XAMPP Setup (Windows)

XAMPP bundles Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP, and phpMyAdmin in one installer. This guide walks you through a clean setup on Windows with best-practice configuration for daily PHP development.

1) Download & Install XAMPP (Windows)

1. Download the latest XAMPP for Windows (PHP 8.x recommended).
2. Run the installer (Allow UAC prompts). Install to C:\xampp (default).
3. Launch XAMPP Control Panel and click Start for Apache and MySQL.
4. Visit http://localhost/ — you should see the XAMPP dashboard.

2) Create Your Project Folder

1. Open C:\xampp\htdocs.
2. Create a folder, e.g., myapp.
3. Create C:\xampp\htdocs\myapp\index.php:

<?php
  // file: C:\xampp\htdocs\myapp\index.php
  echo "XAMPP is working! ✅";
?>

Open http://localhost/myapp/ — you should see the message.

3) Enable Developer-Friendly php.ini Settings

Open C:\xampp\php\php.ini and set:

; show all errors during development
display_errors = On
error_reporting = E_ALL

; set timezone
date.timezone = Asia/Kolkata

; file upload limits (tune as needed)
upload_max_filesize = 20M
post_max_size = 25M

; memory for dev
memory_limit = 256M

Save and Stop/Start Apache from XAMPP Control Panel.

4) Enable Common PHP Extensions

In the same php.ini, remove the leading ; to enable:

;extension=curl
;extension=mysqli
;extension=openssl
;extension=gd

After enabling, restart Apache and verify via a phpinfo() page:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

5) Turn On mod_rewrite (Pretty URLs)

1. Open C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf.
2. Ensure this line is enabled (no # at start):

LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

Edit (or create) C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf and add:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName myapp.local
  DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/myapp/public"
  <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/myapp/public">
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Add host entry in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts:

127.0.0.1   myapp.local

Restart Apache. Create C:\xampp\htdocs\myapp\public\.htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^ index.php [L]

Create public\index.php to test routing:

<?php
  $uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
  echo "Routed to index.php — URI: {$uri}";
?>

Open http://myapp.local/test/abc → it should still load index.php and print the URI.

6) MySQL (MariaDB) & phpMyAdmin

Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin/. Default root user has no password in XAMPP.

Create a Database & User (phpMyAdmin)

1. Create DB: myapp_db
2. Create user myapp_user with password, grant privileges to myapp_db

Connect from PHP (mysqli)

<?php
  $conn = new mysqli("localhost", "myapp_user", "your_password", "myapp_db");
  if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
  }
  echo "Connected successfully! ✅";
?>

7) Composer (PHP Package Manager)

1. Download the Composer Windows Installer.
2. During install, point it to C:\xampp\php\php.exe.
3. Open a new terminal and verify:

C:\> composer -V
Composer version X.Y.Z

8) Run PHP from Command Line (Optional)

Add C:\xampp\php to your Environment Variables → Path. Then:

C:\> php -v
PHP 8.x.x (cli) (built: ...)

C:\> cd C:\xampp\htdocs\myapp
C:\xampp\htdocs\myapp> php -S localhost:8000 -t public

Visit http://localhost:8000 to use PHP’s built-in dev server (handy for quick tests).

9) Optional: HTTPS (Self-Signed for Local)

For basic local HTTPS, you can create a self-signed cert and map it in a vhost (browsers will show a warning). This is optional for beginners.

10) Quick Notes for XAMPP on macOS/Linux

• macOS: XAMPP path: /Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs. Start/Stop via XAMPP Manager.
• Linux: XAMPP path: /opt/lampp/htdocs. Start with sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start.
• Steps for php.ini, mod_rewrite, vhosts, and phpMyAdmin are similar to Windows (adjust paths).

Troubleshooting