Installation

Step-by-step guide to install and set up Universal PortfolioKit V2

Before You Begin

⚠️ Important: Make sure you have all the required software installed on your system before proceeding.

Required Software

• PHP 8.1+ - Download from php.net
• Composer - Download from getcomposer.org
• MySQL 5.7+ or PostgreSQL - Database server
• Node.js & NPM - Download from nodejs.org
• Web Server - Apache or Nginx (or use Laravel's built-in server for development)

Installation Steps

Extract the Project

Extract the downloaded ZIP file to your desired location. Navigate to the project folder:

cd universal-portfolio-kit-v2

Install PHP Dependencies

Run Composer to install all required PHP packages:

composer install

Install JavaScript Dependencies

Run NPM to install frontend packages:

npm install

Then compile the assets:

npm run build

Environment Setup

Copy the example environment file:

copy .env.example .env

Generate application key:

php artisan key:generate

Database Configuration

Open the .env file and update your database credentials:


DB_CONNECTION=mysql

DB_HOST=127.0.0.1

DB_PORT=3306

DB_DATABASE=portfolio_db

DB_USERNAME=your_username

DB_PASSWORD=your_password

💡 Tip: Make sure to create the database first using phpMyAdmin or MySQL command line

Run Database Migrations

Create all database tables:

php artisan migrate

Optionally, seed default settings:

php artisan db:seed

Create Storage Link

Link the storage folder for file uploads:

php artisan storage:link

Start Development Server

Start the Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Visit http://localhost:8000 in your browser

First Time Setup

After installation, you need to create your admin account:

Create Admin Account

1. Navigate to http://localhost:8000/admin/onboarding
2. Fill in your name, email, and password
3. Click "Create Account"
4. You'll be automatically logged in to the admin dashboard

✅ Success! Your portfolio is now installed and ready to use. You can now start managing your content through the admin panel.

Production Deployment

When deploying to production, run these optimization commands:


composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev

php artisan config:cache

php artisan route:cache

php artisan view:cache

npm run build

Set File Permissions

On Linux/Unix servers:

chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

🎉 Installation Complete!

Your portfolio is now installed. Learn how to configure and manage your content through the admin panel.

Configuration Guide →