Move from Laragon · lampRabit

Laragon and lampRabit work the same way: every folder in www becomes folder.test. Your URLs stay the same, so most projects move without changes. This guide takes about 15 minutes. Laragon isn't modified until the last, optional step.

What changes

	Laragon	lampRabit
Projects folder	`C:\laragon\www`	`C:\lampRabit\www`
Project URL	`http://myapp.test`	`https://myapp.test`: same domain, HTTPS on by default
PHP versions	One active version for all sites	Several at once; each site picks its own
Web server	Apache or Nginx, one at a time	Apache, Nginx, or both, chosen per site
HTTPS	Laragon's certificate authority	lampRabit's certificate authority (trust once)
Hosts file	Lines marked `#laragon magic!`	A marked `# lampRabit` section
Database	MySQL 8 or MariaDB (`root`, no password)	MariaDB (`root`, no password)
Database tools	HeidiSQL, phpMyAdmin (add-on)	phpMyAdmin and Adminer, one click
Email	Mailpit / Mail Catcher	Mailpit, with PHP `mail()` routed automatically
Run as administrator	Usually	No; asks only for the hosts file and certificate
Quick app (Laravel, WordPress)	Menu → Quick app	Sites → New project, with Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, blank and static presets
Terminal (Cmder)	Built in	Open terminal (title bar, tray, site cards) with php, composer and mariadb on PATH
Node.js, ngrok	Built in	Ngrok and Cloudflare tunnels on the Sites page; Node.js versions through NVM on the Services page

Before you start

Install lampRabit and its stack (Apache or Nginx, PHP, MariaDB); see the installation guide.
Check which PHP version your projects use in Laragon (Menu → PHP) and install the same versions in lampRabit (Services → PHP). You can install several.
Check whether Laragon runs MySQL or MariaDB (Menu → MySQL). This matters for Step 3.

Step 1: Export your databases from Laragon

With Laragon's database running, export the databases you need. Either:

HeidiSQL (Laragon → Database): select a database → right-click → Export database as SQL → tick "Create" for database and tables, "Insert" for data → Export.
Command line (Laragon → Terminal):
```
mysqldump -u root --routines --events --databases shop blog > C:\temp\laragon-dbs.sql
```
List your own database names. Skip the system databases (mysql, information_schema, performance_schema, sys).

Note any database users other than root and their grants.

Step 2: Stop Laragon

Click Stop All in Laragon and quit it (right-click the tray icon → Exit). If Laragon is set to start with Windows (Menu → Preferences → "Run Laragon when Windows starts"), turn that off so it doesn't take ports 80, 443 and 3306 again.

If you skip this, lampRabit will tell you which Laragon program is in the way when you start a service, and offer to stop it.

Step 3: Import your databases

Start MariaDB in lampRabit, then either:

phpMyAdmin: MariaDB card → Open phpMyAdmin → Import → choose the .sql file → Go.
Command line: MariaDB card → ⋯ → Open command-line client:
```
SOURCE C:/temp/laragon-dbs.sql;
```

Coming from MySQL 8: MariaDB reads MySQL dumps, with two common snags:

Collation utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci: supported by the MariaDB versions lampRabit installs by default (11.8 LTS). If you chose an older MariaDB (10.x), replace it in the .sql file with utf8mb4_unicode_ci before importing.
MySQL-only features (for example some JSON functions or caching_sha2_password users) may need adjusting. Import the tables first; recreate users in phpMyAdmin.

Recreate any extra database users you noted.

Step 4: Move your projects

Copy (or move) each project folder from C:\laragon\www to C:\lampRabit\www. Click Open www in lampRabit to open the folder.

The domain stays the same: C:\lampRabit\www\shop is https://shop.test, just like Laragon's shop.test. Projects with a public/ folder (Laravel, Symfony) are served from it automatically, as in Laragon.

Use real folders rather than shortcuts or junctions: lampRabit only picks up actual folders in www.

Step 5: Pick PHP versions and servers

On the Sites page each site has:

PHP: leave it on "Default" or choose a specific installed version for that project.
Server (when Settings → Web server is "Both"): Apache or Nginx.
HTTPS: on by default.

If you used Nginx in Laragon, either set Settings → Web server to Nginx, or to Both and pick Nginx for those sites. lampRabit's Nginx config routes unknown URLs to index.php, like Laragon's.

Step 6: Update project configuration

Database: host 127.0.0.1, port 3306, user root, empty password, as in Laragon.
URL: if a project's URL was http://shop.test, consider switching it to https://shop.test (Laravel APP_URL, WordPress siteurl/home). Plain http:// still works if you turn HTTPS off for the site.
Mail: Laravel's default .env mail settings for Mailpit (MAIL_HOST=127.0.0.1, MAIL_PORT=1025) work unchanged. PHP mail() is routed to Mailpit automatically.
php.ini tweaks you made in Laragon: put them in a .user.ini file in the project's served folder.
Custom Apache config (Laragon's etc\apache2\sites-enabled): normal projects need none. For special directives, add a .conf file in C:\lampRabit\etc\apache\sites\.

Step 7: Hosts file and HTTPS

On the Sites page, click Apply changes (or restart Apache) and approve the administrator prompt once. lampRabit writes its own section in the hosts file.
Laragon's entries (lines ending in #laragon magic!) point the same domains at 127.0.0.1, so they don't conflict. You can remove them from C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts later (edit as administrator).
Click Trust certificate. Laragon's certificate authority is different; you can remove it later with certmgr.msc → Trusted Root Certification Authorities (look for "Laragon").

Step 8 (optional): Remove Laragon

Once everything works, uninstall Laragon. Keep your .sql export until you're sure nothing is missing.

What's not there yet

These Laragon features are coming soon to lampRabit:

Troubleshooting

"Port 80 is already in use" / "Port 3306 is already in use": Laragon's Apache, Nginx or MySQL is still running. Quit Laragon, or use the Stop … button on the service card.
The browser warns about the certificate: click Trust certificate on the Sites page and restart the browser. Firefox needs security.enterprise_roots.enabled set to true.
A site shows the wrong PHP version: set it on the site's card (Sites → PHP).
More help: Settings → Troubleshooting → Run diagnostics.