Skip to main content

Run phpMyAdmin on Docker

What is phpMyAdmin?​

phpMyAdmin is a widely used web-based administration tool for MySQL and MariaDB: browse tables, run queries, manage users and permissions, and import or export data, all from the browser. It is not an application with its own database; it is a PHP frontend that connects to a database server you already have running. It speaks MySQL and MariaDB only, so if you are on PostgreSQL you want Adminer instead.

Why run phpMyAdmin in Docker?​

Docker packages phpMyAdmin (NGINX, PHP-FPM under the hood) into an isolated container that runs the same on every machine. Instead of installing PHP onto your laptop just to run a database GUI, or reaching for a separate native app, you run a disposable container that connects straight to whichever database container is already part of your stack, and vanishes cleanly when you delete it.

The catch: wiring a database admin UI to the right container, network and credentials yourself is fiddly enough that most people skip it. That is exactly what Laradock removes, because it is already done.

Why Laradock is the best fit for phpMyAdmin​

Unlike the other projects in this guide, phpMyAdmin is not something you add to Laradock: Laradock already ships it as a ready-to-use built-in service (see Use phpMyAdmin). There is no install step, no codebase to clone, no config file to write, just a service to switch on:

  • One line to turn on. docker compose up -d phpmyadmin and it is connected to your database container, nothing to wire up yourself.
  • Already pointed at your data. It targets the mysql (or mariadb) service by name and uses the same credentials your app uses, so there is nothing to reconcile.
  • Nothing is hidden and you own everything. No generated files, no magic. The phpmyadmin/compose.yml and its Dockerfile are right there for you to read and edit.
  • Fits whatever else you are running. Laradock is framework-agnostic, so the same phpMyAdmin service works whether the app behind that database is Laravel, WordPress, or plain PHP.

Concretely, Laradock's phpMyAdmin service is pre-wired to the mysql or mariadb container over the internal Docker network, with its port, credentials, import size and execution limits all controlled from .env, and arbitrary-server login already enabled so it can also reach any other database your machine can see.

Run phpMyAdmin on Docker with Laradock​

1. Add Laradock to your project​

cd my-project
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
cd laradock

2. Pick the services you need​

phpMyAdmin needs exactly one thing to be useful: a database to point at. It has its own web server built in, so there is no nginx or workspace to add just to browse data. The whole required stack is the engine plus phpMyAdmin:

./laradock start mysql phpmyadmin

Prefer MariaDB over MySQL? Swap the engine name and tell phpMyAdmin which one to target with PMA_DB_ENGINE=mariadb in .env, then start mariadb phpmyadmin. The full catalog of other services is here.

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

3. Point phpMyAdmin at the containers​

There is nothing to configure by hand: phpMyAdmin's compose service already targets ${PMA_DB_ENGINE} (default mysql) using PMA_USER, PMA_PASSWORD and PMA_ROOT_PASSWORD from .env. Those default to the same default / secret credentials as the mysql service in mysql/defaults.env; override any of them in Laradock's .env if you changed the database password (it always wins).

4. Open and log in​

phpMyAdmin is already running from step 2. Open http://localhost:8081 (the default PMA_PORT) and log in:

  • Server: mysql (or mariadb)
  • Username: default
  • Password: secret

Use whatever you overrode those to in .env. To manage users or grant privileges you need an account that has them, so log in as user root, password root (the MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD from mysql/defaults.env) instead. That is a full phpMyAdmin, connected to your database, running on Docker.

Import an existing database​

This is the most common reason people reach for phpMyAdmin, and it works two ways.

From the browser (small to medium dumps). In the left sidebar, click the database you want to load into (or create one first with New), open the Import tab, choose your .sql, .sql.gz, .csv or .zip file, and click Go. Laradock ships a generous PMA_UPLOAD_LIMIT of 2G and a 600-second PMA_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME, so most dumps go through as-is. If a big one stalls, see Raise the import size and timeout limits below.

From the command line (large dumps, faster). Very large files are quicker to pipe straight into the database container, which skips the upload and PHP limits entirely. Run this from your Laradock folder (the < dump.sql redirect reads the file from your host, so it does not need to be mounted anywhere):

./laradock exec -T mysql mysql -u root -proot default < dump.sql

Either way, refresh phpMyAdmin and the tables appear.

