Database Configuration

Last modified on: September 4, 2025

<h1 data-start="139" data-end="179">🚀 Database Configuration in Laravel</h1>
<p data-start="181" data-end="354">Laravel makes it very easy to configure and connect your application to a database. The main settings are stored in the <strong data-start="301" data-end="316"><code data-start="303" data-end="309">.env</code> file</strong> and <strong data-start="321" data-end="346"><code data-start="323" data-end="344">config/database.php</code></strong> file.</p>
<hr data-start="356" data-end="359" />
<h2 data-start="361" data-end="409">🔹 1. Database Drivers Supported by Laravel</h2>
<p data-start="411" data-end="456">Laravel supports multiple database systems:</p>
<ul data-start="458" data-end="508">
<li data-start="458" data-end="467">
<p data-start="460" data-end="467">MySQL</p>
</li>
<li data-start="468" data-end="482">
<p data-start="470" data-end="482">PostgreSQL</p>
</li>
<li data-start="483" data-end="493">
<p data-start="485" data-end="493">SQLite</p>
</li>
<li data-start="494" data-end="508">
<p data-start="496" data-end="508">SQL Server</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr data-start="510" data-end="513" />
<h2 data-start="515" data-end="558">🔹 2. Database Configuration in <code data-start="550" data-end="556">.env</code></h2>
<p data-start="560" data-end="653">The <code data-start="564" data-end="570">.env</code> file (environment file) contains your project&rsquo;s <strong data-start="619" data-end="650">database connection details</strong>.</p>
<p data-start="655" data-end="679">Example for <strong data-start="667" data-end="676">MySQL</strong>:</p>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_app
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul data-start="798" data-end="1108">
<li data-start="798" data-end="874">
<p data-start="800" data-end="874"><code data-start="800" data-end="815">DB_CONNECTION</code> &rarr; database driver (<code data-start="835" data-end="842">mysql</code>, <code data-start="844" data-end="851">pgsql</code>, <code data-start="853" data-end="861">sqlite</code>, <code data-start="863" data-end="871">sqlsrv</code>)</p>
</li>
<li data-start="875" data-end="942">
<p data-start="877" data-end="942"><code data-start="877" data-end="886">DB_HOST</code> &rarr; database server address (use <code data-start="918" data-end="929">127.0.0.1</code> for local)</p>
</li>
<li data-start="943" data-end="998">
<p data-start="945" data-end="998"><code data-start="945" data-end="954">DB_PORT</code> &rarr; database port (MySQL default is <code data-start="989" data-end="995">3306</code>)</p>
</li>
<li data-start="999" data-end="1032">
<p data-start="1001" data-end="1032"><code data-start="1001" data-end="1014">DB_DATABASE</code> &rarr; database name</p>
</li>
<li data-start="1033" data-end="1070">
<p data-start="1035" data-end="1070"><code data-start="1035" data-end="1048">DB_USERNAME</code> &rarr; database username</p>
</li>
<li data-start="1071" data-end="1108">
<p data-start="1073" data-end="1108"><code data-start="1073" data-end="1086">DB_PASSWORD</code> &rarr; database password</p>
</li>
</ul>
<hr data-start="1110" data-end="1113" />
<h2 data-start="1115" data-end="1148">🔹 3. Example Configurations</h2>
<h3 data-start="1150" data-end="1163">✅ MySQL</h3>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=my_laravel_db
DB_USERNAME=myuser
DB_PASSWORD=mypassword</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr data-start="1296" data-end="1299" />
<h3 data-start="1301" data-end="1319">✅ PostgreSQL</h3>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=my_pg_db
DB_USERNAME=pguser
DB_PASSWORD=pgpassword</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr data-start="1447" data-end="1450" />
<h3 data-start="1452" data-end="1466">✅ SQLite</h3>
<p data-start="1468" data-end="1518">For SQLite, just specify the database file path:</p>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>DB_CONNECTION=sqlite
DB_DATABASE=/absolute/path/to/database.sqlite</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr data-start="1599" data-end="1602" />
<h3 data-start="1604" data-end="1622">✅ SQL Server</h3>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>DB_CONNECTION=sqlsrv
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=1433
DB_DATABASE=my_sqlsrv_db
DB_USERNAME=sa
DB_PASSWORD=secret</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr data-start="1747" data-end="1750" />
<h2 data-start="1752" data-end="1789">🔹 4. <code data-start="1761" data-end="1782">config/database.php</code> File</h2>
<p data-start="1791" data-end="1870">The <code data-start="1795" data-end="1801">.env</code> values are mapped in <strong data-start="1823" data-end="1848"><code data-start="1825" data-end="1846">config/database.php</code></strong>. Example for MySQL:</p>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>'mysql' =&gt; [
    'driver' =&gt; 'mysql',
    'host' =&gt; env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
    'port' =&gt; env('DB_PORT', '3306'),
    'database' =&gt; env('DB_DATABASE', 'forge'),
    'username' =&gt; env('DB_USERNAME', 'forge'),
    'password' =&gt; env('DB_PASSWORD', ''),
    'charset' =&gt; 'utf8mb4',
    'collation' =&gt; 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
    'prefix' =&gt; '',
    'strict' =&gt; true,
    'engine' =&gt; null,
],</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr data-start="2275" data-end="2278" />
<h2 data-start="2280" data-end="2313">🔹 5. Testing the Connection</h2>
<p data-start="2315" data-end="2321">Run:</p>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>php artisan migrate</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-start="2356" data-end="2433">If configured correctly, the migration will run and create database tables.</p>
<p data-start="2435" data-end="2478">Alternatively, you can test using Tinker:</p>
<div class="contain-inline-size rounded-2xl relative bg-token-sidebar-surface-primary">
<div class="sticky top-9">
<div class="absolute end-0 bottom-0 flex h-9 items-center pe-2">
<div class="bg-token-bg-elevated-secondary text-token-text-secondary flex items-center gap-4 rounded-sm px-2 font-sans text-xs">
<pre class="language-php"><code>php artisan tinker
&gt;&gt;&gt; DB::connection()-&gt;getPdo();</code></pre>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-start="2544" data-end="2610">If successful, it means Laravel is connected to your database. ✅</p>
<hr data-start="2612" data-end="2615" />
<h2 data-start="2617" data-end="2632">📌 Summary</h2>
<ul data-start="2634" data-end="2863">
<li data-start="2634" data-end="2686">
<p data-start="2636" data-end="2686">Use <strong data-start="2640" data-end="2655"><code data-start="2642" data-end="2648">.env</code> file</strong> to configure DB credentials.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="2687" data-end="2750">
<p data-start="2689" data-end="2750">Laravel supports <strong data-start="2706" data-end="2747">MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server</strong>.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="2751" data-end="2804">
<p data-start="2753" data-end="2804">Settings are mapped in <strong data-start="2776" data-end="2801"><code data-start="2778" data-end="2799">config/database.php</code></strong>.</p>
</li>
<li data-start="2805" data-end="2863">
<p data-start="2807" data-end="2863">Test connection using <code data-start="2829" data-end="2850">php artisan migrate</code> or Tinker.</p>
</li>
</ul>

Web Technology View More