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Run Leantime on Docker

What is Leantime?​

Leantime is an open source project management system built for goal-driven teams rather than career project managers, with task boards, milestones, and goal tracking designed with ADHD, autism and dyslexia in mind. A Leantime instance is a PHP application (its own lightweight framework, not Laravel) backed by MySQL or MariaDB, served through a web server, with a browser-based /install wizard handling setup once the database connection is configured.

Why run Leantime in Docker?​

Docker packages each of those pieces (NGINX, PHP-FPM, MySQL) into isolated containers that run the same on every machine. Instead of installing PHP and MySQL onto your laptop, where versions collide between projects and "works on my machine" starts, you run disposable containers that mirror production and vanish cleanly when you delete them. One Leantime instance can run on a specific PHP version while another project runs a different one, on the same computer, with nothing installed globally.

The catch: wiring those containers together yourself (base images, PHP extensions, networking, permissions) is a week of fiddly Docker work. That is exactly what Laradock removes.

Why Laradock is the best fit for Leantime​

Leantime does ship its own official Docker image (leantime/leantime on Docker Hub, maintained by the Leantime team), and that image expects an external MySQL database anyway, so it does not strictly need Laradock. It is still worth considering, and here is why:

  • You are never locked into one ecosystem. Laradock is framework-agnostic. The day you add a Laravel API, a WordPress site, or a plain PHP script beside your Leantime instance, it runs in the same environment with the same commands. A single-purpose image cannot do that.
  • Far more flexibility. 100+ ready services and any PHP version from 5.6 to 8.5, versus the narrow set of tags the official image ships.
  • Nothing is hidden and you own everything. No generated files, no magic, no wrapper binary between you and Docker. Every Dockerfile and compose file is right there for you to read and edit.
  • Nothing new to learn. What you use is plain docker compose, knowledge that transfers straight to production and to every other project. Our CLI is an optional nicety, never a requirement.

Concretely, for Leantime it gives you a production-style NGINX + PHP-FPM stack, MySQL/MariaDB already wired (Leantime needs the database to exist externally either way), and a workspace container with git and the PHP CLI available.

Run Leantime on Docker with Laradock​

1. Add Laradock to your project​

cd my-leantime-instance
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
cd laradock && cp .env.example .env

(No Leantime codebase yet? Clone Laradock first, then pull one down from the workspace container in the next steps.)

2. Pick the services your instance needs​

Leantime needs a web server and a database (it will not run without one). The web server pulls in PHP-FPM automatically:

docker compose up -d nginx mysql workspace

Prefer MariaDB instead? Swap the name: docker compose up -d nginx mariadb workspace. The full catalog is here.

Prefer to be asked? The optional CLI walks you through the choices: ./laradock setup, then ./laradock up. It prints every real command it runs.

3. Point Leantime at the containers​

Copy Leantime's config/sample.env to config/.env and use the service name as the host:

LEAN_DB_HOST=mysql
LEAN_DB_DATABASE=default
LEAN_DB_USER=default
LEAN_DB_PASSWORD=secret
LEAN_DB_PORT=3306

The default database, user and password live in Laradock's mysql/defaults.env; override any of them by adding the line to Laradock's .env (it always wins).

4. Install and run your instance​

Enter the workspace container, place or clone the Leantime codebase, and set the .env values above:

docker compose exec workspace bash
git clone https://github.com/Leantime/leantime.git --single-branch .   # only if you have no codebase yet
cp config/sample.env config/.env
# edit config/.env with the LEAN_DB_* values above

Then open http://localhost/install and complete Leantime's setup wizard, which finishes the database migration and creates your admin account.

Change the PHP version anytime​

This is where a native install hurts and Laradock shines. Set the version in Laradock's .env and rebuild:

PHP_VERSION=8.3
docker compose build php-fpm workspace

Leantime requires PHP 8.2 or newer for current production releases; Laradock covers anything from PHP 5.6 to 8.5, so the same tool runs an older Leantime instance you have not upgraded yet and a brand-new one side by side, each isolated, none of it installed on your machine.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Do I need to install PHP or MySQL to run Leantime with Laradock?​

No. Everything lives inside the containers. PHP and git are reachable from the workspace container; you never install PHP on your host.

Which services should I start for a typical Leantime instance?​

nginx mysql workspace covers it: web server, database, and a shell. Swap mysql for mariadb if you prefer.

Can I run multiple Leantime instances on different PHP versions?​

Yes. Give each its own Laradock with a unique COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME and DATA_PATH_HOST, set a different PHP_VERSION in each, and they run independently on the same machine.

Does this work the same on macOS, Windows and Linux?​

Yes. Laradock runs anywhere Docker runs. On macOS/Windows, file-sync speed depends on Docker Desktop (VirtioFS helps a lot for vendor/-heavy apps); it is a Docker Desktop trait, not specific to Laradock.

Is this the same Docker setup I would use in production?​

The containers are production-style (real NGINX + PHP-FPM), so it is far closer to production than a native install. See Prepare Laradock for Production for the hardening steps.

Comparing environments? See the full Laradock vs Others breakdown. Ready to start? Getting Started takes about five minutes.