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This guide covers a full production installation of Leo Counter on Windows 10 or Windows 11 using Docker Desktop and the install.ps1 PowerShell script. The script performs the same installation steps as its Linux counterpart — building Docker images, running migrations, seeding the database, and optimising Laravel — with one difference: systemd is not available on Windows, so you manage services with Docker Compose commands directly.

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Prerequisites

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Docker Desktop

Download and install Docker Desktop for Windows from the official Docker website. After installation:
  1. Launch Docker Desktop from the Start menu.
  2. Wait for the whale icon in the system tray to show a solid green dot, indicating the engine is running.
  3. Open a terminal and confirm Docker is reachable:
docker --version
docker compose version

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PowerShell 5.1 or Higher

Windows 10 and 11 ship with Windows PowerShell 5.1. You can verify your version with: 
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion
PowerShell 7 (cross-platform) also works and is recommended for better error output.
WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux 2) provides a real Linux kernel for Docker to run against, resulting in significantly faster file I/O and better container performance compared to the Hyper-V backend. Enable it before installing Docker Desktop for the best experience:
wsl --install
Then restart your machine. Docker Desktop will automatically detect and use the WSL 2 engine.

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Installation

You must run PowerShell as Administrator for the installer to work correctly. Right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run as administrator, or search for PowerShell in the Start menu, then choose Run as administrator from the right-hand panel.
1

Clone the Repository

Open an elevated PowerShell window and navigate to the directory where you want to install Leo Counter. Then clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/juanVillamilEchavarria/Leo_Counter-app
cd Leo_Counter-app
2

Allow Local Script Execution

Windows blocks unsigned scripts by default. Temporarily allow local scripts for the current PowerShell session:
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process
This setting applies only to the current session and does not permanently change your system policy.
3

Configure Your .env File

If no .env file exists, the installer copies .env.example automatically and prompts you to edit it. You can also do this manually before running the installer:
Copy-Item .env.example .env
notepad .env
Set at minimum the four critical variables:
# ── Database ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_secure_root_password
DB_USERNAME=leo_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_secure_db_password

# ── Application URL ─────────────────────────────────────────────
APP_URL=http://localhost:8080
The relevant sections from .env.example are shown below for reference:
APP_NAME="Leo Counter"
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=http://localhost:8080

DB_CONNECTION=mariadb
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=leo_counter_app
DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=
DB_USERNAME=
DB_PASSWORD=

BROADCAST_CONNECTION=reverb
QUEUE_CONNECTION=redis
CACHE_STORE=redis

REDIS_CLIENT=phpredis
REDIS_HOST=redis
REDIS_PASSWORD=null
REDIS_PORT=6379

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=mailhog
MAIL_PORT=1025
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS="[email protected]"

REVERB_APP_ID=
REVERB_APP_KEY=
REVERB_APP_SECRET=
REVERB_HOST=localhost
REVERB_PORT=8085
REVERB_SCHEME=http
REVERB_SERVER_PORT=8081
Note that REVERB_PORT (8085) is the external host port Docker exposes, while REVERB_SERVER_PORT (8081) is the internal port the Reverb process listens on inside the container — keep them in sync with docker-compose.yml.
Save the file. If the installer is already waiting for you, press Enter at the prompt to continue.
4

Run the Installer

.\install.ps1
The script prints a colour-coded progress log for each phase. Installation typically takes between three and ten minutes, as Docker must pull base images and compile the React frontend with Vite.When the installer finishes, you will see a summary:
============================================================
   Instalación completada con éxito!
============================================================
   Aplicación:   http://localhost:8080
   Mailhog:      http://localhost:8025
   PhpMyAdmin:   http://localhost:8082
   Reverb WS:    ws://localhost:8085
============================================================
  Para detener:   docker compose down
  Para los logs:  docker compose logs -f app
  Para el error:  docker compose exec app cat storage/logs/laravel.log
============================================================
5

