User Documentation Setting up a local environment lets you run Joomla on your own computer for testing and development, without touching a live site. At a minimum you need a webserver, a database, and PHP — commonly bundled together as an "AMP stack" (Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP) — though Docker-based and other container setups are an alternative to installing everything directly.
This section covers hosting locally on Windows and Linux, using Laragon as one all-in-one option, running Joomla in Docker, setting up a build-from-source environment for running Joomla's automated tests, and installing on a Raspberry Pi.
- Local Hosting on Windows – Comparing WAMP and XAMPP as bundled Apache/MySQL/PHP packages for Windows, with WampServer as the recommended option.
- Laragon Setup (Windows) – Installing and configuring Laragon, an all-in-one local server tool for Windows, as a lightweight alternative to WAMP or XAMPP.
- Local Hosting on Linux – Installing a LAMP stack on Linux, configuring virtual hosts for multiple test sites, and opening it up to other computers on your network.
- Docker Setup – Running Joomla and MariaDB in isolated Docker containers instead of installing an AMP stack directly.
- Local Test Setup – Building Joomla from source with PHP CLI, Composer, Node.js, and Git so you can run its automated test suite locally.
- Raspberry Pi Installation – Installing Joomla on a Raspberry Pi, including the Raspbian OS, networking, and the Nginx/MariaDB/PHP stack it needs.