PHP 8.5 FPM + Nginx (latest) + MySQL 8.4 — Docker Compose starter

This repository provides a ready-to-run Docker environment for a PHP web application using:

• PHP 8.5 FPM (Alpine)
• Nginx (stable-alpine)
• MySQL 8.4

It is framework-agnostic and points the web root to src/public by default.

Quick start

1. Copy environment file and adjust if needed:

cp .env.example .env

2. Build and start the stack:

docker compose up -d --build

3. Open the app in your browser:

• http://localhost:8080 (or the port you set in APP_PORT)

You should see a simple PHP page, and (once MySQL is ready) database connectivity information.

Project structure

.
├─ docker-compose.yml
├─ .env.example (copy to .env)
├─ docker/
│  ├─ php/
│  │  └─ Dockerfile
│  └─ nginx/
│     └─ default.conf
└─ src/
   └─ public/
      └─ index.php

• Web root (document root): src/public
• PHP container working dir: /var/www/html

Service details

PHP (FPM)

• Image: php:8.4-fpm-alpine (built locally with common extensions)
• Composer is available inside the container (/usr/local/bin/composer).

Run Composer inside the PHP container (recommended for consistent platform):

docker compose exec php composer --version
# or install deps
# docker compose exec php composer install

Nginx

• Image: nginx:stable-alpine
• Serves src/public and forwards *.php to php:9000 (FPM).
• Default vhost config at docker/nginx/default.conf.

MySQL 8.4

• Image: mysql:8.4
• Data persisted in named volume mysql_data.
• Connection from PHP: host mysql, port 3306, credentials from .env/docker-compose.yml.

Connect to MySQL from host:

docker compose exec mysql mysql -u$MYSQL_USER -p$MYSQL_PASSWORD $MYSQL_DATABASE

Environment variables

• APP_PORT (default: 8080) — published HTTP port
• MYSQL_DATABASE (default: app)
• MYSQL_USER (default: app)
• MYSQL_PASSWORD (default: app)
• MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD (default: root)
• MYSQL_PORT (default: 3306)

Set them in .env or edit docker-compose.yml directly.

Notes

• The Nginx config expects your application’s public files (including index.php) in src/public.
• For Laravel/Symfony and similar frameworks, point the document root here without modifications.
• The MySQL container has a healthcheck; the PHP page may show DB connection errors briefly until MySQL is ready — this is normal on first startup.
• If you need more PHP extensions, edit docker/php/Dockerfile and rebuild: docker compose build php && docker compose up -d.

Tear down

Stop and remove containers (data volume preserved):

docker compose down

Remove containers and the MySQL data volume:

docker compose down -v