Laravel Command Not Found

This article provides a comprehensive guide to resolving the “laravel command not found” error, a common issue faced by developers after installing the Laravel installer globally using Composer. It outlines the root cause of the problem and offers detailed, platform-specific solutions for macOS, Linux, and Windows, ensuring you can successfully execute Laravel commands from your terminal.

After running:

composer global require laravel/installer

when executing:

laravel

you receive:

-bash: laravel: command not found

Root Cause

The laravel executable is installed in Composer’s global vendor/bin directory (commonly ~/.config/composer/vendor/bin or ~/.composer/vendor/bin), which is not in your PATH. Your shell can’t locate the executable.

Step‑by‑Step: Locate and Add the Directory to PATH

Step 1: Locate the Composer Global Bin Path

composer global config bin-dir --absolute

This outputs something like:

/home/your‑username/.config/composer/vendor/bin

Use this path in the following steps.

For Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.)

1. Edit your shell profile:

If using Bash:

nano ~/.bashrc

If using Zsh:

nano ~/.zshrc

2. Add this line at the bottom:

export PATH="$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin:$PATH"

(Replace with your actual path from the previous step.)

3. Save and reload:

source ~/.bashrc

or

source ~/.zshrc

4. Verify:

laravel --version

For macOS

1. Determine your shell:

echo $SHELL

• If output is /bin/zsh, edit: ~/.zshrc
• If output is /bin/bash, edit: ~/.bash_profile

2. Open the correct file:

nano ~/.zshrc
(or ~/.bash_profile)

3. Add to the bottom:

export PATH="$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin:$PATH"

4. Reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc
(or source ~/.bash_profile)

5. Test:

laravel --version

For Windows

1. Locate the folder:

C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Composer\vendor\bin

2. Add to the PATH:

• Open Environment Variables
• Find Path under User variables

Click Edit → New, then paste:

C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Composer\vendor\bin

• Click OK on all dialogues

3. Restart your terminal, then verify:

laravel --version

Troubleshooting Tips

# Check Composer installation:
composer --version

# Confirm Laravel installer is installed globally:
composer global show laravel/installer

# Verify your PATH:
echo $PATH

# Confirm the directory contains the Laravel executable:
ls $(composer global config bin-dir --absolute)

Optional: No‑Global Install Alternative

If you prefer not to modify your PATH:

npx laravel new project‑name

This will invoke the installer directly without global installation.

References

Laravel

Getcomposer CLI

Also Read:

Laravel Performance Optimization