homebrew-brewworks

Native and Isolated PHP Development Environments without Docker

BrewWorks is a powerful Homebrew formula that allows you to easily set up project-specific development environments without using Docker. It enables you to install and manage common services such as PHP, MySQL, Redis, Memcached, Nginx, Apache, and Node.js with customized configurations for each project.

Features

• Install all necessary services for a project in one go, similar to Docker.
• Generate custom commands for each project, allowing simple management of the development environment (e.g., myapp start, myapp stop).
• Create a dedicated custom folder for each project to centralize service port numbers, configuration files, and log directories.
• Utilize native services for improved performance compared to Docker
• Flexibility to add other services as needed.

For a detailed exploration of this approach, its design philosophy, and how it compares to other options, please refer to our self-review document.

Quick Install

If you simply want a quick PHP development environment or are a beginner, try this method. You can build an environment in no time. All you need is homebrew.

brew install koriym/brewworks/brewworks

Next, open the formula and set up your dependencies. (If you don’t know what it says, just close it. No problem.)

brew edit brewworks

If you have made any edits, Reinstall to reflect them.

brew reinstall brewworks

Now start the services! All necessary services will be started at once.

brewworks start

You should be able to see it at http://localhost:8080/ .

Edit the configuration file in $(brew --prefix)/opt/brewworks/conf/ for further development.

Custome Install

For multiple projects or a project-specific setup, you can use the formula as a local file to share the build with other members of the team.

1. Download brewworks.rb to your project’s root directory.

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/koriym/homebrew-brewworks/1.x/brewworks.rb

1. Modify the settings in brewworks.rb according to your project’s requirements.

2. Rename the file and the class within the file brewworks.rb to reflect the PROJECT_NAME you specified.

3. Install the formula.

brew install ./myapp.rb

Your project-specific development environment is now set up and ready to go!

BrewWorks automates the installation of PHP and Composer, eliminating the need for manual setups and permission configurations. Once the installation is complete, you’ll have a fully configured, project-specific development environment ready to go. BrewWorks sets up all the necessary services, such as PHP, MySQL, Redis, and more, with optimized configurations tailored to your project’s needs.

Usage

1. Start Your Services:

myapp start

1. Stop All Services:

myapp stop

1. Set Environment Variables:

. brewworks env

These simple yet powerful commands, unique to BrewWorks, dramatically simplify the management of your development environment. No more navigating through complex docker-compose files or manually starting and stopping individual services. With BrewWorks, you can control your entire development stack with ease and efficiency.

Project Structure

BrewWorks generates a dedicated folder for each project:

myapp
├── config
│  ├── httpd_8082.conf
│  ├── memcached_11212.conf
│  ├── my_3306.cnf
│  ├── my_3307.cnf
│  ├── nginx_8080.conf
│  ├── nginx_main.conf
│  ├── php-fpm_9000.conf
│  ├── php.ini
│  └── redis_6379.conf
├── logs
│  ├── php-fpm-access_9000.log
│  ├── php-fpm_9000.log
│  └── redis_6379.log
├── public
│  └── index.html
├── tmp (sys_temp_dir, upload_tmp_dir..)
├── mysql_0 (datbase data folder)
├── mysql_1

This project-specific folder structure makes it easy to manage configuration files and logs for each service and allows for smooth switching between projects.

Uninstall

Uninstallation is also easy: the brew uninstall command will erase all unique files, including database folders. This also means that you can reset the environment at any time with the reinstall command. The database is also initialized.

myapp stop
brew uninstall ./myapp.rb 

Why BrewWorks?

BrewWorks is an excellent alternative to Docker, enhancing development efficiency with its customizable, user-friendly interface. Unlike Docker, which relies on virtualizing Linux containers to run, BrewWorks leverages native services for better performance.

BrewWorks simplifies the setup process by allowing the installation of PHP, Composer, and other necessary services through Homebrew, reducing complexity.

While Docker is crucial for production, BrewWorks provides an optimized alternative for local development. By combining native performance with Homebrew’s simplicity, BrewWorks enhances productivity and development experience.

For a detailed comparison of BrewWorks with Docker, please refer to our comparison article.