I see a blank (white) page instead of the Laravel 'Welcome' page

Run "sudo chmod -R 777 storage bootstrap/cache" from the Laravel root directory.

I see "Welcome to nginx" instead of the Laravel App

Use http://127.0.0.1 instead of http://localhost in your browser.

I see an error containing "address already in use" or "port is already allocated"

Make sure the ports for the services you are running (22, 80, 443, 3306, etc.) are not already used by other programs on the host, such as a built-in apache/httpd service or other development tools.

I get MySQL connection refused

Set DB_HOST in your .env to the MySQL container name (the Laradock docker-compose file uses "mysql"), or to the IP of your Laravel container.

Does Laradock work with frameworks other than Laravel?

Yes. Laradock works with any PHP project, including Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, or plain PHP, and behaves the same on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Yes. Laradock is free and open-source under the MIT license, including all 100+ pre-configured services.

Is Laradock still maintained?

Yes. Laradock has been actively maintained since 2015, has 12k+ GitHub stars, and is used by thousands of developers.

Who created Laradock?

Laradock was created in 2015 by Mahmoud Zalt (https://zalt.me), who still maintains it today.

What is the difference between Laradock and Laravel Sail?

Laravel Sail is Laravel's official minimal Docker environment and works only with Laravel. Laradock is framework-agnostic and ships 100+ pre-configured services with full control over every Dockerfile. Side-by-side comparison: https://laradock.io/docs/laradock-vs-laravel-sail

What are the alternatives to Laradock?

Popular alternatives include DDEV, Laravel Sail, Laravel Herd, Lando, Homestead, XAMPP/MAMP, Dev Containers, and writing your own Docker Compose. The docs compare each honestly: https://laradock.io/docs/laradock-alternatives

Mailu

Name: Laradock
Author: Mahmoud Zalt

What is Mailu?

Mailu is a full self-hosted mail server suite: SMTP, IMAP, webmail, antispam, and antivirus, all in one stack. Unlike the other mail services in Laradock (Mailpit, MailHog, MailDev, MailCatcher), which only catch and display outgoing dev email, Mailu is a real mail server capable of sending and receiving actual mail for a domain you control. Laradock wires up the whole Mailu stack as a group of containers.

Start Mailu

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock start mailu

docker compose up -d mailu

mailu/compose.yml defines mailu as the umbrella service, depending on mailu-front (nginx), mailu-imap (Dovecot), mailu-smtp (Postfix), mailu-antispam (rspamd), mailu-antivirus (ClamAV), mailu-webdav, mailu-admin, and mailu-webmail (Rainloop by default), plus mailu-fetchmail. Starting mailu brings up the whole chain automatically. mailu-admin also depends on redis.

Stop Mailu

Stopping just pauses the containers; your data is safe. depends_on only cascades on up, not stop, so every container has to be named explicitly:

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

docker compose stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

To delete all the containers entirely (the data on disk is still untouched, it lives under DATA_PATH_HOST/mailu/):

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock remove mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

docker compose rm -sf mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

Configuration

All settings live in mailu/defaults.env and can be overridden by adding the same line to your own .env. This is a large suite, so only the most commonly touched settings are listed here, the file has more (DMARC report addresses, welcome-email text, statistics opt-out, password hashing scheme).

Variable	Default	What it does
`MAILU_VERSION`	`latest`	Image tag shared by every Mailu container.
`MAILU_DOMAIN`	`example.com`	Main mail domain.
`MAILU_HOSTNAMES`	`mail.example.com,alternative.example.com,yetanother.example.com`	Comma-separated hostnames this server answers to.
`MAILU_POSTMASTER`	`admin`	Local part of the postmaster address (`postmaster@`+`MAILU_DOMAIN`).
`MAILU_HTTP_PORT`	`6080`	Host-side port for the web admin/webmail (container port `80`).
`MAILU_HTTPS_PORT`	`60443`	Host-side port for HTTPS (container port `443`).
`MAILU_WEB_ADMIN`	`/admin`	URL path the admin interface is served under.
`MAILU_WEB_WEBMAIL`	`/webmail`	URL path the webmail client is served under.
`MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_USERNAME`	`laradock`	Username for the admin account created on first boot.
`MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD`	`laradock`	Password for that admin account.
`MAILU_SECRET_KEY`	`ChangeMeChangeMe`	Random 16-byte secret used internally; change this before any real use.
`MAILU_TLS_FLAVOR`	`cert`	TLS mode: `letsencrypt`, `cert`, `notls`, or `mail`.
`MAILU_MESSAGE_SIZE_LIMIT`	`50000000`	Max accepted message size in bytes (default 50MB).
`MAILU_RELAYHOST`	(empty)	Upstream SMTP relay for outgoing mail, if any.
`MAILU_RELAYNETS`	`172.16.0.0/12`	Networks granted relay permission; must include your Docker network.
`MAILU_RECIPIENT_DELIMITER`	`+`	Character separating the local part from a custom tag (`user+tag@domain`).
`MAILU_WEBMAIL`	`rainloop`	Which webmail client to run (`rainloop`, `roundcube`, or `none`).
`MAILU_WEBDAV`	`radicale`	DAV server implementation (`radicale` or `none`).
`MAILU_ADMIN`	`true`	Whether the admin web interface is exposed.
`MAILU_AUTH_RATELIMIT`	`10/minute;1000/hour`	Login rate limit per source IP.
`MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY`	(placeholder)	reCAPTCHA public key, required for the signup form.
`MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY`	(placeholder)	reCAPTCHA private key, required for the signup form.

