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CMS Quickstarts

DDEV is ready to go with generic project types for PHP and Python frameworks, and more specific project types for working with popular platforms and CMSes. To learn more about how to manage projects in DDEV visit Managing Projects.

Before proceeding, make sure your installation of DDEV is up to date. In a new and empty project folder, using your favorite shell, run the following commands:

Backdrop

To get started with Backdrop, clone the project repository and navigate to the project directory.

git clone https://github.com/example/example-site
cd example-site
ddev config
ddev start
ddev launch

Craft CMS

Start a new Craft CMS project or retrofit an existing one.

Compatibility with Craft CMS 3

The craftcms project type is best with Craft CMS 4+, which is more opinionated about some settings. If you are using Craft CMS 3, you may want to use the php project type and manage settings yourself.

Environment variables will be automatically added to your .env file to simplify the first boot of a project. For new installations, this means the default URL and database connection settings displayed during installation can be used without modification. If existing projects expect environment variables to be named in a particular way, you are welcome to rename them.

New Craft CMS projects can be created from the official starter project using DDEV’s composer create command:

# Create a project directory and move into it:
mkdir my-craft-project
cd my-craft-project

# Set up the DDEV environment:
ddev config --project-type=craftcms --docroot=web --create-docroot

# Boot the project and install the starter project:
ddev start
ddev composer create -y --no-scripts craftcms/craft

# Run the Craft installer:
ddev craft install
ddev launch

Third-party starter projects can by used the same way—substitute the package name when running ddev composer create.

You can start using DDEV with an existing project, too—but make sure you have a database backup handy!

# Clone an existing repository (or navigate to a local project directory):
git clone https://github.com/example/example-site my-craft-project
cd my-craft-project

# Set up the DDEV environment:
ddev config --project-type=craftcms

# Boot the project and install Composer packages:
ddev start
ddev composer install

# Import a database backup and open the site in your browser:
ddev import-db --file=/path/to/db.sql.gz
ddev launch

Craft CMS projects use PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0, by default. You can override these settings during setup with config command flags or after setup via the configuration files.

Upgrading or using a generic project type?

If you previously set up DDEV in a Craft project using the generic php project type, update the type: setting in .ddev/config.yaml to craftcms, then run ddev restart apply the changes.

Running Craft in a Subdirectory

In order for ddev craft to work when Craft is installed in a subdirectory, you will need to change the location of the craft executable by providing the CRAFT_CMD_ROOT environment variable to the web container. For example, if the installation lives in my-craft-project/app, you would run ddev config --web-environment-add=CRAFT_CMD_ROOT=./app. CRAFT_CMD_ROOT defaults to ./, the project root directory. Run ddev restart to apply the change.

Read more about customizing the environment and persisting configuration in Providing Custom Environment Variables to a Container.

Installing Craft

Read more about installing Craft in the official documentation.

Django 4 (Experimental)

git clone https://github.com/example/my-django-site
cd my-django-site
ddev config # Follow the prompts
# If your settings file is not `settings.py` you must add a DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE
ddev config --web-environment-add=DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=<myapp.settings.local>
ddev start
# If your app requires setup, do it here:
# ddev python manage.py migrate
ddev launch
  • DDEV will install everything in your requirements.txt or pyproject.toml into a venv. This takes a little while on first startup.
  • DDEV appends a stanza to your settings file which includes the DDEV settings only if running in DDEV context.
  • You can watch the pip install in real time on that first slow startup with ddev logs -f in another window.
  • If your requirements.txt includes psycopg2 it requires build tools, so either set ddev config --web-extra-packages=build-essential or change your requirement to psycopg2-binary.

