setup-docker.md

Docker-Based Setup (recommended)

This guide is self-contained: follow it from top to bottom to get a working development installation with Docker Compose.

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Node.js and npm on your host machine (Node >= 24, npm >= 11 — see package.json engines), for compiling the front-end assets

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/scify/Crowdsourcing-Platform.git
cd Crowdsourcing-Platform

2. Fix permissions for the storage directory

Run these commands on your host machine, from the project root:

sudo chown -R `whoami`:www-data storage
chmod 775 storage
find storage -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;
find storage -type d -exec chmod 775 {} \;

3. Create the .env file

cp .env.example .env

Set the database credentials in .env (the db host is the Docker Compose service):

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=crowdsourcing_db_docker
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=root

4. Build and start the containers

docker compose up --build

• Application: http://localhost:89
• PHPMyAdmin: http://localhost:8081

5. Create the database

Enter the database container and create the database:

docker exec -it crowdsourcing_platform_db bash
mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS crowdsourcing_db_docker;

6. Install the back-end dependencies

All the remaining PHP commands run inside the server container:

docker exec -it crowdsourcing_platform_server bash

Then:

composer install
composer dump-autoload

7. Generate the application key

php artisan key:generate

8. Add the database schema and data

Choose one of the two options.

Option 1 — import an existing MySQL dump. Inside the db container, with the dump file in the current directory:

mysql -u root -p crowdsourcing_db_docker < dump.sql

Option 2 — run the migrations and seed the database. Inside the server container:

php artisan migrate
php artisan db:seed

9. Install and compile the front-end assets

On your host machine:

npm install
npm run dev    # development mode with live changes
npm run build  # one-off development build
npm run prod   # production build

10. Create the symbolic link for uploaded files

Uploaded images are stored at storage/app/public. Link that directory to public/storage (inside the server container):

php artisan storage:link

11. Cache the configuration

php artisan config:cache

Re-run this command every time you change the .env file.

Troubleshooting

1. Check the container logs: docker compose logs
2. Review the Laravel logs at storage/logs/laravel.log
3. Verify that the .env database credentials match step 3

For development guidelines (tests, linting, debugging), see development.md.