Set up a domain

You'll need a registered domain and a reCAPTCHA key pair for the signup email flow. In your .env:

MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY=<YOUR_RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY>
MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY=<YOUR_RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY>
MAILU_DOMAIN=laradock.io
MAILU_HOSTNAMES=mail.laradock.io

Then start the stack and open http://YOUR_DOMAIN (or https:// with a proper MAILU_TLS_FLAVOR).

Ports and real mail protocols

Unlike the other mail services, Mailu's mailu-front container publishes real mail protocol ports directly, hardcoded in mailu/compose.yml rather than driven by env vars: 110 (POP3), 143 (IMAP), 993 (IMAPS), 995 (POP3S), 25 (SMTP), 465 (SMTPS), 587 (submission). Only the web ports (MAILU_HTTP_PORT, MAILU_HTTPS_PORT) are configurable via .env. This also means you can only run one Mailu stack per host at a time, since a second project can't rebind those same protocol ports.

On first boot, the mailu container automatically provisions an admin account from MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_USERNAME and MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD (laradock / laradock by default), it's not something you need to unlock or dig out of a log file.

Admin panel: http://<your host>:<MAILU_HTTP_PORT><MAILU_WEB_ADMIN> (http://localhost:6080/admin with defaults). Log in with MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_USERNAME@MAILU_DOMAIN and MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD.
Webmail: http://<your host>:<MAILU_HTTP_PORT><MAILU_WEB_WEBMAIL> (http://localhost:6080/webmail with defaults), same credentials for any mailbox you create.

Change MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD and MAILU_SECRET_KEY in your .env before using this for anything beyond local testing, both ship with placeholder values.

Manage users and domains from the CLI

The admin panel's signup form needs a working reCAPTCHA key pair. If you haven't set one up yet, create domains and mailboxes directly through manage.py inside the admin container instead:

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock enter mailu-admin

docker compose exec mailu-admin bash

Then, inside the container:

python manage.py domain laradock.io
python manage.py user newuser laradock.io somepassword

The same manage.py admin <localpart> <domain> <password> form is what Laradock itself runs on first boot to create MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_USERNAME (see the mailu service's command in mailu/compose.yml), use it to promote any mailbox to admin.

Backup and restore

Everything Mailu owns (mailboxes, DKIM keys, webmail state, TLS certs, spam filter data, DAV data) lives under DATA_PATH_HOST/mailu/, there's no separate export tool like a database dump, it's just files on disk. Stop the stack first so nothing is mid-write:

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

docker compose stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail

Then archive the data folder:

tar -czf mailu-backup.tar.gz -C "${DATA_PATH_HOST:-~/.laradock/data}" mailu

To restore, stop the stack, delete or move aside the existing DATA_PATH_HOST/mailu/ folder, extract the archive back into DATA_PATH_HOST, then start Mailu again.

Start completely fresh (wipe all data)

To throw away every mailbox, domain, and cert and start Mailu from a clean, empty state (⚠️ this permanently deletes all mail data, back up first if you need anything):

Laradock CLI
Docker Compose

./laradock stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail
./laradock remove mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail
rm -rf "${DATA_PATH_HOST:-~/.laradock/data}/mailu"
./laradock start mailu

docker compose stop mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail
docker compose rm -sf mailu mailu-front mailu-imap mailu-smtp mailu-antispam mailu-antivirus mailu-webdav mailu-admin mailu-webmail mailu-fetchmail
rm -rf "${DATA_PATH_HOST:-~/.laradock/data}/mailu"
docker compose up -d mailu

Deleting the folder and starting again re-provisions the admin account from MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_USERNAME/MAILU_INIT_ADMIN_PASSWORD, exactly like a brand-new install.

Common issues

Signup form doesn't work. You still have placeholder reCAPTCHA keys (MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PUBLIC_KEY/MAILU_RECAPTCHA_PRIVATE_KEY). Generate a real pair and rebuild, or create mailboxes from the CLI instead.
Mail rejected or not relayed. Check MAILU_RELAYNETS includes your Docker network range, and that MAILU_RELAYHOST is set correctly if you're relaying through an upstream SMTP provider.
Only the mailu container is running, the rest aren't. depends_on only affects up, not stop. If you tore down the stack partially, bring everything back with ./laradock start mailu.
Data lost between restarts on multi-project setups. Two Laradock projects on the same machine need unique COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME and DATA_PATH_HOST values, otherwise they share the same DATA_PATH_HOST/mailu/ data on disk.
Second Laradock project won't start Mailu at all. The real mail protocol ports (25, 110, 143, 465, 587, 993, 995) are hardcoded in mailu/compose.yml, not driven by .env, so only one Mailu stack can run per host regardless of DATA_PATH_HOST/COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME.
Just testing outgoing mail in dev, not building a real mail server? Mailu is overkill for that, use a lightweight catcher instead.

Just need to catch dev email, not run a real mail server? See Mailpit. New to Laradock? Start with Getting Started.

What is Mailu?​

Start Mailu​

Stop Mailu​

Configuration​

Set up a domain​

Ports and real mail protocols​

Initial admin login​

Manage users and domains from the CLI​

Backup and restore​

Start completely fresh (wipe all data)​

Common issues​