Rock8cloud Docs

Fullstack web application built with PHP 8.2+, Laravel 11, and PostgreSQL. Serves a Blade-rendered HTML page and a JSON API. Intended as a starting point for Kubernetes-deployed services: one table, one API endpoint, full Docker support out of the box.

Tech stack:

Layer	Technology
Language	PHP 8.2+
Framework	Laravel 11
Database	PostgreSQL
Migrations	Laravel migrations (Eloquent)
ORM	Eloquent
Web server	Apache (mod_rewrite)

The application runs on port 80. The root / serves an HTML page; the API is available under /api/.

Project Structure

app/
├── Http/Controllers/
│   ├── SpaceTargetController.php    # GET /api/targets
│   └── InfoController.php           # GET /api/info
└── Models/
    └── SpaceTarget.php              # Eloquent model (table: space_target)

routes/
├── api.php                          # /api/targets, /api/info
└── web.php                          # / → Blade home view

resources/views/
└── home.blade.php                   # HTML page with space targets table

config/
└── database.php                     # Custom connection config (DATABASE_URL or DB_*)

database/migrations/
└── 2025_01_01_000000_create_space_targets_table.php  # Creates table + seed data

docker/
└── entrypoint.sh                    # Runs php artisan migrate --force, then starts Apache

Key design decisions:

config/database.php parses DATABASE_URL (the postgres:// format from managed services) or falls back to individual DB_* variables. This replaces the default Laravel .env-only approach, which does not understand the postgres:// scheme natively.
APP_KEY is required for Laravel to start. In the Docker Compose file a development key is pre-set. For production, generate a real one: php artisan key:generate --show.
Migrations run automatically on container startup via docker/entrypoint.sh (php artisan migrate --force). There is no separate migration job.
SpaceTarget is the demo entity with $timestamps = false since the table has no created_at/updated_at columns. To add your own domain: create a model in app/Models/, a migration in database/migrations/, and a controller in app/Http/Controllers/. Register routes in routes/api.php.
The demo files can be deleted once you no longer need them.

Environment Variables

The application runs on port 80 and requires a PostgreSQL database.

Variable	Required	Description
`APP_KEY`	yes	Laravel app key — generate with `php artisan key:generate --show`
`APP_ENV`	no	`production` or `local` (default: `production`)
`APP_DEBUG`	no	`true` / `false` (default: `false`)
`APP_URL`	no	Full URL of the app, e.g. `https://example.com`

Database connection is configured via one of two approaches:

Option A — Single connection URL (recommended for managed services)

Variable	Required	Example
`DATABASE_URL`	yes	`postgres://user:pass@host:5432/dbname?sslmode=require`

Option B — Individual variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
`DB_HOST`	no	`127.0.0.1`	Database host
`DB_PORT`	no	`5432`	Database port
`DB_NAME`	no	`laravel`	Database name
`DB_USER`	no	`postgres`	Database user
`DB_PASSWORD`	no	(empty)	Database password
`DB_SSL_MODE`	no	`prefer`	SSL mode, e.g. `require` or `disable`

DATABASE_URL takes precedence. If it is set, the individual DB_* variables are ignored.

Running Locally

With Docker Compose

docker compose up

Starts the application together with a PostgreSQL instance. APP_KEY and DATABASE_URL are set automatically. No additional configuration needed.

Standalone

Requires PHP 8.2+, Composer, and a running PostgreSQL instance.

# install dependencies
composer install

# run — Option A
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/spacedb \
  APP_KEY=base64:$(openssl rand -base64 32) \
  php artisan migrate
  php artisan serve

# run — Option B
DB_HOST=localhost DB_USER=postgres DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  APP_KEY=base64:$(openssl rand -base64 32) \
  php artisan migrate
  php artisan serve

Laravel — Blueprint