Herd makes Laravel development feel effortless, and LampRabit aims for the same feeling with a few differences: databases, Redis and a mail inbox are free, Apache is available next to Nginx, and Linux is fully supported. Moving takes about 15 minutes, and your .test domains stay the same.
1. Take stock of your Herd setup
- Sites: On Windows, Herd serves every folder in
%USERPROFILE%\Herdatfolder.test. Projects you added withherd linkcan live elsewhere. Herd’s Sites list shows them all. - PHP versions: note which version each site uses.
- Databases: check whether projects use SQLite (nothing to export) or Herd Pro’s MySQL.
- Node: note the Node versions you use; LampRabit uses NVM too.
2. Install LampRabit
Download LampRabit, open Services, and install Nginx (Herd’s server) or Apache, the PHP versions you noted, and MariaDB or MySQL. Add Redis and Mailpit if your apps use them; they’re free.
3. Export your databases (Herd Pro MySQL)
Herd Pro’s MySQL uses root with an empty password. Export with your database client (Herd’s docs suggest TablePlus), or with mysqldump if it’s on your PATH:
mysqldump -u root --routines --events --databases shop blog > shop-blog.sqlUse the port Herd shows next to the running MySQL service.
4. Stop Herd
Stop Herd’s services and quit it, so ports 80, 443 and 3306 are free. If you forget, LampRabit tells you which program holds a port and offers to stop it.
5. Move your projects
Click Open www in LampRabit (C:\lampRabit\www on Windows, ~/lampRabit/www on Linux) and copy or move your project folders there. shop is served at https://shop.test, from public/ for Laravel, as you’re used to.
6. Import your databases
Start MariaDB or MySQL in LampRabit, then import with phpMyAdmin, Adminer or the command-line client. The credentials are the same as Herd’s: root, no password, 127.0.0.1. MySQL runs on port 3307 by default in LampRabit (MariaDB has 3306), so update DB_PORT if you choose MySQL.
7. Match PHP and Node versions
On the Sites page, set each project’s PHP version. Node projects pick their version from NVM, or from .nvmrc if the project has one.
8. HTTPS and the hosts file
Click Apply changes (one administrator prompt for the hosts file) and Trust certificate. Every site gets HTTPS by default; there’s no per-site secure command to remember.
What you’ll find different
- Sharing: instead of Expose, use Share on a site to get a public Cloudflare quick tunnel (no account) or ngrok URL. See How to share your local site.
- Apache: if a project relies on
.htaccess, switch it to Apache on the Sites page. - Not there yet: PostgreSQL and MongoDB aren’t in LampRabit yet (they’re on the roadmap). Keep a separate install for those for now.
Want the full comparison first? Read Herd vs LampRabit.
Frequently asked questions
Where are my Herd sites?
On Windows, Herd parks %USERPROFILE%\Herd by default, and every folder there is served at folder.test. Sites you added with herd link can live anywhere; note their paths before you start.
My Laravel app uses SQLite in Herd. Do I need to do anything?
No database export is needed: the SQLite file lives inside the project (usually database/database.sqlite) and moves with it.
Can Herd and LampRabit run at the same time?
Both want ports 80 and 443 for their web server. Stop Herd's services before starting LampRabit's, or give LampRabit other ports in Settings.
