Laravel Directory structure for beginners

May 24, 2025

Laravel Directory structure for beginners

✅ Laravel Folder Structure

📁 app/

This folder contains the main code of your application.

Http/ – Your controllers and middleware live here (handles user requests).
Models/ – These are used to talk to the database (like User.php).
Providers/ – These files help start services like routes, events, etc.

📁 bootstrap/

Used to boot (start) your Laravel app.

It also contains a cache folder to store compiled files for faster loading.

📁 config/

All the settings of your app are here.

Examples:

app name
timezone
mail configuration
database info, etc.

📁 database/

Contains everything related to your database.

migrations/ – Code for creating or changing tables.
seeders/ – Used to add sample data.
factories/ – Generate fake data for testing.

📁 public/

This is the only folder visible to the user in the browser.

index.php is the file that starts Laravel.
You can also store images, CSS, and JavaScript here.

📁 resources/

This folder has your HTML views and frontend files.

views/ – Contains Blade templates (Laravel’s HTML files).
css/ and js/ – For custom styles and scripts.

📁 routes/

This is where you define URLs for your app.

web.php – For browser routes (like homepage, about page).
console.php – For Artisan CLI commands.

Example:

Route::get('/', function () {
  return view('welcome');
});

📁 storage/

Used to store files, like:

logs
uploaded files
cache files

Laravel uses this folder for internal data.

📁 tests/

Write tests here to check if your app works properly.

📁 vendor/

Contains all the Laravel files and libraries installed via Composer.

👉 Don't touch this folder manually.

🔧 Important Files

.env – Important settings like database, mail, app key, etc.
artisan – Command line tool to run Laravel commands.
composer.json – Keeps track of all PHP libraries.
vite.config.js – Settings for CSS/JS build tools.
package.json – Used for JavaScript packages (NPM).

✅ Summary Table

Folder/File	What it Does
`app/`	Main app logic (controllers, models)
`bootstrap/`	Starts Laravel app
`config/`	App settings
`database/`	Migrations and sample data
`public/`	Browser-visible files
`resources/`	Views and frontend code
`routes/`	Defines URLs
`storage/`	Stores logs, files, cache
`tests/`	App testing code
`vendor/`	Laravel framework and packages
`.env`	Environment settings
`artisan`	Laravel command line tool

Explanation in Hinglish

✅ Main Laravel Project Structure

your-project/
│
├── app/
├── bootstrap/
├── config/
├── database/
├── public/
├── resources/
├── routes/
├── storage/
├── tests/
├── vendor/
│
├── .env
├── artisan
├── composer.json
├── vite.config.js
└── ...

📁 `app/` – Your core application code

Yeh folder Laravel ka core hota hai, jisme controller, models, and logic rehta hai.

Http/ – Controllers, Middleware, and requests yahan hote hain.
Models/ – Aapke database models (e.g., User.php) yahan bante hain.
Providers/ – Laravel ki services register karne ke liye.

📁 `bootstrap/`

Laravel ko boot (start) karne ke liye yeh folder use hota hai.

app.php – Framework start karne ka file.
cache/ – Laravel ka optimization aur caching data.

📁 `config/`

Saare configuration files yahan hote hain (like mail, database, app name, etc.)

Example: app.php, database.php, mail.php, etc.

📁 `database/`

Database se related saari cheezein:

migrations/ – Table create/edit ka code.
seeders/ – Sample data insert karne ke liye.
factories/ – Fake data generate karne ke liye (testing).

📁 `public/`

Yeh folder web-accessible hota hai. Jab user aapka site kholta hai, yeh folder serve hota hai.

index.php – Laravel ka entry point.
css/, js/ – Static assets like images, JS, CSS.

📁 `resources/`

Views aur frontend assets ke liye.

views/ – Blade templates (like HTML) yahan likhte hain.
css/ & js/ – Frontend code likhne ke liye.

📁 `routes/`

Saare URL routes yahan define hote hain.

web.php – Browser ke routes (GET, POST).
console.php – Artisan CLI ke liye.
api.php (not shown here but usually present) – API ke routes ke liye.

🧠 Example route in web.php:

Route::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

📁 `storage/`

Logs, user uploads, and framework data ke liye.

logs/ – Errors and logs.
app/ – Uploaded files.
framework/ – Cache, sessions, views storage.

📁 `tests/`

Application ke test cases likhne ke liye (PHPUnit ya Pest use karke).

📁 `vendor/`

All packages and Laravel framework files jo Composer install karta hai.

❌ Never touch this manually.

🔧 Important Root Files:

.env – Project ke environment/config (DB, mail, etc.)
artisan – Laravel CLI tool. Use it to run commands:
```
  php artisan serve
  php artisan migrate
```
composer.json – Installed PHP packages ka record.
vite.config.js – Frontend build configuration (Vite for assets).
package.json – NPM packages list (for JS & CSS).

🔚 Summary in Hinglish

Folder/File	Kaam (Use)
`app/`	Controllers, Models, Logic
`bootstrap/`	Laravel ko start karne ka system
`config/`	App ke settings/configs
`database/`	Tables banane ka code + test data
`public/`	Browser se visible files (index.php)
`resources/`	Views (HTML) + frontend code
`routes/`	URLs define karne ke liye
`storage/`	Logs, uploads, cache
`tests/`	App testing
`vendor/`	All Laravel + 3rd party libraries

✅ Main Folders You Should Work On First

1. 📁 `routes/web.php`

🔹 Why?
This is where you define your website's URLs and actions.

🔸 Example:

phpCopyEditRoute::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

➡️ Start here to create routes like /about, /contact, etc.

2. 📁 `resources/views/`

🔹 Why?
This folder contains your Blade templates – basically the HTML pages of your app.

🔸 Example:
Create a file like about.blade.php to design your "About Us" page.

3. 📁 `app/Http/Controllers/`

🔹 Why?
This is where you write your logic for routes using Controllers.

🔸 Example:
If you want to handle form submissions, database access, etc.

➡️ Use php artisan make:controller PageController to create a controller.

4. 📁 `app/Models/`

🔹 Why?
If you're using a database, Models help you interact with tables.

🔸 Example:

phpCopyEdit$user = User::all(); // Gets all users

➡️ Use php artisan make:model Post to create a model.

5. 📁 `resources/css/` and `resources/js/` (optional at first)

🔹 If you’re adding custom styles or JS, you can update these.

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