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Free & open source · Windows, macOS and Linux

A modern XAMPP alternative

Outgrown XAMPP? Keep it free, lose the localhost.

Flock is a free XAMPP alternative built for how PHP is written today. Every project gets its own .test domain with trusted HTTPS and its own PHP version, and the databases and tools Laravel expects are a click away.

Download Flock Flock vs XAMPP

Windows, macOS and Linux · No account, no license key

Why people switch

Where XAMPP gets in the way.

Stuck on one PHP version

XAMPP ships one PHP per install. Flock runs 8.1 to 8.5 side by side and picks the right one for each project.

localhost/project URLs

Instead of http://localhost/my-app, every project lives on https://my-app.test, like a real site, subdomains included.

Config files by hand

HTTPS, virtual hosts and Xdebug mean editing httpd.conf and php.ini in XAMPP. In Flock they are switches.

What changes

Moving from XAMPP to Flock.

The 14 things you gain. Everything else works the way you're used to.

  • Platforms Windows, older builds for macOS and Linux macOS, Windows and Linux, native apps
  • PHP versions One version per install 8.1 to 8.5 side by side
  • PHP per project Not possible Pinned in .flockrc or isolated per site
  • .test domains Virtual hosts edited by hand Built-in DNS, subdomains included
  • Trusted HTTPS Self-signed localhost cert, not trusted Root limited to .test, no warnings
  • Databases MariaDB only PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB
  • Cache, search, storage Not included Valkey, Meilisearch, Typesense, RustFS
  • Mail catcher Mercury mail server, no web inbox An inbox per app, HTML preview
  • Dumps and logs Not included Per-request timeline and Laravel log
  • Xdebug Install and configure yourself Turns on when you set a breakpoint
  • Node.js Not included Per project from .nvmrc
  • FrankenPHP and Octane Apache only Per site, with Octane worker mode
  • Public preview link Not included Cloudflare tunnel, one command
  • AI agentic development Not included Built-in MCP server

See all 18 rows, and where XAMPP still shines

Switching

Four steps, about five minutes.

  1. 01

    Stop XAMPP

    Stop Apache and MySQL in the XAMPP Control Panel so their ports are free.

  2. 02

    Install Flock

    Run the installer for Windows, macOS or Linux. PHP and Composer come with it.

  3. 03

    Park htdocs

    Park your htdocs folder, and every project in it gets a .test domain.

    flock park C:\xampp\htdocs
  4. 04

    Add MySQL or MariaDB

    Install the database you used and import your dump with the client on your PATH.

    flock services install mariadb

FAQ

Before you leave XAMPP.

No. You install one app, and it starts with your computer. There is no control panel to start every morning.

Flock does not bundle one. Any database client works, such as TablePlus, DBeaver, HeidiSQL or DataGrip, and phpMyAdmin runs as an ordinary Flock site if you prefer it.

Yes. Flock runs natively on Ubuntu 24.04 and newer and on current Fedora releases, on x64 and arm64, next to its Windows and macOS apps.

Join the flock.

Install Flock, park your code folder and open https://your-app.test.

Download Flock Star on GitHub