Drupal

mkdir my-drupal10-site
cd my-drupal10-site
ddev config --project-type=drupal10 --docroot=web --create-docroot
ddev start
ddev composer create drupal/recommended-project
ddev composer require drush/drush
ddev drush site:install --account-name=admin --account-pass=admin -y
# use the one-time link (CTRL/CMD + Click) from the command below to edit your admin account details.
ddev drush uli
ddev launch

mkdir my-drupal9-site
cd my-drupal9-site
ddev config --project-type=drupal9 --docroot=web --create-docroot
ddev start
ddev composer create "drupal/recommended-project:^9"
ddev composer require drush/drush
ddev drush site:install --account-name=admin --account-pass=admin -y
# use the one-time link (CTRL/CMD + Click) from the command below to edit your admin account details.
ddev drush uli
ddev launch

git clone https://github.com/example/my-drupal-site
cd my-drupal-site
ddev config # Follow the prompts to select type and docroot
ddev start
ddev launch /install.php

Drupal 7 doesn’t know how to redirect from the front page to /install.php if the database is not set up but the settings files are set up, so launching with /install.php gets you started with an installation. You can also run drush site-install, then ddev exec drush site-install --yes.

See Importing a Database.

git clone https://github.com/example/my-drupal-site
cd my-drupal-site
ddev config # Follow the prompts to set Drupal version and docroot
ddev composer install # If a composer build
ddev launch

ExpressionEngine

Download the ExpressionEngine code from expressionengine.com, then follow these steps based on the official installation instructions:

mkdir my-ee && cd my-ee
unzip /path/to/ee-zipfile.zip
ddev config # Accept the defaults
ddev start
ddev launch /admin.php # Open installation wizard in browser

When the installation wizard prompts for database settings, enter db for the DB Server Address, DB Name, DB Username, and DB Password.

Visit your site.

Follow these steps based on the ExpressionEngine Git Repository README.md:

git clone https://github.com/ExpressionEngine/ExpressionEngine # for example
cd ExpressionEngine
ddev config # Accept the defaults
ddev start
ddev composer install
touch system/user/config/config.php
echo "EE_INSTALL_MODE=TRUE" >.env.php
ddev start
ddev launch /admin.php  # Open installation wizard in browser

When the installation wizard prompts for database settings, enter db for the DB Server Address, DB Name, DB Username, and DB Password.

Ibexa DXP

Install Ibexa DXP OSS Edition.

mkdir my-ibexa-project && cd my-ibexa-project
ddev config --project-type=php --php-version 8.1 --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev config --web-environment-add DATABASE_URL=mysql://db:db@db:3306/db
ddev start
ddev composer create ibexa/oss-skeleton
ddev php bin/console ibexa:install
ddev php bin/console ibexa:graphql:generate-schema
ddev launch

Visit Ibexa documentation for more cases.

Laravel

Use a new or existing Composer project, or clone a Git repository.

The Laravel project type can be used for Lumen like it can for Laravel. DDEV automatically updates or creates the .env file with the database information.

mkdir my-laravel-app
cd my-laravel-app
ddev config --project-type=laravel --docroot=public --create-docroot --php-version=8.1
ddev composer create --prefer-dist --no-install --no-scripts laravel/laravel -y
ddev composer install
ddev exec "php artisan key:generate"
ddev launch

git clone <your-laravel-repo>
cd <your-laravel-project>
ddev config --project-type=laravel --docroot=public --create-docroot --php-version=8.1
ddev start
ddev composer install
ddev exec "php artisan key:generate"
ddev launch

Magento

Normal details of a Composer build for Magento 2 are on the Magento 2 site. You must have a public and private key to install from Magento’s repository. When prompted for “username” and “password” in composer create, it’s asking for your public and private keys.

mkdir ddev-magento2 && cd ddev-magento2
ddev config --project-type=magento2 --php-version=8.1 --docroot=pub --create-docroot --disable-settings-management
ddev get ddev/ddev-elasticsearch
ddev start
ddev composer create --repository=https://repo.magento.com/ magento/project-community-edition -y
rm -f app/etc/env.php

# Change the base-url below to your project's URL
ddev magento setup:install --base-url='https://ddev-magento2.ddev.site/' --cleanup-database --db-host=db --db-name=db --db-user=db --db-password=db --elasticsearch-host=elasticsearch --search-engine=elasticsearch7 --elasticsearch-port=9200 --admin-firstname=Magento --admin-lastname=User --admin-email=user@example.com --admin-user=admin --admin-password=Password123 --language=en_US

ddev magento deploy:mode:set developer
ddev magento module:disable Magento_TwoFactorAuth Magento_AdminAdobeImsTwoFactorAuth
ddev config --disable-settings-management=false

Change the admin name and related information is needed.

