Laravel Herd alternative
Laravel Herd is a native Laravel and PHP development environment that bundles the runtimes and services a PHP developer needs. lokei is a cross-stack runner, proxy, inspector, and sharing layer that works with the runtimes already used by the project.
Last verified: July 16, 2026
npm install -g @ulpi/lokei && lokei setupHerd owns a development runtime; lokei orchestrates the runtime a project already declares.
Primary job
Runtime installation
Local site discovery
Local HTTPS
Public sharing
Best-fit ecosystem
| Capability | lokei | Laravel Herd | Official evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Run many framework and container stacks behind named local HTTPS | Provide a native Laravel and PHP development environment | |
| Runtime installation | Uses the project's existing Node, PHP, Docker, or framework runtime | Bundles PHP, nginx, dnsmasq, and Node.js; Herd Pro adds managed development services | |
| Local site discovery | Detects the current project command or reads lokei.yaml and starts it on demand | Automatically serves directories in parked paths and supports explicitly linked sites | |
| Local HTTPS | Named .localhost or .test routes use trusted HTTPS by default after first-use setup | Sites use HTTP by default and can be secured individually through the GUI or herd secure | |
| Public sharing | Native project-aware share sessions through lokei cloud | herd share delegates the public tunnel to Expose, with ngrok documented as an alternative | |
| Best-fit ecosystem | Mixed frontend, backend, container, Laravel, and monorepo projects | Laravel and PHP applications, with framework drivers and first-party Laravel integrations |
This comparison treats Herd's Laravel specialization as an advantage, not a limitation.
.test domain creation
TLS behavior
Multiple domains and tenancy
| Capability | lokei | Laravel Herd | Official evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| .test domain creation | Derives a project name from the repository or configuration and registers it when the app runs | Maps folder names in parked paths to .test and creates additional names with herd link | |
| TLS behavior | The local proxy terminates trusted TLS for active routes automatically | Each site is explicitly secured or unsecured; secured sites use TLS and HTTP/2 | |
| Multiple domains and tenancy | Supports project and service subdomains plus custom route names | A directory may be linked under more than one .test domain for multi-tenancy scenarios |
PHP and Laravel runtime
JavaScript and other frameworks
Docker Compose and Laravel Sail
| Capability | lokei | Laravel Herd | Official evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP and Laravel runtime | Wraps the project's normal PHP, Artisan, Sail, or Composer-driven command without installing PHP itself | Ships a ready-to-use PHP and nginx environment and exposes Laravel application information in the site manager | |
| JavaScript and other frameworks | Detects 30+ frontend and backend stacks and their normal development commands | Includes Node.js but remains designed around Laravel, PHP sites, and Herd drivers | |
| Docker Compose and Laravel Sail | Discovers, starts, and routes Sail or Compose while keeping databases and workers private | Provides a native non-container PHP environment; its reviewed site documentation does not describe Compose lifecycle ownership |
Share command context
Share provider
HTTP request inspection
| Capability | lokei | Laravel Herd | Official evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share command context | Starts a stopped project and shares the active route or selected services without asking for a port | herd share infers the current Herd site or accepts a local site URL and passes it to Expose | |
| Share provider | The share session, public names, status, and stop lifecycle belong to lokei | Expose supplies the default tunnel account and network; ngrok can be run separately with host-header rewriting | |
| HTTP request inspection | Built-in browser inspector captures bodies, filters, replays modified requests, and exports HAR | Herd focuses on PHP and Laravel debugging tools; Expose supplies tunnel request inspection when used as the share provider |
Herd is a complete opinionated environment; lokei is a portable workflow layer across environments.
A polished native home for Laravel and PHP development.
One local HTTPS and sharing workflow across heterogeneous projects.
Choose Herd for the runtime environment; choose lokei for a consistent cross-stack project interface.
The products can coexist when they do not compete for the same DNS and HTTPS listeners. Keep Herd as the PHP runtime while evaluating lokei on a separate project workflow.
Both products may use .test DNS and ports 80 or 443. Do not enable both default routing stacks simultaneously without intentionally changing one product's network configuration.
Answers about PHP runtimes, .test domains, TLS, Sail, sharing, and coexistence.
Not for Herd's bundled PHP runtime, nginx environment, Laravel services, GUI, or Forge integration. lokei can replace the named routing, project startup, inspection, and public-sharing parts when you want those behaviors across more than PHP.
No. lokei uses the runtime and command the project already declares. Herd intentionally bundles PHP, nginx, dnsmasq, and Node.js, which is valuable when you want an entire Laravel environment installed for you.
Yes. Herd automatically serves parked or linked sites under .test, but HTTPS is enabled per site. lokei creates named .test routes for running projects and uses trusted HTTPS by default after setup.
lokei has the more direct Sail workflow because it detects and starts the Docker-based Sail stack and routes public HTTP services. Herd is strongest when you want its native, non-container PHP and Laravel environment.
Herd delegates sharing to Expose and documents ngrok as an alternative. lokei owns the project-aware share session, starts a stopped app, supports service selection, and manages status and stop commands itself.
lokei. It detects many frontend and backend stacks and can run Docker Compose or mixed monorepos. Herd supports several PHP applications through drivers and includes Node.js, but its product model remains centered on Laravel and PHP sites.
They can both be installed, but their default .test DNS and HTTPS proxies can conflict. Stop or deliberately reconfigure one routing stack before enabling the other. Herd can still provide PHP binaries even when lokei owns project routing.
Herd claims use its official installation, site, HTTPS, and sharing documentation. lokei claims use the public website and npm package documentation.
Verified July 16, 2026 using Laravel Herd's public macOS documentation. Platform availability and Pro features can change. Laravel and Herd are trademarks of their respective owners. lokei is not affiliated with or endorsed by Laravel or Herd.
$ lokei run
Install lokei, complete setup once, then run Laravel, Sail, Node, Docker, and other projects through the same local HTTPS workflow.
npm install -g @ulpi/lokei && lokei setup