Verify the Installation

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. You should see the Leo Counter registration page. Create your administrator account to complete the setup.You can also verify container health from PowerShell:
docker compose ps
All eight containers should show a status of Up:
ContainerRole
leo_counter_appLaravel + Apache (main app)
leo_counter_queueBackground queue worker
leo_counter_schedulerLaravel task scheduler
leo_counter_reverbReverb WebSocket server
mariadb_serverMariaDB database
leo_counter_redisRedis cache and queues
phpmyadminPhpMyAdmin visual database manager
mailhogLocal email capture (SMTP + web UI)

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What install.ps1 Does

The PowerShell script mirrors the Linux install.sh flow, adapted for Docker Desktop and PowerShell idioms:
  1. Requirement validation — Checks that docker is available in PATH and that Docker Desktop is running.
  2. .env creation — Copies .env.example to .env if absent and pauses for credentials.
  3. Storage directory creation — Creates storage/app/public, storage/app/data/movimientos, storage/framework/cache/data, storage/framework/sessions, storage/framework/views, storage/logs, and bootstrap/cache. Adds .gitkeep files via Out-File.
  4. Build argument extraction — Uses a custom Get-EnvValue function that handles quoted values and trailing spaces to reliably parse REVERB_APP_KEY, REVERB_APP_ID, REVERB_APP_SECRET, REVERB_HOST, REVERB_PORT, REVERB_SCHEME, and VITE_API_URL from .env.
  5. Docker image build — Runs docker compose build --no-cache with all extracted values as --build-arg flags, so Vite bakes the correct WebSocket endpoint into the compiled JavaScript.
  6. Support services start — Brings up db, redis, mailhog, and phpmyadmin with docker compose up -d.
  7. Database health wait — Polls the MariaDB container’s health status every two seconds for up to 60 seconds.
  8. Application container start — Starts the app container and waits for PHP to become responsive.
  9. Laravel setup — Runs inside the container: config:clear, migrate --force, db:seed --force, storage:link --force, then config:cache, route:cache, view:cache, and event:cache.
  10. HTTP health check — Uses Invoke-WebRequest to verify the app responds with HTTP 200 or 302.
  11. Final service start — Runs docker compose up -d to bring up queue-worker, scheduler, and reverb.
Unlike the Linux installer, install.ps1 does not register a systemd service, because systemd is not available on Windows. Use the Docker Compose commands in the next section to manage the application lifecycle.

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Service Ports

ServiceURL / AddressPurpose
Leo Counter Apphttp://localhost:8080Main web interface
PhpMyAdminhttp://localhost:8082MariaDB visual admin
Mailhoghttp://localhost:8025Local email capture
Reverb WebSocketsws://localhost:8085Real-time event bus

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Managing Services

Because systemd is not available on Windows, use Docker Compose commands to start and stop Leo Counter: 
# Stop all containers
docker compose down

# Start all containers in detached (background) mode
docker compose up -d

# Restart a single container (e.g., after editing .env)
docker compose restart app

# View the status of all containers
docker compose ps
To have Leo Counter start automatically when Windows boots, you can configure Docker Desktop to launch at startup (Settings → General → Start Docker Desktop when you sign in to your computer). Once Docker Desktop is running, you can add a Task Scheduler entry that runs docker compose up -d from the project directory on logon.

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Updating Leo Counter

To pull new code and rebuild: 
git pull origin main
docker compose build --no-cache
docker compose up -d
docker compose exec -T app php artisan migrate --force
docker compose exec -T app php artisan config:cache
docker compose exec -T app php artisan route:cache
docker compose exec -T app php artisan view:cache
docker compose exec -T app php artisan event:cache

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Checking Logs

When something goes wrong, inspect the Laravel application log first: 
# Print the Laravel log from inside the running container
docker compose exec app cat storage/logs/laravel.log

# Stream live output from the main app container
docker compose logs -f app

# Stream live output from the queue worker
docker compose logs -f queue-worker
If you see error during connect or The system cannot find the file specified, Docker Desktop is not running. Open Docker Desktop from the Start menu and wait for the engine to become ready before retrying.

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