You may want to add the Magento 2 Sample Data with ddev magento sampledata:deploy && ddev magento setup:upgrade.

Magento 2 is a huge codebase, and we recommend using Mutagen for performance on macOS and traditional Windows.

  1. Download OpenMage from release page.
  2. Make a directory for it, for example mkdir ~/workspace/OpenMage and change to the new directory cd ~/workspace/OpenMage.
  3. Run ddev config and accept the defaults.
  4. Install sample data. (See below.)
  5. Run ddev start.
  6. Follow the URL to the base site.

You may want the Magento 1 Sample Data for experimentation:

  • Download Magento 1.9.2.4 Sample Data.
  • Extract the download: tar -zxf ~/Downloads/compressed-magento-sample-data-1.9.2.4.tgz --strip-components=1
  • Import the example database magento_sample_data_for_1.9.2.4.sql with ddev import-db --file=magento_sample_data_for_1.9.2.4.sql to database before running OpenMage install.

OpenMage is a huge codebase, and we recommend using Mutagen for performance on macOS and traditional Windows.

Moodle

ddev config --composer-root=public --docroot=public --create-docroot --webserver-type=apache-fpm --database=mariadb:10.6
ddev start
ddev composer create moodle/moodle -y
ddev exec 'php public/admin/cli/install.php --non-interactive --agree-license --wwwroot=$DDEV_PRIMARY_URL --dbtype=mariadb --dbhost=db --dbname=db --dbuser=db --dbpass=db --fullname="DDEV Moodle Demo" --shortname=Demo --adminpass=password'
ddev launch /login

In the web browser, log into your account using admin and password.

Visit the Moodle Admin Quick Guide for more information.

Tip

Moodle relies on a periodic cron job—don’t forget to set that up! See ddev/ddev-cron.

Python/Flask (Experimental)

git clone https://github.com/example/my-python-site
cd my-python-site
ddev config # Follow the prompts
# Tell gunicorn where your app is (WSGI_APP)
ddev config --web-environment-add=WSGI_APP=<my-app:app>
ddev start
# If you need to do setup before the site can go live, do it:
# ddev exec flask forge
ddev launch
  • DDEV will install all everything in your requirements.txt or pyproject.toml into a venv. This takes a little while on first startup.
  • If your app requires settings, you can add them as environment variables, or otherwise configure your app to use the database, etc. (Database settings are host: db, database: db, user: db, password db no matter whether you’re using PostgreSQL, MariaDB, or MySQL.)
  • You can watch pip install output in real time on that first slow startup with ddev logs -f in another window.
  • If your requirements.txt includes psycopg2 it requires build tools, so either set ddev config --web-extra-packages=build-essential or change your requirement to psycopg2-binary.

Shopware

Though you can set up a Shopware 6 environment many ways, we recommend the following technique. DDEV creates a .env.local file for you by default; if you already have one DDEV adds necessary information to it. When ddev composer create asks if you want to include Docker configuration, answer x, as this approach does not use their Docker configuration.

mkdir my-shopware6 && cd my-shopware6
ddev config --project-type=shopware6 --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev composer create shopware/production:^v6.5
# If it asks `Do you want to include Docker configuration from recipes?`
# answer `x`, as we're using DDEV for this rather than its recipes.
ddev exec console system:install --basic-setup
ddev launch /admin
# Default username and password are `admin` and `shopware`

Log into the admin site (/admin) using the web browser. The default credentials are username admin and password shopware. You can use the web UI to install sample data or accomplish many other tasks.

For more advanced tasks like adding elasticsearch, building and watching storefront and administration, see susi.dev.