Export or back up a database​

From the browser. Select the database (or a single table) in the sidebar, open the Export tab, keep the Quick method and SQL format for a full dump, and click Go to download a .sql file. Use Custom if you want to pick specific tables, add DROP TABLE statements, or gzip the output.

From the command line. For scripted or scheduled backups, mysqldump from the database container is the reliable route. The > backup.sql redirect writes the dump onto your host:

./laradock exec -T mysql mysqldump -u root -proot default > backup.sql

Run SQL and manage users​

Everything else you would do at a mysql> prompt is in the UI too:

  • Run queries. Open the SQL tab (on the server or inside a database) to run any statement, then browse or export the result.
  • Create databases. Click New in the left sidebar, name it, and choose a collation.
  • Manage users and permissions. Log in as root / root (a plain default user cannot grant privileges), open User accounts, and add users, set passwords, or edit grants. The changes apply to the real database server, not to phpMyAdmin.

Raise the import size and timeout limits​

If a large import or a long-running query is cut off, three .env values control it. Add the ones you need to Laradock's .env (they override phpmyadmin/defaults.env):

PMA_UPLOAD_LIMIT=4G
PMA_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME=1200
PMA_MEMORY_LIMIT=512M

Then restart the service so the new limits take effect:

./laradock restart phpmyadmin

Connect to another database server​

Laradock builds phpMyAdmin with PMA_ARBITRARY=1, which turns the greyed-out Server box on the login screen into a free text field. Type any hostname the container can reach and log in with that server's own credentials. That lets one phpMyAdmin serve several databases:

  • Switch between mysql and mariadb without touching .env, as long as both containers are running: just type the other engine's service name.
  • Reach a database in a different Laradock project on the same machine, for example host.docker.internal with that project's MYSQL_PORT.
  • Reach any external MySQL/MariaDB server your Laradock host can connect to.

Nothing to configure, arbitrary login is already on.

Change the PHP version anytime​

phpMyAdmin's own container is built and versioned by Laradock independently of the PHP_VERSION your application uses, so there is nothing to change here for a typical setup. If you do need to rebuild the service after editing phpmyadmin/Dockerfile, or to pull a newer phpMyAdmin image, the same pattern applies to it as to every other Laradock service:

./laradock rebuild phpmyadmin --pull

Take your app live​

phpMyAdmin is a local and staging convenience, not something you expose on the public internet, so it does not ship to production itself. What does ship is the app whose database you have been managing: the same Laradock stack that runs it locally becomes its deployment. You build one hardened image and send it to the host of your choice:

./laradock ship

Then pick a target and follow its short guide, a single server, a managed platform, or Kubernetes: Deploy to Production lists every provider (Fly.io, Render, Railway, DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Kamal, Kubernetes) with a ready config file for each. There is no per-provider magic to learn; a Docker image runs the same everywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Do I need to install phpMyAdmin or PHP to use it with Laradock?​

No. It is already a built-in Laradock service; docker compose up -d phpmyadmin is the entire install step.

Which services should I start to use phpMyAdmin?​

mysql phpmyadmin (or mariadb phpmyadmin with PMA_DB_ENGINE=mariadb set). No web server or workspace container is required just to browse the database, phpMyAdmin serves its own UI.

How do I import a large SQL dump that keeps failing?​

Either pipe it straight into the database container from the command line (see Import an existing database), or raise PMA_UPLOAD_LIMIT and PMA_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME in .env and restart the service (see Raise the import size and timeout limits).

Can I use phpMyAdmin with PostgreSQL?​

No. phpMyAdmin only supports MySQL and MariaDB. For PostgreSQL (or SQLite) use Laradock's Adminer service instead, which speaks all of them.

Can I use phpMyAdmin against a database on a different Laradock project?​

Yes. Arbitrary-server login is already enabled (PMA_ARBITRARY=1), so type the other server's hostname on the login screen, for example host.docker.internal with that project's MYSQL_PORT. See Connect to another database server.

Is Adminer a better fit than phpMyAdmin?​

Both ship as built-in Laradock services and both connect to the same database containers. Adminer is a single lightweight file with a simpler interface and also handles PostgreSQL and SQLite; phpMyAdmin has a deeper feature set for complex MySQL/MariaDB administration. See Run Adminer on Docker for the same walkthrough with Adminer.

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

Most teams do not expose phpMyAdmin in production at all, since it is a convenience tool for local and staging work. If you do run it somewhere reachable, put it behind authentication and network restrictions; see Prepare Laradock for Production for the general hardening steps.

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