Installing Varbase locally with DDEV

This guide walks you through installing Varbase 11.0.x on your local machine using DDEV, a Docker-based local development tool designed for PHP projects.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed on your machine:

1. Docker: DDEV requires Docker (or a compatible container runtime such as Colima or OrbStack).

   • Install Docker Desktop from https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

2. DDEV: Install DDEV by following the official installation guide:

   • https://ddev.readthedocs.io/en/stable/users/install/

Step 1: Create the Project Directory

Create a new directory for your Varbase project and navigate into it:

mkdir my_varbase_site
cd my_varbase_site

Replace my_varbase_site with your desired project directory name.

Step 2: Configure DDEV

Run the DDEV configuration command with the following options:

ddev config --project-type=drupal11 --docroot=web --php-version=8.4

This configures the project as a Drupal 11 site with:

• Docroot: web (the Varbase web root).

• PHP version: 8.4.

• Project name: Defaults to the directory name.

Step 3: Start DDEV

Start the DDEV environment:

ddev start

This command pulls the required Docker images, creates the containers, and starts the development environment. The first run may take a few minutes.

Step 4: Create the Varbase Project

Use Composer inside DDEV to create the Varbase project:

ddev composer create-project "drupal/varbase_project:~11.0.0"

This downloads Varbase and all of its dependencies (Drupal core, contributed modules, recipes, themes, and libraries) into the project directory.

The Varbase Installer will handle the Drupal installation and apply all Varbase recipes automatically, configuring the full feature set including:

• Drupal CMS 2.0 recipes (admin UI, media, SEO, anti-spam, privacy, and more)

• Varbase recipes (content, admin, media, editor, security, SEO, workflow, blog, and more)

• Easy Email recipes for HTML email support

• Vartheme BS5 front-end theme and Gin admin theme

Step 5: Launch Your Site

After the installation is complete, open your site in a browser:

ddev launch

Complete Installation Commands

Here are all the commands together for quick reference:

mkdir my_varbase_site
cd my_varbase_site
ddev config --project-type=drupal11 --docroot=web --php-version=8.4
ddev start
ddev composer create-project "drupal/varbase_project:~11.0.0"
ddev launch

Useful DDEV Commands

Command	Description
ddev start	Start the project containers
ddev stop	Stop the project containers
ddev restart	Restart the project containers
ddev launch	Open the site in your default browser
ddev drush [command]	Run a Drush command inside the container
ddev composer [command]	Run a Composer command inside the container
ddev ssh	SSH into the web container
ddev describe	Show project information and URLs

Custom DDEV Commands for Varbase

ddev install-varbase

Installs Varbase from scratch using drush site:install varbase with the Varbase profile and Drupal recipes.

# Minimal install: core Varbase only (no extra recipes)
ddev install-varbase minimal

# Full install: core + dev, i18n, api, auth recipes + social auth modules
ddev install-varbase full

ddev init-full-automated-testing

Full initialization for automated testing. Handles everything from a fresh ddev start:

1. Installs Varbase if the database is empty

2. Applies optional Varbase recipes (varbase_dev_base, varbase_i18n_base, varbase_api_base, varbase_auth_base, varbase_ai_base)

3. Enables social auth modules (social_auth_facebook, social_auth_linkedin)

4. Adds testing users for each Varbase role

5. Disables the antibot module (required for automated browser testing)

6. Disables CSS/JS aggregation

7. Sets verbose error logging

ddev init-minimal-automated-testing

Minimal initialization for automated testing on an already installed site. Does not install Varbase or apply recipes:

1. Verifies Drupal is installed (exits with error if not)

2. Adds testing users for each Varbase role

3. Disables the antibot module

4. Disables CSS/JS aggregation

5. Sets verbose error logging

ddev add-testing-users / ddev delete-testing-users

Manage testing user accounts individually.

Troubleshooting

• If ddev start fails, ensure Docker is running and that no other services are using the same ports.

• Run ddev poweroff followed by ddev start to reset the DDEV environment if you encounter persistent issues.

• Check DDEV logs with ddev logs for detailed error information.