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PHP Laravel 4 Basics Laravel and Databases Connecting Laravel to MySQL

Ric McCorriston
Ric McCorriston
379 Points
Posted by Ric McCorriston
Ric McCorriston
379 Points

Laravel 5 database.php

On laravel 5 using env - local how do I change the database? It continues to use homestead no matter what database.php says. I know its using this database.php because if I remove it it breaks!

Thanks in advance.

2 Answers

Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points
Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points

First there is a hidden file called .env.example, look around the settings/perferences of your text editor to make sure it will show you hidden files. Next make a copy of that file and simple name it .env. Then open the file and edit it. It should look something like this:

APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_KEY=SomeRandomString

DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=homestead
DB_USERNAME=homestead
DB_PASSWORD=secret

CACHE_DRIVER=file
SESSION_DRIVER=file
QUEUE_DRIVER=sync

MAIL_DRIVER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailtrap.io
MAIL_PORT=2525
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null

from here you can change the settings of the DB. Also, I don't believe you can have more than one .env file anymore. Check out this article for more information

Ric McCorriston
Ric McCorriston
379 Points
Ric McCorriston
Ric McCorriston
379 Points

Andrew you're a legend. Thank you

Umy Ikem
Umy Ikem
21,383 Points
Umy Ikem
Umy Ikem
21,383 Points

this gave me some issues - thanks Andrew

Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points
Andrew Shook
Andrew Shook
31,709 Points

No problem Umy, glad I could help.