, the default Laravel serve port (unless you specify a different one).
• Other OSes: Ensure no firewall or security software is blocking this port.

Step 4: Access the Laravel Project from Another Computer

On any other device connected to the same WiFi:

• Open a web browser and go to: texthttp://<your-computer-ip>:8000 For example, if your computer IP is 192.168.1.101, use: texthttp://192.168.1.101:8000

Troubleshooting Tips

• Make sure both devices are on the same local network.
• Use the computer’s actual IP address, not localhost or 127.0.0.1.
• Check your computer’s firewall settings if the page does not load.
• Try a different port if 8000 is blocked: textphp artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8080

By following these steps, anyone on your WiFi can access your Laravel site directly in their browser! This is useful for demos, joint debugging, or testing your app across multiple devices.