Silverstripe

Use a new or existing Composer project, or clone a Git repository.

mkdir my-silverstripe-app
cd my-silverstripe-app
ddev config --project-type=silverstripe --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev composer create --prefer-dist --no-scripts silverstripe/installer -y
ddev start
ddev sake dev/build flush=all

git clone <your-silverstripe-repo>
cd <your-silverstripe-project>
ddev config --project-type=silverstripe --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev start
ddev composer install
ddev sake dev/build flush=all

Your Silverstripe project is now ready. The CMS can be found at /admin, log into the default admin account using admin and password.

Visit the Silverstripe documentation for more information.

ddev sake can be used as a shorthand for the Silverstripe Make command ddev exec vendor/bin/sake

To open the CMS directly from CLI, run ddev launch /admin.

Statamic

Use a new or existing Composer project, or clone a Git repository.

The Laravel project type can be used for Statamic like it can for Laravel. DDEV automatically updates or creates the .env file with the database information.

mkdir my-statamic-app
cd my-statamic-app
ddev config --project-type=laravel --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev composer create --prefer-dist --no-install --no-scripts statamic/statamic
ddev composer install
ddev exec "php artisan key:generate"
ddev launch

git clone <your-statamic-repo>
cd <your-statamic-project>
ddev config --project-type=laravel --docroot=public --create-docroot
ddev start
ddev composer install
ddev exec "php artisan key:generate"
ddev launch

TYPO3

mkdir my-typo3-site
cd my-typo3-site
ddev config --project-type=typo3 --docroot=public --create-docroot --php-version 8.1
ddev start
ddev composer create "typo3/cms-base-distribution"
ddev exec touch public/FIRST_INSTALL
ddev launch

git clone https://github.com/example/example-site
cd example-site
ddev config --project-type=typo3 --docroot=public --create-docroot --php-version 8.1
ddev composer install
ddev restart
ddev exec touch public/FIRST_INSTALL
ddev launch

WordPress

There are several easy ways to use DDEV with WordPress:

DDEV has built-in support for WP-CLI, the command-line interface for WordPress.

mkdir my-wp-site
cd my-wp-site/

# Create a new DDEV project inside the newly-created folder
# (Primary URL automatically set to `https://<folder>.ddev.site`)
ddev config --project-type=wordpress
ddev start

# Download WordPress
ddev wp core download

# Launch in browser to finish installation
ddev launch

# OR use the following installation command
# (we need to use single quotes to get the primary site URL from `.ddev/config.yaml` as variable)
ddev wp core install --url='$DDEV_PRIMARY_URL' --title='New-WordPress' --admin_user=admin --admin_email=admin@example.com --prompt=admin_password

# Launch WordPress admin dashboard in your browser
ddev launch wp-admin/

Bedrock is a modern, Composer-based installation in WordPress:

mkdir my-wp-bedrock-site
cd my-wp-bedrock-site
ddev config --project-type=wordpress --docroot=web --create-docroot
ddev start
ddev composer create roots/bedrock

Update the .env file in the project root for Bedrock’s WordPress configuration convention:

DB_NAME=db
DB_USER=db
DB_PASSWORD=db
DB_HOST=db
WP_HOME=${DDEV_PRIMARY_URL}
WP_SITEURL=${WP_HOME}/wp
WP_ENV=development

You can then run ddev start and ddev launch.

For more details, see Bedrock installation.

To get started using DDEV with an existing WordPress project, clone the project’s repository.

git clone https://github.com/example/my-site.git
cd my-site
ddev config

You’ll see a message like:

An existing user-managed wp-config.php file has been detected! Project DDEV settings have been written to:

/Users/rfay/workspace/bedrock/web/wp-config-ddev.php

Comment out any database connection settings in your wp-config.php file and add the following snippet to your wp-config.php, near the bottom of the file and before the include of wp-settings.php:

// Include for DDEV-managed settings in wp-config-ddev.php.
$ddev_settings = dirname(__FILE__) . '/wp-config-ddev.php';
if (is_readable($ddev_settings) && !defined('DB_USER')) {
require_once($ddev_settings);
}

If you don’t care about those settings, or config is managed elsewhere (like in a .env file), you can eliminate this message by adding a comment to wp-config.php:

// wp-config-ddev.php not needed

Now run ddev start and continue importing a database if you need to.