How to Set Up GitHub Actions CI/CD for Laravel Projects

Step 1: Create Workflow File

# .github/workflows/laravel.yml
name: Laravel CI/CD

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    services:
      mysql:
        image: mysql:8.0
        env:
          MYSQL_DATABASE: testing
          MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: password
        ports:
          - 3306:3306
        options: --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping"

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.3'
          extensions: mbstring, pdo_mysql
          coverage: xdebug

      - name: Cache Composer
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: vendor
          key: ${{ runner.os }}-composer-${{ hashFiles('**/composer.lock') }}

      - name: Install Dependencies
        run: composer install --no-interaction

      - name: Setup Environment
        run: |
          cp .env.example .env
          php artisan key:generate

      - name: Run Tests
        run: php artisan test --coverage
        env:
          DB_CONNECTION: mysql
          DB_HOST: 127.0.0.1
          DB_DATABASE: testing
          DB_USERNAME: root
          DB_PASSWORD: password

  deploy:
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Deploy to Server
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.SERVER_HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.SERVER_USER }}
          key: ${{ secrets.SSH_KEY }}
          script: |
            cd /var/www/laravel-app
            git pull origin main
            composer install --no-dev
            php artisan migrate --force
            php artisan config:cache
            php artisan route:cache

Step 2: Add Repository Secrets

Go to Settings → Secrets → Actions and add:

• SERVER_HOST
• SERVER_USER
• SSH_KEY

Step 3: Add Status Badge

![CI](https://github.com/user/repo/actions/workflows/laravel.yml/badge.svg)

Now every push triggers tests and deploys on success!